To assess the welfare of red deer (Cervus elaphus) confined at pasture or in indoor housing over winter, behaviour, productivity, skin damage and adrenal response to ACTH challenge were measured in six groups of eight weaner hinds over 91 days from June to September 1990 in Otago, New Zealand. The hinds were confined either indoors (I), indoors with daily exercise (IE), or outdoors (O); (n - 2 groups to each treatment). All groups were fed concentrate ad libitum plus 100g lucerne head−1 day−1.

Indoor confinement was associated with a greater incidence of nosing/chewing other hinds, aggression, chewing of the enclosure, and closer distances between individuals, compared with outdoor confinement (P < 0.05). Ad libitum provision of hay over a 2-week period reduced the incidence of chewing of indoor enclosures (P <0.01). Weight gain was greater for indoor groups than outdoor groups in August and September (P <0.05) and overall weight gains for indoor groups (from two weeks into the study, until the end) were higher for the exercise treatment (P <0.05). Intake of concentrates did not differ significantly between treatments. Skin damage was greater for indoor than outdoor groups (P <0.05), and positively related to weight gain (P <0.01) and receiving aggression (P <0.01), which in turn was negatively related to liveweight (P < 0.001). A negative relationship was found between pre-challenge levels of plasma Cortisol and the number of aggressive interactions received (P < 0.05). Pre-challenge Cortisol was greater for IE than I (P < 0.05), and the increase in Cortisol post-challenge was greater for outdoor groups than indoor groups (P <0.01). Conclusions were that indoor confinement had a positive effect on weight gain, but increased aggression and skin damage, indicating that the deer were compromised socially. Provision of ample forage reduced chewing of the walls. The slightly greater weight gain in IE compared with I deserves further investigation.

Despite an auspicious start from which lasting theories were generated (eg critical periods hypothesis, Scott & Marston 1950), and despite recent modern technology enabling biological investigations of sensory development (eg EEG, fMRI), in the last fifty years little attention has been devoted to the development of puppies’ (Canis lupus f. familiaris) sensory abilities. Attention to puppies’ sensory development is needed for both theoretical and applied purposes, because understanding puppies’ early experiences depends on understanding their perceptual world. This paper reviews the chronology of sensory development in puppies, looking at each sense individually. It then examines the relationships among phases of sensory and neural development and the critical periods proposed by Scott and Marston (1950). With improved knowledge and awareness of canine sensory development, researchers and other practitioners that work with puppies can better assess and improve puppies’ welfare. Therefore, this review should be of interest not only to researchers, but should also be of use to others that interact with dogs (eg shelter workers, dog breeders). By knowing what puppies are able to see, practitioners can visually enrich puppies’ environments. By knowing what puppies are able to taste and smell, practitioners can better predict the preference-related impact of introducing dietary variation to puppies. Knowing when puppies are first, and best, able to hear, see, and otherwise sense people and other animals, practitioners can design and customise programmes of socialisation and systematic exposure of young puppies.

Delousing treatment for salmon sea lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) is considered a significant welfare concern in farming of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), where both industry and legislative bodies prompt for better methods. Currently, the most common method is thermal delousing, where fish are crowded, pumped into a vessel and exposed to ~28-34°C for ~30 s. Physical collisions occurring as a result of a loss of behavioural control lead to acute stress. Crowding triggers vigorous escape behaviour as salmon respond not only to treatment but also to being channeled to and from the treatment zone. A sequence of events considered to cause mortality and poor welfare. The present case study was motivated by an urgent need for delousing in groups of small salmon post-smolts in experimental research. For this purpose, a simple, small-scale system for thermal delousing was constructed, including anaesthesia to alleviate behavioural responses. The anaesthetised fish showed little behavioural response to thermal treatment, strong appetite within hours, and negligible mortality. The described method is regarded as a welfare-friendly alternative to industrial delousing in smaller fish groups, for example, in experimental research. We would encourage detailed research aimed towards gaining a deeper understanding of the welfare effects of anaesthesia prior to treatment for delousing.

The basic tenet of the Australian Code of Practice for the Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes (the Code) is that there is an ethical imperative in our decisions as to if and how animals are used in these circumstances. The Code provides a framework for ethical review which incorporates a set of guiding principles and establishes institutional Animal Ethics Committees with responsibilities for oversight of these activities; the nexus between animal welfare and scientific outcomes and the recognition that such ethical decisions are not matters for the scientific community alone but must involve the wider community are notions central to the effective implementation of the Code. The Code identifies the responsibilities of the parties involved such that arrangements within which individuals exercise their responsibilities are clarified and processes for accountability are transparent. First published in 1969 as an initiative of the scientific community under the auspices of the National Health and Medical Research Council, the seventh edition of the Code was published in 2004. The Code is a living document with changing community views and scientific developments reflected in each revision. The time course of the development of the Code provides a background to examine the way in which policies governing the use of animals for scientific purposes have evolved in Australia. This paper will provide an overview of these developments and discuss the influences which have shaped the key elements of this approach.

There is a trend toward increasing intensification in dairy farming in the United Kingdom. In particular, there is concern over systems in which cows are housed throughout the year, as the behavioural restriction implicit in these systems is associated with poor welfare in other species. The aim of this on-going project is to determine how this affects the behaviour and welfare of dairy cattle. A range of behavioural, physical and health measures are being used to assess cow welfare on about 40 commercial British dairy farms. Initially, five farm types were identified from analysis of returns from a farmer questionnaire. Milk production level and housing type were the principal factors explaining variation in farm type. The sample groups are: high-, mid- and low-production cubicle-housing units, mid-production straw-court units, and cubicle-housing high-production zero-grazing units. Observations will take place over three winter housing periods (2000/01 to 2002/03), with recording on each unit taking five days. Our main hypothesis is that the behavioural and physical responses of ‘at-risk’ younger cows provide a sensitive indication of farm-level ‘stress’. Cows are marked according to age, and the feed-face videotaped continuously to record feeding time and social interactions. Temporal organisation of behaviour will be analysed using fractal mathematics and qualitative assessment approaches used in a human interaction test. Cow cleanliness, condition score, response to a novel object and the incidences of lameness and leg injury are recorded, and building quality is assessed. Ultimately, multivariate methods will be used to test our underlying hypothesis and to assess effects of housing and production type on behaviour and welfare. This analysis may identify key objective measures of welfare for use in farm assurance schemes.

Use of a privacy panel in the home cage of female pair-housed rhesus monkeys has been reported to increase time spent in close proximity and time spent in affiliative behaviours. In the current study we measured these behaviours in more diverse populations; including male-male and male-female pairs of monkeys actively participating in cognitive experiments. We observed twenty-five pairs of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) both with and without the presence of a privacy divider. Monkeys spent significantly more time in the same half of the pair-cage when the divider was in place. A significant increase in affiliative behaviour was not observed. The effects of privacy dividers previously reported for female monkeys partially extend to male pairs and mixed sex pairs under conditions typical of an active research setting.

A survey was performed in the Spring of 1995 to map postgraduate education world-wide in animal welfare and ethics. Twenty-one universities in ten countries on three continents were identified, that either offered, or had definite plans to start, postgraduate courses relating to animal welfare and/or ethics. Of these universities nine were European, one Australian, one New Zealand, one Canadian and nine were American. In Australia, Canada and the United States courses are given during a semester or quarter of a semester, while in Europe short but concentrated courses or seminars are more common, with several of them aimed at practising veterinarians rather than at postgraduate students. Interest in the subject of animal welfare and ethics seems to be increasing. Many of the existing courses were started during recent years, and two of the most comprehensive programmes offered were started in 1995. Also, four chairs in animal welfare were recently established or were advertised in Europe at the time of this survey. One chair had been established in 1994, in New Zealand, one was to be advertised in the United States and one in Canada. Another trend is towards the establishment of ‘centres’ for the study of animal welfare issues. Associated with these new chairs and centres, educational programmes will probably be started. Few of the present courses focus mainly on farm animal issues, instead they cover a large spectrum of the human-animal relationship. Ethics is a minor part of the courses as compared to the science and animal welfare components.

This study examined electroencephalographic (EEG) indices of acute nociception in pigs (Sus scrofa) aged 1, 5, 7, 10, 12 and 15 days, post-natal. Ten pigs per age were anaesthetised with halothane in oxygen and maintained at a light plane of anaesthesia. EEG was recorded bilaterally using a five-electrode montage. Following a 10-min baseline period, tails were docked using side-cutter pliers and recording continued for a further 5 min. Changes in the median frequency (F50), 95% spectral edge frequency (F95) and total power (PTOT) of the EEG were used to assess nociception. Tail-docking at one day of age induced no significant changes in the EEG spectrum. A typical nociceptive response, characterised by an increase in F50 and decrease in PTOT was evident at ten days of age, with five and seven day old pigs exhibiting responses in either F50 or PTOT only. Pooling of data into ≤ 7 days of age and > 7 days of age revealed F50 was higher overall in the older group. Whilst PTOT decreased after docking in both groups, this response was larger and more prolonged in the older group. F95 increased after docking in the older pigs only. Overall, these data provide evidence of an increase in cortical responsiveness to noxious stimulation with increasing post-natal age, suggesting there may be qualitative differences in pain perception between age groups. Further, the data provide some support for current recommendations that tail-docking and other painful husbandry procedures be performed within seven days of birth in order to minimise their impact on animal welfare.

Pigs were selected at random from three lines (homozygous halothane positive, homozygous negative, and the heterozygotes). They were housed for four weeks within standardized environmental conditions with six pigs per pen corresponding to each of the three lines with two treatment combinations (6×3×2). Half of the pigs were allocated to routine care without humans entering the pen, while the other ones received an increased human contact treatment; animal-man interaction times were recorded. Before and after the four-week experimental period, pigs were housed individually for one day. A blood sample was taken for beta-endorphin analysis and heart rate was measured. The final heart rate measurements were continued during a transport of two hours. With respect to animal-man interaction times no clear treatment effect was observed. Increased human contact lowered the plasma beta-endorphin content to a greater extent as a function of time, while heart rate also became lower. The latter may result in an improved heart function during handling and transport. Differences with regard to the halothane gene were observed during housing conditions, but not during transport.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of chamber stocking rate on facets of animal welfare and efficacy during euthanasia of weaned pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus) with argon gas. Two hundred and thirty-three weaned pigs designated for euthanasia at a commercial production farm were randomly assigned to group sizes of one, two, or six pigs. Gas euthanasia of each piglet group was performed in a Euthanex® AgPro chamber. The chamber was filled with argon gas for 6 min in order to reduce the oxygen concentration to less than 2%. Pigs were then placed into the pre-filled chamber and gas flow was continued at a high rate to displace introduced air and re-establish a fatally low residual oxygen concentration. Pigs remained in the chamber for 10 min and were then removed to test for signs of sensibility and life. There was no significant evidence of an effect of stocking rate on focal pig latencies to onset of neuromuscular excitation or last movement, as scored from video recordings. Solitary pigs were more likely to pace and make righting attempts in the chamber than paired or grouped focal pigs, although pigs in higher stocking rate treatments tended to retain posture longer. The results of this study do not support seclusion during argon gas euthanasia as a method of improving animal welfare. The portable chamber did not facilitate a truly pre-filled atmosphere for euthanasia, although the procedure used in this study was consistently effective.

Temporary crating is considered as a step towards improved welfare in lactating sows. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate effects of confinement period (CP) and farrowing pen-type (PT) on health-related measures. Four hundred and thirteen sows were kept in five PT with four CP each: CP 0-sows were not confined; CP 3-sows were crated postpartum for three days; CP 4- and CP 6-sows were crated from a day prior to expected farrowing until day 4 and 6 postpartum, respectively. Alterations in different body regions were recorded when sows were moved to the pens and in weeks 1, 3 and 4 postpartum. CP 6-sows displayed significantly more lesions on their back than CP 0- and CP 3-sows. Odds ratios of teat lesions were markedly higher in CP 4-sows than in all other CP. Pen-type P (Pro Dromi) resulted in more neck/back/body side injuries, claw horn changes and lame sows compared to all other PT. High odds ratios were also found for neck injuries in PT K (Knick), shoulder sores in PT K and T (Trapez), injured teats in PT F (Flügel) and body side injuries in PT S (SWAP). The types of lesions found in the present study are similar to those reported for crates caused by pen structures. While an overall assessment of pig (Sus scrofa domesticus) production husbandry systems must also take piglet welfare into account, this study showed that keeping confinement periods as short as possible improves sow welfare and systems should be adapted to also cater for the needs of sows.

In Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, the number of pets and pet owners has been increasing in recent years. The experiences people have with pets might impact their relationships with animals in general and especially attitudes towards animal protection and use. However, research on the impact of pet ownership on values and attitudes towards animals is relatively scarce. We analyse associations of pet ownership with different values and attitudes towards animals. We derived seven attitude constructs towards animals from three different datasets using Principal Component Analyses. Data were collected using standardised online surveys with German residents (dataset 1 = 1,049 respondents; dataset 2 = 414 respondents; dataset 3 = 1,048 respondents). All three samples are non-probability quota samples. The seven attitudinal constructs represent values and attitudes towards animals ranging from general values and attitudes towards, eg animal protection, to more specific attitudes towards, eg eating animals. We analysed the relationship of pet ownership, sex, and age with these constructs using ANOVA. Our results show that effect sizes are small to medium. Pet ownership has the strongest association with more general values and attitudes towards animals, with pet owners being, eg more involved in animal protection and more in favour of awarding fundamental rights to animals. In contrast, we found that more specific attitudes, such as the evaluation of current pig farming systems or attitudes towards eating meat, were more related to sex than pet ownership. Our findings indicate that having pets relates to their owners’ attitudes towards animals, but that this association varies depending on the specificity of attitudes.

Much of my research has been devoted to determining the cognitive and communicative abilities of Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus), but other companion animals and those in captivity in Zoos also have considerable capacities that are often under-utilised in such settings. Many such animals are left to their own devices for large parts of the day; their boredom may translate into unsuitable behaviour patterns. In order to address this problem, my colleagues and I began to devise various computer-based ‘toys’ that would not only provide enrichment in the sense of relieving boredom and reproducing situations somewhat like the challenges faced by animals in the wild on a daily basis, but also would help us determine the extent of these animals’ cognitive capacities. Some of these systems allow remote interactions between owners and their pets and others might be adapted for animal-animal interactions. In this paper I will describe these projects, their aims, and our limited progress.

Digital Livestock Technologies (DLTs) can assist farmer decision-making and promise benefits to animal health and welfare. However, the extent to which they can help improve animal welfare is unclear. This study explores how DLTs may impact farm management and animal welfare by promoting learning, using the concept of boundary objects. Boundary objects may be interpreted differently by different social worlds but are robust enough to share a common identity across them. They facilitate communication around a common issue, allowing stakeholders to collaborate and co-learn. The type of learning generated may impact management and welfare differently. For example, it may help improve existing strategies (single-loop learning), or initiate reflection on how these strategies were framed initially (double-loop learning). This study focuses on two case studies, during which two DLTs were developed and tested on farms. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with stakeholders involved in the case studies (n = 31), and the results of a separate survey were used to complement our findings. Findings support the important potential of DLTs to help enhance animal welfare, although the impacts vary between technologies. In both case studies, DLTs facilitated discussions between stakeholders, and whilst both promoted improved management strategies, one also promoted deeper reflection on the importance of animal emotional well-being and on providing opportunities for positive animal welfare. If DLTs are to make significant improvements to animal welfare, greater priority should be given to DLTs that promote a greater understanding of the dimensions of animal welfare and a reframing of values and beliefs with respect to the importance of animals’ well-being.

This study evaluates the methods utilised to release and monitor three troops of rehabilitated vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops) in South Africa. In all cases, monitoring was poor and conducted over a short time-frame disallowing release outcomes to be fully assessed. Wild troops were present at two of the three locations, casting doubt upon sightings of released monkeys and indicating that the release sites chosen were unsuitable and presented disease risks to the wild vervets. Eighty-three percent of monkeys were unaccounted for at the end of monitoring. Any future releases should make use of radio or GPS collars to track the monkeys, have a planned monitoring schedule covering a period of at least one year, collect detailed data on behaviour, demographics and ecology and should follow the IUCN Guidelines for Non-Human Primate Re-introductions.

Although the number of rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) produced in Europe is important, they are under-represented in welfare research. Studies on the effects of housing conditions have focused on performance and mortality. We conducted a meta-analysis to further understand the impact of the housing environment on growing rabbits. Whilst providing a robust quantifiable review, meta-analyses are restricted to existing literature. We included information on behaviour, mortality and performance. Twenty-seven peer-reviewed and conference publications, with a total of 99 experimental treatments, were used. We collected information about rabbit age, bodyweight, sex and breed; allometric space allowance, pen height, group size, environmental temperature, floor type, substrate and enrichment use, lighting, diet and medicated feed. Predictive equations for each response variable were calculated using multiple regression models. Higher space allowance was found to increase locomotor and social activity, and to reduce resting and comfort behaviour. Restricted pen height increased ingestive behaviour; comfort behaviours decreased as space allowance increased, although these might have been confounded with self-directed behaviours in literature. Mortality remained stable at varying space allowances, but increased with larger group sizes and enrichment objects. Growth rate, feed intake and feed conversion were reduced with higher space allowances and larger group sizes, and by provision of substrate and enrichment objects. Findings suggest that higher space allowance and unrestricted pen height are beneficial for rabbit behaviour, but might have undesired consequences if considered independent from other aspects. The challenge of promoting welfare in commercial conditions was highlighted, as a number of parameters which improved behavioural expression reduced performance. In certain cases welfare inputs complemented performance, including providing non-medicated feed and higher space allowance in cooler climates. Although our results should be interpreted with caution given the limitations of the included variables, they are expected to contribute to the improvement of current and new rabbit housing systems to optimise welfare.

Defining perception, awareness, consciousness and reflexive or self-reflexive consciousness is difficult. I will not linger on definitions of fuzzy concepts but will attempt to put forward evidence for the rationale that awareness is likely to emerge as a consequence of how the brain processes information. Efficiency in information processing has resulted in a limited number of preferential (motivational) states of the brain and, in fact, of the whole organism. In addition, animals have the ability to internally represent external conditions and, through interactions with the motivational state, generate expectations.

It is argued that optimal decision-making requires that possible sequences of behaviours each activate their associated neuronal networks representing cue- and context-related information. Prior to the initiation of an action, the consequences of each possible scenario are estimated. An efficient animal must have the ability to anticipate, weight and choose. This weighting occurs at a hierarchically higher level and results in signals which possess a coordinative function in activating the appropriate motivational state, response selection, activation of associated networks and maintenance of attention.

Higher cognitive executive centres perceive and recognize such signals and integrate ongoing behaviour with internal representations about the past and expectations within the context of the signal induced state. Humans experience these simultaneously-occurring processes as awareness. The nature of the subjective experience may vary from an emotional state to reflexive consciousness depending on the cognitive abilities of the species and the stage of development and the level of arousal in the individual.

Skin lesions of pigs can be used as an indicator of their ability to adapt to the social and physical environment. A total of 315 weaner pigs were assigned to one of three treatments: groups of nine piglets from one litter (9s), mixed groups of nine piglets from three litters (9m) or mixed groups of 36 piglets from four litters (36m). The ear, neck/shoulder, rump, back, hindquarter, tail and belly of piglets were inspected for scratches, abrasions and signs of inflammation on days 0, 5 and 28 post mixing. Due to the large number of body regions, different types of injuries and data from three inspections, the results of explorative data analysis were very heterogeneous. Data preparation focusing on scratches and combination of corresponding regions using factor analysis resulted in a data set which was useful for further statistical procedure. Factor analysis identified corpus, ear and tail as factors. Using the Wilcoxon test different inspections within a treatment were compared. Differences between treatments were analysed using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests. Mixed groups (9m, 36m) showed an increase of ‘many scratches’ on ear and corpus from day 0 to day 5 and a decrease on ear from day 5 to day 28. ‘Many scratches’ on corpus were more frequent in mixed groups than in single litter groups. This study suggests that skin lesion score can be used to analyse treatment effects on the aggression of pigs. However, it has to be focused on a precise hypothesis and should be based on behavioural observations.

Farmed juvenile blue foxes were housed either singly, in pairs, or in quartets at a stocking density of either 0.6 m2 or 1.2 m2 per animal. The effects of group size and space allocation on physiological, behavioural and production-related parameters were assessed. The results showed that the larger space allocation, although having only minor effects on the measured parameters, allowed the foxes to maintain their individual space even in the larger group sizes. Social tension within the groups affected the behavioural and production-related parameters to a greater extent than did space allocation. The sex-related dominance order, with males having easier access to feed than females, and females having more bite scars and higher serum cortisol levels than males, appears to be the major factor affecting the general performance of mixed-sex group-housed farmed blue foxes. These results suggest that group housing of farmed juvenile blue foxes could be considered as an alternative, socially enriched way of housing these animals.

When introducing environmental enrichment in laboratory animals, positive and/or negative effects on behavioural and physiological parameters should be evaluated. This three-step randomised controlled trial in male C57BL/6 mice investigated the effect of supplementing the environment with one or more hemp ropes. In part 1, the effect of a hemp rope on aggressive and social behaviour, stress and anxiety levels was assessed by social interaction test, elevated plus maze behaviour, and faecal corticosterone metabolites, respectively (n = 224 mice). In part 2, the effect of 1, 2 or 7 hemp ropes on aggressive behaviour in mice subjected to routine handling was evaluated by assessing the number of wounded companion animals and wounds per animal (n = 224). In part 3, climbing activity in the rope and amount of material shredded from the rope was assessed (n = 56). Mice housed with one hemp rope engaged in social behaviour for longer time than mice housed without a hemp rope, while no difference was detected in stress and anxiety levels. No difference was seen in the number of wounded animals or wounds per animal when adding 1, 2 or 7 hemp ropes to the existing environment in mice undergoing minimal human handling. The mice continuously shredded and climbed the rope, even when provided with a new rope, although time spent climbing decreased slightly over time. Thus, a hemp rope can be used as additional environmental enrichment amongst male C57BL/6 mice.