Welfare Assessment

The Right Angle: Validating a standardised protocol for the use of infra-red thermography of eye temperature as a welfare indicator

Infra-red thermography (IRT) is a non-invasive tool for measuring eye temperature as an indicator of stress and welfare in animals. Previous studies state that images are taken from 90° but do not specify a reference point or method of standardisation....

Year Published: 2020Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Ijichi, C., Evans, L., Woods, H. et al. 2020. The Right Angle: Validating a standardised protocol for the use of infra-red thermography of eye temperature as a welfare indicator. Animal Welfare 29(2), 123-131.

A safe bet? Inter-laboratory variability in behaviour-based severity assessment

Evidence-based severity assessment is essential as a basis for ethical evaluation in animal experimentation to ensure animal welfare, legal compliance and scientific quality. To fulfil these tasks scientists, animal care and veterinary personnel need assessment tools that provide species-relevant measurements...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Jirkof, P., Abdelrahman, A., Bleich, A. et al. 2020. A safe bet? Inter-laboratory variability in behaviour-based severity assessment. Laboratory Animals 54(1), 73–82.

Use of the horse grimace scale to identify and quantify pain due to dental disorders in horses

Dental disorders can cause discomfort and chronic pain, affecting the athletic performance and welfare of the horses. However, dental disorders may not be manifested with recognizable clinical signs and may, therefore, lead to late diagnosis or care. The present study...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Marcantonio Coneglian, M., Duarte Borges, T., Henrique Weber, S. et al. 2020. Use of the horse grimace scale to identify and quantify pain due to dental disorders in horses. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 225, 104970.

Utility of automated feeding data to detect social instability in a captive breeding colony of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta): A case study of intrafamily aggression

Some captive breeding colonies of rhesus macaques live in large outdoor multimale, multifemale social groups. These groups are composed of several matrilineal families, governed by a clear female dominance hierarchy. Aggression within the same or between different matrilineal families due...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Johnston, J. R., Meeker, T. L., Ramsey, J. K. et al. 2020. Utility of automated feeding data to detect social instability in a captive breeding colony of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta): A case study of intrafamily aggression. JAALAS 59(1), 46–57.

Objective assessment of acute pain in foals using a facial expression-based pain scale

Pain assessment is very important for monitoring welfare and quality of life in horses. To date, no studies have described pain scales for objective assessment of pain in foals. Studies in other species have shown that facial expression can be...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: van Loon, J., Verhaar, N., van den Berg, E. et al. 2020. Objective assessment of acute pain in foals using a facial expression-based pain scale. Animals 10(9), 1610.

Monitoring acute pain in donkeys with the Equine Utrecht University Scale for Donkeys Composite Pain Assessment (EQUUS-DONKEY-COMPASS) and the Equine Utrecht University Scale for Donkey Facial Assessment of Pain (EQUUS-DONKEY-FAP)

Objective pain assessment in donkeys is of vital importance for improving welfare in a species that is considered stoic. This study presents the construction and testing of two pain scales, the Equine Utrecht University Scale for Donkey Composite Pain Assessment...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: van Dierendonck, M., Burden, F., Rickards, K. et al. 2020. Monitoring acute pain in donkeys with the Equine Utrecht University Scale for Donkeys Composite Pain Assessment (EQUUS-DONKEY-COMPASS) and the Equine Utrecht University Scale for Donkey Facial Assessment of Pain (EQUUS-DONKEY-FAP). Animals 10(2), 354.

Equid assessment, research and scoping (EARS): The development and implementation of a new equid welfare assessment and monitoring tool

The assessment of animal welfare poses numerous challenges, yet an emerging approach is the consolidation of existing knowledge into new frameworks which can offer standardised approaches to welfare assessment across a variety of contexts. Multiple tools exist for measuring the...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Raw, Z., Rodrigues, J., Rickards, K. et al. 2020. Equid assessment, research and scoping (EARS): The development and implementation of a new equid welfare assessment and monitoring tool. Animals 10(2), 297.

Welfare assessment on pasture: A review on animal-based measures for ruminants

Outdoor and extensive farming systems allow animals to behave in a natural way and are often perceived as welfare friendly. Nonetheless, the natural environment poses multiple challenges to the welfare of animals, sometimes hampering their capacity to cope. Welfare assessment...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Cattle, Goat, Sheep

Citation: Spigarelli, C., Zuliani, A., Battini, M. et al. 2020. Welfare assessment on pasture: A review on animal-based measures for ruminants. Animals 10(4), 609.

Equine Facial Action Coding System for determination of pain-related facial responses in videos of horses

During the last decade, a number of pain assessment tools based on facial expressions have been developed for horses. While all tools focus on moveable facial muscles related to the ears, eyes, nostrils, lips, and chin, results are difficult to...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Rashid, M., Silventoinen, A., Gleerup, K. B. et al. 2020. Equine Facial Action Coding System for determination of pain-related facial responses in videos of horses. PLOS ONE 15(11), e0231608.

Wheel running behaviour in group-housed female mice indicates disturbed wellbeing due to DSS colitis

Voluntary wheel running (VWR) behaviour is a sensitive indicator of disturbed wellbeing and used for the assessment of individual experimental severity levels in laboratory mice. However, monitoring individual VWR performance usually requires single housing, which itself might have a negative...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Disease/Experimental Model, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Weegh, N., Füner, J., Janke, O. et al. 2020. Wheel running behaviour in group-housed female mice indicates disturbed wellbeing due to DSS colitis. Laboratory Animals 54(1), 63–72.