Changes Associated with Improved Outcomes for Cats Entering RSPCA Queensland Shelters from 2011 to 2016

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Caroline Audrey Kerr, Jacquie Rand, John Murray Morton, Ronelle Reid, Mandy Paterson

The aim of this study was to identify changes that contributed to the markedly improved live release of cats in Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) Queensland shelters by comparing data from 2011 and 2016. Admission numbers were similar in these two years. The number...

Using GPS Technology to Understand Spatial and Temporal Activity of Kangaroos in a Peri-Urban Environment

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Timothy Henderson, Karl Vernes, Gerhard Kortner, Rajanathan Rajaratnam

Kangaroo–human conflict is increasing in the peri-urban communities of the New South Wales (NSW) north coast in Australia. A way to assist in managing this conflict is to improve our understanding on the ecology of kangaroos in the peri-urban environment. We utilized modern Global...

Expectations for dog ownership: Perceived physical, mental and psychosocial health consequences among prospective adopters

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Lauren Powell, Debbie Chia, Paul McGreevy, Anthony L Podberscek, Kate M. Edwards, Brendon Neilly, Adam J Gustaella, Vanessa Lee, Emmanuel Stamatakis

Dog ownership is popular worldwide, with most human-dog dyads forming successful attachment bonds. However, millions of dogs are surrendered to animal shelters annually, possibly due to mismatches between owner expectations and the realities of dog ownership. The aim of the current study was to...

Healthy people, healthy animals, and a healthy environment: One Health

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Adele Waters

When Vet Record and The BMJ produced a joint themed issue in 2005 (https://www.bmj.com/content/331/7527), the guiding concept was One Medicine, with an emphasis on what vets and doctors could learn from each other to benefit both sets of patients.1 Since then, a new...

Tail Docking of Canine Puppies: Reassessment of the Tail's Role in Communication, the Acute Pain Caused by Docking and Interpretation of Behavioural Responses

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): David J Mellor

Laws, regulations and professional standards increasingly aim to ban or restrict non-therapeutic tail docking in canine puppies. These constraints have usually been justified by reference to loss of tail participation in communication between dogs, the acute pain presumed to be caused during...

My Dog Is Not My Cat: Owner Perception of the Personalities of Dogs and Cats Living in the Same Household

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Laura Menchetti, Silvia Calipari, Gabriella Guelfi, Alice Catanzaro, Silvana Diverio

This study aims to define the personality traits perceived by the owners of multiple pets and to evaluate how they are modulated by experiential-environmental factors. A questionnaire was administered to 1270 owners of multiple pets (dogs and cats) to collect data on the demographics,...

International Animal Protection Society Leadership: The Right People for the Right Issues

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Michelle Sinclair, Clive J.C. Phillips

As the increasing body of scientific information about the experiences of other species and their ability to suffer becomes available to those working within the field of animal welfare, the amount of potential issues to address also increases. Carefully choosing issues to address, and indeed...

Post-Adoption Problem Behaviours in Adolescent and Adult Dogs Rehomed through a New Zealand Animal Shelter

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): M. Carolyn Gates, Sarah Zito, Julia Thomas, Arnja Dale

Problem behaviours in dogs rehomed through animal shelters can jeopardise the long-term success of adoptions if not correctly managed. Data from 61 adolescent and adult dog adoptions that occurred through an animal shelter in Auckland, New Zealand, was analysed to identify the most common...

Human Demonstration Does Not Facilitate the Performance of Horses (Equus caballus) in a Spatial Problem-Solving Task

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Joan-Bryce Burla, Janina Siegwart, Christian Nawroth

Horses were confronted with a spatial problem-solving task in which they had to detour an obstacle. Individuals that observed a human demonstrating how to solve the task did not solve the task more often or faster compared with a control group without demonstration. However, horses of both the...

The Sheltering of Unwanted Cattle, Experiences in India and Implications for Cattle Industries Elsewhere

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Uttara Kennedy, Arvind Sharma, Clive J.C. Phillips

Reverence for the cow has been a centerpiece of Hindu culture, the roots of which can be traced back to the Indus Valley Civilization around 3000 BCE. Historical and anthropological literature demonstrates how over the millennia the animal’s status as a religious symbol steadily increased...

Dog and Cat Interactions in a Remote Aboriginal Community

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Brooke Kennedy, Wendy Y. Brown, Karl Vernes, Gerhard Kortner, James R.A. Butler

This study examined dog and cat demographics, roaming behaviours, and interspecific interactions in a remote Aboriginal island community using multiple methods. Our results revealed temporal differences between the roaming behaviours of dogs, cats, and wildlife. Dogs showed crepuscular...

Dog Population & Dog Sheltering Trends in the United States of America

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Andrew Rowan, Tamara Kartal

The pet overpopulation problem in the United States has changed significantly since the 1970s. The purpose of this review is to document these changes and propose factors that have been and are currently driving the dog population dynamics in the US. In the 1960s, about one quarter of the dog...

Should the Endangered Status of the Giant Panda Really Be Reduced? The Case of Giant Panda Conservation in Sichuan, China

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Ben Ma, Shuo Lei, Qin Qing, Yali Wen

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reduced the threat status of the giant panda from “endangered” to “vulnerable” in September 2016. In this study, we analyzed current practices for giant panda conservation at regional and local environmental...

Assessment of a Targeted Trap-Neuter-Return Pilot Study in Auckland, New Zealand

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Sarah Zito, Glenn Aguilar, Shalsee Vigeant, Arnja Dale

There is a need for effective and humane management tools to manage urban stray cats and minimise negative impacts associated with stray cats. One such tool is targeted trap-neuter-return (TTNR), but no concerted implementation of this technique or formal assessments have been reported. To...

Application of a Protocol Based on Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) to Manage Unowned Urban Cats on an Australian University Campus

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Helen Swarbrick, Jacquie Rand

In Australia, management of the unowned urban cat population is a continuing challenge. This is because the numbers of cats culled in trap-and-kill programs are inadequate to balance the breeding rate of the remaining cats, and also because of immigration of sexually active cats from...

Dog Theft: A Case for Tougher Sentencing Legislation

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Lauren K. Harris

The Sentencing Council (England and Wales) currently considers dogs to be “property”. This means that if someone steals a dog, they may be punished in the same way as someone who steals a non-living object, like a mobile phone or a piece of furniture. This review argues that losing...

Factors Associated with High Live Release for Dogs at a Large, Open-Admission, Municipal Shelter

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Gary J. Patronek, Abbi Crowe

Better understanding of factors contributing to live release (rehoming) may help shelters improve outcomes. In this study, data were analyzed for all dogs (n = 21,409) admitted over a two-year period for the primary purpose of rehoming at a high-volume, open-intake municipal shelter performing...

Did Harvey Learn from Katrina? Initial Observations of the Response to Companion Animals during Hurricane Harvey

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Steve Glassey

The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 became the genesis of animal emergency management and created significant reforms in the US particularly the passage of the Pets Emergency and Transportation Standards Act in 2006 that required state and local emergency management arrangements to be...

The Impact of an Integrated Program of Return-to-Field and Targeted Trap-Neuter-Return on Feline Intake and Euthanasia at a Municipal Animal Shelter

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Daniel D Spehar, Peter J Wolf

Available evidence indicates that overall levels of feline intake and euthanasia at U.S. shelters have significantly declined in recent decades. Nevertheless, millions of cats, many of them free-roaming, continue to be admitted to shelters each year. In some locations, as many as 70% of cats,...

Does Flooring Substrate Impact Kennel and Dog Cleanliness in Commercial Breeding Facilities?

Journal Articles | Contributor(s): Katie Osborn, Judith Stella, Moriah Hurt, Amy Bauer, Paulo Gomes, Audrey Ruple, Alan Beck, Candace Croney

Evaluation of kennel flooring surfaces is needed to understand their impacts on dog health and well-being. This pilot study aimed to characterize aspects of physical health, kennel cleanliness, and dog body cleanliness on flooring types common in US breeding kennels. Subjects were 118 adult...