Welfare Assessment

Use of spontaneous behaviour measures to assess pain in laboratory rats and mice: How are we progressing?

The understanding and recognition of pain in laboratory rats and mice has advanced considerably in recent times. However, there is evidence that despite these advances, analgesics are still relatively underutilised in these species. One possible contributing influence to this is...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Whittaker, A. L., Howarth, G. S. 2014. Use of spontaneous behaviour measures to assess pain in laboratory rats and mice: How are we progressing? Applied Animal Behaviour Science 151, 1-12.

Behavioral ethogram as a health assessment tool in a feline vaccine study

For infectious disease studies, assessment of feline health is traditionally limited to metrics such as body temperature (BT), change in body weight (BW), and clinical signs (CS). Recently, behavioral ethograms designed for assessment of rabbits and rodents were demonstrated to...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Cat

Citation: Burlingame, L. A., Na, J., Dunbar, M. et al. 2014. Behavioral ethogram as a health assessment tool in a feline vaccine study. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 610. (Abstract #P227).

Investigating the motivation to play in lambs

The aim of this study was to identify behaviours and ear postures linked to the appetitive, consummatory and post-consummatory motivational phases of play in male lambs, and to evaluate how cortisol was affected by play. Ten pairs of male lambs,...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Sheep

Citation: Chapagain, D., Uvns-Moberg, K., Lidfors, L. M. 2014. Investigating the motivation to play in lambs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 160, 64-74.

Can ear postures reliably measure the positive emotional state of cows?

Animal welfare science is increasingly concerned with the promotion of positive emotions in animals, yet little is known about how to measure them. We examined whether ear postures in dairy cows were reliable indicators of a low arousal, positive emotional...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Cattle

Citation: Proctor, H. S., Carder, G. 2014. Can ear postures reliably measure the positive emotional state of cows? Applied Animal Behaviour Science 161, 20-27.

Emotions in dogs being petted by a familiar or unfamiliar person: Validating behavioural indicators of emotional states using heart rate variability

Although physical human–dog interactions have an important influence on the human–dog relationship, few studies have proposed the key factors of physical human–dog contact affecting the well-being of dogs. Therefore, our aim was to investigate the effect of physical human–dog contact...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Dog

Citation: Kuhnea, F., Hlerb, J. C., Struweb, R. 2014. Emotions in dogs being petted by a familiar or unfamiliar person: Validating behavioural indicators of emotional states using heart rate variability. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 161, 113-120.

Validation of a novel behavioral ethogram for identification of postoperative pain in the guinea pig (Cavia porcellus)

Although the guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) has been used in research for over a century and remains one of the most prevalent AWA covered species today, very little has been elucidated in the literature about recognition of clinical pain or...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Guinea Pig, Rodent

Citation: Dunbar, M. L., David, E. M., Aline, M. R. et al. 2014. Validation of a novel behavioral ethogram for identification of postoperative pain in the guinea pig (Cavia porcellus). American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 538 (Abstract #PS48).

Evaluation of analgesic efficacy in piglets using a novel pig grimace scale

There is a critical lack of information surrounding methods to improve the wellbeing of piglets undergoing painful procedures. It is not uncommon for piglets to undergo potentially painful procedures without anesthesia or analgesia, particularly for agricultural research projects. The objectives...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Body Modification/Mutilation, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Turner, P. V., Viscardi, A., Lawli, P. et al. 2014. Evaluation of analgesic efficacy in piglets using a novel pig grimace scale. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 530 (Abstract #PS12).

Defining and assessing animal pain

The detection and assessment of pain in animals is crucial to improving their welfare in a variety of contexts in which humans are ethically or legally bound to do so. Thus clear standards to judge whether pain is likely to...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: All/General, Amphibian, Bird, Cephalopod, Crocodile & Alligator, Crustacean, Finch, Fish, Fowl, Frog & Toad, Insect & Spider, Invertebrate, Lizard, Other Bird, Other Fish, Other Invertebrate, Parrot, Reptile, Salamander, Salmon, Snake, Tilapia, Trout, Turtle & Tortoise, Zebrafish

Citation: Sneddon, L. U., Elwood, R. W., Adamo, S. A. et al. 2014. Defining and assessing animal pain. Animal Behaviour 97, 201-212.

The power of automated behavioural homecage technologies in characterizing disease progression in laboratory mice: A review

Behavioural changes that occur as animals become sick have been characterized in a number of species and include the less frequent occurrence of ‘luxury behaviours' such as playing, grooming and socialization. ‘Sickness behaviours' or behavioural changes following exposure to infectious...

Year Published: 2015Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Richardson, C. A. 2015. The power of automated behavioural homecage technologies in characterizing disease progression in laboratory mice: A review. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 163, 19-27.

Behavioural reactivity of ewes and lambs during partial and total social isolation

This work investigated the differences in the reactivity of Sarda (primiparous n = 18, multiparous n = 17) and Dorset (multiparous n = 8) breeds of sheep and their singleton lambs to two challenging test situations involving a mother-lamb partial...

Year Published: 2015Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Sheep

Citation: Barnard, S., Matthews, L. R., Messori, S., et al. 2015. Behavioural reactivity of ewes and lambs during partial and total social isolation. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 163, 89-97.