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Evaluating the Reliability of Non-Specialist Observers in the Behavioural Assessment of Semi-Captive Asian Elephant Welfare
| Contributor(s):: Jonathan L. Webb, Jennie A. H. Crawley, Martin W. Seltmann, Océane Liehrmann, Nicola Hemmings, U Kyaw Nyein, Htoo Htoo Aung, Win Htut, Virpi Lummaa, Mirkka Lahdenperä
Recognising stress is an important component in maintaining the welfare of captive animal populations, and behavioural observation provides a rapid and non-invasive method to do this. Despite substantial testing in zoo elephants, there has been relatively little interest in the application of...
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Returning a Shelter Dog: The Role of Owner Expectations and Dog Behavior
| Contributor(s):: Powell, Lauren, Lee, Brittany, Reinhard, Chelsea L., Morris, Margaret, Satriale, Donya, Serpell, James, Watson, Brittany
Millions of animals are adopted from animal shelters in the United States each year, although some are returned post-adoption, which can decrease both the animals’ chances of future adoptions and the owners’ willingness to adopt again. In this study, we investigated the impact of...
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Randomized, placebo-controlled prospective clinical trial evaluating the efficacy of the Assisi anti-anxiety device (calmer canine) for the treatment of canine separation anxiety
| Contributor(s):: Pankratz, K., Korman, J., Emke, C., Johnson, B., Griffith, E. H., Gruen, M. E.
Introduction: Separation anxiety (SA) is among the most common canine behavior disorders and affects quality-of-life for dogs and their owners. Dogs with SA show signs of anxiety during absence or perceived absence of their owners. While psychoactive medications are often helpful for...
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Attachment towards the Owner Is Associated with Spontaneous Sleep EEG Parameters in Family Dogs
| Contributor(s):: Carreiro, Cecília, Reicher, Vivien, Kis, Anna, Gácsi, Márta
Affective neuroscience studies have demonstrated the impact of social interactions on sleep quality. In humans, trait-like social behaviors, such as attachment, are related to sleep brain activity patterns. Our aim was to investigate associations between companion dogs’ spontaneous brain...
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Effects of physical enrichment and pair housing before weaning on growth, behaviour and cognitive ability of calves after weaning and regrouping
| Contributor(s):: Zhang, Chenyu, Juniper, Darren T., Meagher, Rebecca K.
Housing unweaned calves individually in barren environments negatively affects their growth, cognitive ability, and adaptability to environmental changes in later life. Social housing has been shown to improve those aspects, whereas physical environmental enrichment has rarely been studied in...
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Evaluation of the time-activity budgets of captive ducks (Anatidae) compared to wild counterparts
| Contributor(s):: Rose, Paul, Roper, Amelia, Banks, Sophie, Giorgio, Chris, Timms, Milla, Vaughan, Phoebe, Hatch, Steven, Halpin, Samantha, Thomas, Joe, O’Brien, Michelle
Ducks are commonly housed in captive environments where their abilities for flight are constrained, either temporarily or permanently. The use of flight restraint in modern animal management is contentious and ethically questioned yet any associated impacts on behaviour remain poorly documented...
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Limitations and challenges of adapting subjective keeper questionnaires to non-Western sanctuary settings
| Contributor(s):: Robinson, Lauren M., Crudge, Brian, Lim, Thona, Roth, Vichet, Gartner, Marieke, Naden, Kristina, Officer, Kirsty, Descovich, Kris
In the past decade, there has been substantial growth in the number of animal personality studies published, however relatively little work has been conducted on different species of bears. Personality structure can provide insight into individual differences in behavioural responses, and in the...
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Classifying the posture and activity of ewes and lambs using accelerometers and machine learning on a commercial flock
| Contributor(s):: Price, Emily, Langford, Joss, Fawcett, Tim W., Wilson, Alastair J., Croft, Darren P.
Early decision making in commercial livestock systems is key to maximising animal welfare and production. Detailed information on an animal’s phenotype is needed to facilitate this, but can be difficult to obtain in a commercial setting. Research into the use of bio-logging on sheep to...
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GPS monitoring reveals circadian rhythmicity in free-grazing sheep
| Contributor(s):: Plaza, Javier, Palacios, Carlos, Abecia, José Alfonso, Nieto, Jaime, Sánchez-García, Mario, Sánchez, Nilda
GPS collars are a technology that is used extensively to monitor livestock due to its versatility. In this study, the main objective was to confirm whether they can detect the circadian rhythmicity that modulates the behavior of free-grazing sheep. The Churra-breed flock that was monitored grazed...
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Induced Stress and Tactile Stimulation Applied to Primiparous does and their Consequences on Maternal Behavior, Human-Animal Relationships, and Future Offspring's Sexual Disorders
| Contributor(s):: Oliveira, A. C. F., Bernardi, L. M., Monteiro, A. L. B., Silva, K. G., Weber, S. H., Borges, T. D., Dalmau, A., Costa, L. B.
The aim of this study was to investigate whether tactile stimulation in rabbits during the gestation phase improve the maternal behavior and human-animal relationships as well as the effects on reproductive behavior of male kits when reached maturity compared to induced stress. A total of 33...
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Predictors for plumage damage and bloody lesions indicative of feather pecking in pullets reared in aviaries
| Contributor(s):: Mels, Caroline, Niebuhr, Knut, Futschik, Andreas, Rault, Jean-Loup, Waiblinger, Susanne
Feather pecking remains a serious problem in poultry farming. This study aimed to identify risk factors for plumage damage as a proxy for feather pecking, and the predictive value of practical animal-based parameters. Data were collected in 100 flocks on 28 rearing farms in Austria, recording...
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Furred and feathered friends: how attached are zookeepers to the animals in their care?
| Contributor(s):: Melfi, V., Skyner, L., Birke, L., Ward, S. J., Shaw, W. S., Hosey, G.
Keeper-animal relationships (KARs) appear to be important in zoos, since they can enhance the well-being of both the animals and the keepers, can make animal husbandry easier, but conversely might risk inappropriate habituation of animals and possible risks to the safety of keepers. It is,...
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Veterinary history and the development of human relationships with animals
| Contributor(s):: Jones, G. C.
2022Veterinary Record190284-840042-490010.1002/vetr.1420English0WileyChichester, UKtext
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Dog behaviours in veterinary consultations: part II. The relationship between the behaviours of dogs and their owners
| Contributor(s):: Helsly, M., Priymenko, N., Girault, C., Duranton, C., Gaunet, F.
Dogs synchronise their behaviour with those of their owners when confronted with an unfamiliar situation and interactions with their owners have been shown to decrease the dog's stress levels in some instances. However, whether owners may help manage dog anxiety during veterinary consultations...
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Alone but not always lonely: Social cues alleviate isolation induced behavioural stress in wild zebrafish
| Contributor(s):: Daniel, Danita K., Bhat, Anuradha
Social isolation has been routinely used for experimental studies on many animal model systems. Additionally, considering the recent increase in the prevalence of isolation in the human population, it has become even more imperative to understand social isolation and measures that might alleviate...
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Effects of farrowing hut design on maternal and thermoregulatory behaviour in outdoor housed sows and piglets
| Contributor(s):: Conrad, Lydia, Aubé, Lydiane, Heuchan, Emma, Conte, Sabine, Bergeron, Renée, Devillers, Nicolas
This study aimed to determine the effect of three different farrowing huts on the behaviour of outdoor housed sows and piglets during summer in Eastern Canada, with a focus on thermoregulatory and crushing behaviours. Forty-two second parity sows were housed outdoors in groups of three during...
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Tracking performance in poultry is affected by data cleaning method and housing system
| Contributor(s):: Candelotto, Laura, Grethen, Klara J., Montalcini, Camille M., Toscano, Michael J., Gómez, Yamenah
Sensor-based behavioural observation methods improve our understanding of individual behaviour and welfare in large commercial groups, including poultry. Validating automatically generated data is essential to account for potential sources of error. Our study aimed to validate a sensor-based...
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To wallow or nurse: Sows housed outdoors have distinctive approaches to thermoregulation in gestation and lactation
| Contributor(s):: Baert, Sarah, Aubé, Lydiane, Haley, Derek B., Bergeron, Renée, Devillers, Nicolas
The objective of this study was to determine which behaviours may be important for thermoregulation when gestating and lactating sows are housed outdoors in Québec, Canada during the summer. We kept six groups of four Yorkshire-Landrace sows, from July to September 2018, in outdoor paddocks...
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Human–Animal Interactions with Bos taurus Cattle and Their Impacts on On-Farm Safety: A Systematic Review
| Contributor(s):: Titterington, Frances Margaret, Knox, Rachel, Buijs, Stephanie, Lowe, Denise Elizabeth, Morrison, Steven James, Lively, Francis Owen, Shirali, Masoud
Cattle production necessitates potentially dangerous human–animal interactions. Cattle are physically strong, large animals that can inflict injuries on humans accidentally or through aggressive behaviour. This study provides a systematic review of literature relating to farm management...
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Environmental Complexity: Additional Human Visual Contact Reduced Meat Chickens' Fear of Humans and Physical Items Altered Pecking Behavior
| Contributor(s):: Taylor, P. S., Hemsworth, P. H., Rault, J. L.
Increased environmental complexity can improve animal welfare, depending on the resources provided and use by the animal. We provided chickens either with physical items that posed no biosecurity risk and were inexpensive (balls, chains, perches and rope) (P; n = 36) or additional visual human...
