Brushtail possums, Trichosurus vulpecula, are New Zealand's most serious vertebrate pest, facilitating the spread of bovine tuberculosis to livestock, and causing severe damage to native flora and fauna. Possum control has become a national research priority, involving the use of large numbers of captive possums. Successful adaptation of these animals to captivity is important for the welfare of the possums and for the validity of experimental results. The objective of this study was to determine, by behavioural means, the time individually caged possums required for adaptation to captivity. We used a simple behavioural measure - a possum's daily response to a caregiver at feeding (a feeding test) - to assess changes in the behaviour of possums after arrival in captivity. We also recorded changes in possum body weight throughout this period. Initially most possums ‘avoided’ the caregiver, but within 7 days more than 80 per cent of animals no longer avoided. ‘In den’ and ‘approach’ behaviour rapidly increased for the first 14 days in captivity, after which den use became less common as more possums ‘approached’ the caregiver. By day 29 of captivity, more than 80 per cent of the possums ‘approached’ the caregiver. The possums’ body weight did not change significantly during the first 14 days in captivity, but had increased significantly by day 28, and continued to increase for at least 6 weeks after capture. These data suggest that most possums adapt to captivity within 4 weeks. For the welfare of possums and the reliability of experimental results, we recommend that possums are not used in experiments until at least 4 weeks after capture.

A comparison was made of the behaviour of budgerigars housed singly in commercially available cages obtained from a pet supplier, and budgerigars housed in a group of six in a small aviary. Budgerigars housed in the aviary consumed significantly more food and were more active, performing more wing stretching and flying. Caged budgerigars performed significantly more vocalizations. When tested individually, aviary birds were more active in a novel test chamber and were significantly more likely to approach an unfamiliar bird. Cage birds were generally reluctant to approach an unfamiliar bird, but showed an increasing tendency to approach when allowed a longer period of familiarization. Pet budgerigars are commonly housed in isolation from conspecifics, with little consideration of potential effects on welfare. The aim of this study was to provide some initial information about the effects of social isolation on the behaviour of budgerigars.

A survey was carried out to examine the attitudes of Turkish veterinarians towards animal welfare issues. The email questionnaire consisted of three sections of statements with a five-point Likert scale for choices of answer. The first section included statements examining the attitudes of Turkish veterinarians to animal welfare issues relating to European Union (EU) Legislation (93/119/EC, 95/29/EC, 2002/4EC and Council Regulation 1/2005). In the second, statements were designed to ascertain veterinarian attitudes towards the recently-passed Animal Protection Law, TR-5199. The statements in the last section were designed to assess the respondents' personal beliefs on a variety of welfare topics. The survey was sent to 615 veterinarians and the response rate was 40.2%. Turkish veterinarians expressed considerable support for the implications of animal welfare with the exception of statements regarding ‘stunning of ruminants pre-slaughter’, ‘phasing out of battery cages for poultry’ and ‘not operating on animals for aesthetic purposes’. In addition, they did not agree with the statements related to ‘ethological needs of farm animals’ and ‘effectiveness of EU laws and legislation in Turkey’. Females had higher mean values than males. The results of the survey indicated that significant concern for animal welfare issues is seen in the Turkish veterinarian population. Although the process of becoming a fully-integrated member of the EU will not occur rapidly, the influence of veterinarians could potentially enhance animal welfare in Turkey.

The aim of this study was to broaden the understanding of Finnish cattle and pig farmers’ perceptions of the on-site animal welfare inspections carried out by official authorities in livestock farms. The study was conducted using an electronic questionnaire, aimed at 500 Finnish cattle and 500 pig farmers. Responses were received from 96 cattle farmers and 105 pig farmers, of which 20 and 55, respectively, had undergone an animal welfare inspection. It was found that most of the farmers recognised the need for animal welfare inspections, but also that a more negative attitude was prevalent among farmers who had undergone these inspections. The inspection itself was a far more negative experience if the farmer had not understood the reason for the inspection, no opportunity existed to be heard, or the findings of the report were found to be unclear. The results suggest that although the farmers generally approve of inspections, their own negative experiences affect their perceptions. Moving forward, efforts should be made by inspectors to enhance the level of communication, thereby ensuring the findings of the report are clear to the farmer.

Captive chimpanzees fed at regular, predictable intervals are known to exhibit higher rates of aggression immediately prior to, and during feeding. Presumably, anticipation of food creates tensions leading to increased agonistic interactions prior to feeding. This study was conducted to determine if seasonal variabilities might contribute to pre-feeding agonism. A quantitative examination was made looking at events affected by seasonal (summer versus autumn) changes. Seasonal fruit diversity and the amount of available space during feeding bouts in socially housed, captive chimpanzees were tested for an effect on pre-feeding agonism. Groups were observed for a five-week period during both seasons. Each social group was observed five times per season for 30 minutes, beginning 30 minutes prior to the morning feeding. All occurrences of agonistic behaviours were recorded. Average frequencies of agonistic behaviours were calculated for each group and compared across season using a Wilcoxon matched-pairs test to determine the effect of seasonal fluctuations in fruit diversity. There were no significant differences in the number of agonistic behaviours exhibited during summer versus autumn seasons. A strong negative correlation was found for agonistic behaviours in both seasons: as space decreased, agonism increased in both summer and autumn. In addition, males scored significantly higher in the summer versus the autumn for submissive behaviours when space decreased. The provision of a variety of seasonal fruits did not result in increased pre-feeding agonism in captive chimpanzees. In fact, cage size had a greater effect on levels of agonism than did the provision of seasonal fruits.

Meat from low-volume farm animals such as farmed deer and wild boar is currently widely available to the consumer within the UK. Despite a rapid growth in production of these species there is a paucity of research that focuses on their welfare. This paper reviews the current literature and legislation relating to the transport and slaughter of farmed deer, wild boar, ostriches, buffalo and bison in order to identify priorities for future research. Research on low-volume farm animals has focused on red deer and their welfare is safeguarded with comprehensive legislation and guidelines. Studies have indicated the importance of appropriately designed facilities and sympathetic handling of red deer to ensure humane slaughter with minimal stress. However, the impact of transport and slaughter on the welfare of other deer species has not been recorded and this should be recognised. Much research has been conducted on the welfare of ostriches during transport and at slaughter. However, many of the results are discordant and research is required to clarify, in particular, posture during transport and stunning methods. Research on the welfare of wild boar, buffalo and bison is scarce. Best practice for both transport and slaughter of these species needs further research and clarification within legislation. For the low-volume species discussed in this review, priorities for further research include (1) appropriate methods of handling to minimise stress during transport and slaughter; (2) identification/clarification of appropriate slaughter methods and (3) training of transport and abattoir personnel in handling and slaughter methods.

It has been suggested that housing of laboratory primates in two-tiered racks adversely affects the psychological well-being of those primates housed on the lower row. Excessive darkness and its consequences are among the factors suggested to account for the supposed diminished well-being of lower-row inhabitants. Additionally, two-tiered housing has been suggested to introduce unacceptable variation into experimental designs, potentially necessitating additional subjects and/or invalidating results. Only recently have data been published to address these issues, but all studies have involved small numbers of subjects. In the present study, we compared the behaviour of 45 yearling rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) housed in upper-row cages with the behaviour of 48 yearling rhesus macaques housed in lower-row cages during a year of single housing. There were no significant differences across cage locations for time spent performing behaviours indicative of diminished psychological well-being (abnormal behaviour, inactivity, vocalisation, self-directed grooming) or for species-typical activities (feeding, playing). The difference in time spent exploring between macaques housed on the lower row and those housed on the upper row approached significance, with lower-row-housed animals spending more time exploring. Although lower-row cages are significantly darker than upper-row cages at our facility, the data from the present study demonstrate that the diminished lighting and other supposed disadvantages experienced by lower-row-housed monkeys have few behavioural consequences. Thus, there are now additional empirical data that suggest that lower-row-housed monkeys are not suffering in a “monkey cave”, and that the findings of research projects using two-tiered housing systems are unlikely to be compromised.

Understanding human-animal interactions in livestock production systems is crucial for improving animal welfare. It is therefore of general interest to investigate how livestock animals obtain information from humans. By using an object-choice paradigm, we investigated whether domestic pigs (Sus scrofa) (n = 4) were able to use a variety of human-given cues, such as different pointing gestures, to find a hidden food reward. In Experiment 1, an experimenter pointed towards a baited location in front of the pig while the extent of the protrusion of his hand from the upper body was varied. Pigs had problems using pointing gestures that did not protrude from the upper body of the experimenter, but were able to successfully use a long cross pointing administered with the contralateral hand of an experimenter to find a hidden reward. In Experiment 2, an experimenter indicated a baited location that was behind the pig using either a pointing gesture, his body or his head orientation. All four individuals used the pointing gesture and one pig was able to use the head orientation to find the hidden reward. The results provide additional evidence of pigs’ ability to use novel human-given cues as well as on the limits of their abilities, and will contribute to a better understanding of pigs’ perception of their stockpersons and handlers.

Cage space requirements for non-human primates in the United States of America are less than those in European countries. Studies in support of the assumption that the US legal minimum cage size provides adequate space have limited value because they only tested cages without structural enhancement. It is not surprising that non-human primates cannot be animated to be more active or to behave in more species-typical manners by only providing them with extra barren space. Explicitly stipulating that all cages have to be equipped with properly installed, elevated structures appropriate to each species and age category would make the US standards more adequate. Such structures would no longer restrict the caged primate to an unnatural, permanent terrestrial lifestyle but would allow the animal to make use of the arboreal, ‘safe’ dimension to which she/he is biologically adapted. Minimal height requirements will have to be upgraded in the US to accommodate these ethological considerations.

This paper describes the implementation and simultaneous promotion of an action plan designed to ensure animal welfare standards on-farm that exceed the requirements for acceptability in law. The approach is based on two action cycles, the producer and retailer cycles, The producer cycle, involving welfare audit and the implementation of an action plan for welfare has four stages: self-assessment; independent audit; creation of an action plan based on identification of principal hazards and critical control points; review; and revision of the action plan depending upon assessment of outcomes. The retailer cycle is designed to set quality standards for animal welfare, demonstrate compliance, promote proven high welfare products and reward producers. The paper reviews some incentives and constraints to action for both farmers and retailers and presents encouraging examples of the extent to which both producers and retailers have responded to increased public demand for high welfare products.

This study aimed to determine if tail-docking induces long-term hyperalgesia, chronic pain and histopathological changes in tail stumps of tail-docked lambs. Fifty male lambs of 45 days of age were randomly allocated in two groups. One group of 25 lambs was tail-docked using a hot cautery iron and a second group of 25 lambs was subjected only to handling as a control group (undocked lambs). Prior to tail-docking and at intervals of 15, 30, 60 and 90 days after the procedure, infra-red thermography (IT) and mechanical nociceptive thresholds (MNTs) tests were carried out in both lambs’ tails/stumps, and animals were weighed. In addition, the visual degree of inflammation of tail stumps was evaluated. Finally, animals were slaughtered in a commercial slaughterhouse and tail sections of ten lambs from each group were examined histopathologically. Tail-docking was associated with an inflammatory process according to IT and visual observation in tail stumps at 15 and 30 days post-docking. Tail-docked lambs had lower MNTs than undocked lambs at all evaluated times after tail-docking, indicating the presence of long-term hyperalgesia. Also, traumatic neuroma formation was found in tail stumps of 2/10 tail-docked lambs, and 6/10 presented neuromatous tissue development. It is concluded that tail-docking induces acute and chronic pain in lambs, initially through inflammation, and then via long-term hyperalgesia and traumatic neuroma formation. These long-term findings would have negative implications for the animal welfare of tail-docked lambs.

In this study, we sought to explain why dairy farmers give importance to various use and non-use values of animal welfare. In particular, we examined how the farmers could be segmented according to the relative importance they give to various use and non-use values in animal welfare and whether this segmentation could be explained by farmers’ personal values and personality traits. Based on a latent class analysis using best-worst scaling data on 123 Swedish dairy farmers, three segments of farmers were found: animalcentred, human-centred and business-orientated. These groups were related to measures of farmers’ personal values and personality traits in a point-biserial correlation and a hierarchal multinomial logistic regression analysis. The results suggest that the segmentation is related to personal values, but not to personality traits. This finding is important from a policy perspective, because the existence of different segments of farmers who are motivated by different values in animal welfare indicates a need to approach different farmers in different ways if policy is to succeed in improving animal welfare. It also indicates a possibility to influence the segments to improve animal welfare by measures that are sensitive to value dynamics of the farmers.

The aim of this study was to determine whether or not oestrus induction on the day of weaning would reduce the distress experienced by ewes upon separation from lambs. For this, 43 ewes, their eight week-old lambs and six mature rams were used. Prior to weaning, 21 of these ewes were induced to display oestrus on the day of mother-young separation (treated group [T]) while the remaining 22 untreated ewes served as controls (C). T and C ewes were housed together. Blood samples were collected on the day of weaning (prior to mother-young separation and 24 hours later) and then nine days later, for plasma progesterone (P4) and cortisol determination. Lambs were separated from their dams by a wire fence at weaning in full view of each other. Three rams were tethered to posts with 3 m plastic chains in the ewes' pen. T and C groups were simultaneously tested in identical test pens. C ewes showed a greater increase in serum cortisol concentration after separation from lambs (47.64 ± 4.26 n mol l–1) than T ewes (28.79 ± 6.29 n mol l–1). T ewes exhibited fewer vocalisations ewe–1h–1 and fewer vocalisations at 6, 12 and 18 h post separation than C ewes. On the day of weaning, more T ewes were seen to be situated away from lambs and in close proximity to the males, compared to the C group. Thus, more T than C ewes were mounted (14 as opposed to 3) and these received a greater number of mounts (1.02 ± 0.23 per hour, as opposed to 0.11 ± 0.06). It was concluded that by inducing ewes into oestrus at weaning it is possible to reduce the signs of separation distress.

When assessing discomfort in animals analogous reasoning is often used, namely, that the causes or symptoms of discomfort in people will also apply to animals. This practical rule of thumb can be based on an ‘analogy-postulate’. This postulate takes into account the anatomical and physiological similarities of vertebrate nervous systems and the comparability and homology in the behavioural and physiological responses to discomfort of humans and other vertebrates in similar situations. There are theoretical and practical problems with this analogous reasoning. Theoretical objections include claims that feelings do not exist, are irrelevant or that scientific knowledge is not necessary to recognize feelings. Practical problems will occur when assessing the discomfort of animals without proper knowledge of the relevant species-specific information. Nevertheless, we think that there are two equivalent sound reasons for accepting the analogy-postulate. First, there is more evidence in favour of acceptance of the postulate than of its rejection. Secondly, the negative moral consequences of erroneously rejecting the postulate are far greater than those of mistakenly accepting it.

Given the difficulties of conducting regular endocrine and veterinary assessments of animals, behavioural observations are often the most commonly used tool to assess the welfare of animals in human care. Behavioural measures, inexpensive and convenient to collect, also have their challenges, such as ensuring the behaviours of interest are reliable indicators of an animal's internal state. Welfare assessments include both positive and negative indicators, and a commonly used indicator of negative welfare is self-directed behaviour (SDB). SDB has been described as a behavioural indicator of stress through observation and experimentation; however, this pattern is not universal despite assumptions otherwise. The purpose of this study was to experimentally evaluate the use of SDB as an indicator of negative welfare in mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx) with the goal of understanding the function of SDB in relation to stress. Using a touchscreen-mediated cognitive task, the mandrills were observed to self-scratch significantly more often during incorrect than correct trials; however, rates of SDB did not vary between increasingly difficult testing conditions. The mandrills had individual variation in their use of body-shakes and yawns under negative and positive conditions that mirror similar variation observed in other primates. This study provides experimental evidence that self-scratching in mandrills can be used as a behavioural indicator of anxiety and that welfare assessments for animals in human care need to account not only for species’ differences, but also for individual differences.

Accelerometers are used to remotely monitor activity in various species in studies that quantify pain, document behavioural patterns, and measure individual activity differences. Studies validating accelerometers typically quantify various active states; however, targeting states specific to periods of inactivity, such as sitting, sleeping, and standing, has the potential to more accurately quantify inactive behaviours commonly associated with behavioural changes related to pain, sickness, or injury. Our objectives were two-fold: first, validate a commercially available accelerometer (Actical®) for quantifying inactivity in laying hens and, second, compare inactivity levels between hens with severely fractured keel bones and hens with minimal to no keel damage. Correlation between the inactivity level as measured by the accelerometer compared to live, focal observation of stationary, inactive behaviours was high; therefore, the Actical® accurately quantifies inactive states in laying hens. Following validation, the Actical® accelerometer was used to quantify inactivity level differences between hens with or without keel-bone damage. Severely fractured hens spent less time motionless, than hens with minimal to no keel damage. Further investigation into inactivity differences related to keel status before and after acquisition of keel fractures is warranted. Use of the accelerometer has the potential to improve animal welfare research by quantifying the effect of pain or sickness on activity level, mapping daily activity patterns, and measuring individual differences in general activity.

A questionnaire survey of farm experience, undertaken during lambing time in the year 2000 by 95 second-year veterinary undergraduate students, highlighted numerous areas of concern. On those farms attended, more than one third of shepherds (32; 34%) neither washed their hands in an approved scrub nor used arm-length disposable plastic gloves before attempted correction of a lambing problem. Sheep received a prophylactic antibiotic injection after an assisted lambing on just 33 farms (35%), while the majority of farmers (62 farms; 65%) treated only those ewes that became sick some days after assisted lambing. Veterinary assistance was requested to only 22 of 359 (6.1%) dystocia cases from a sample population of 79 610 lowground ewes. When lambs could not be delivered by farm staff the ewes were either humanely destroyed (65) or injected with antibiotics but subsequently died because of ensuing toxaemia from the emphysematous lambs in utero (272).

The welfare of captive animals is influenced by their ability to express natural behaviours. Foraging is one behaviour that may be particularly important in this respect; many species will continue to work for food even when it is freely available. The role of substrate, and in particular particle size, on the foraging behaviour of goldfish (Carassius auratus) was examined through three repeated measures experiments. In the first, tanks were set up with five uniform substrates: plastic grid, coarse sand, fine gravel, pebbles, and cobbles. In the second, fish were provided with a choice between coarse sand and fine gravel, fine gravel and pebbles, and pebbles and cobbles. In the third, they were provided with two choices between coarse sand and cobbles, one where the sand contained more food and one where the cobbles did. Our results show that particle size significantly affected the amount of time goldfish spent foraging, and that goldfish exhibited foraging behaviour even in the absence of a substrate they can manipulate. Goldfish foraged longest when provided with coarse sand. Fish foraged significantly longer over smaller particle size substrates when given a choice, although they did not distinguish between the two finest substrates, coarse sand and gravel. Increases in total time spent foraging were achieved through more, rather than longer, bouts. Food density did not significantly alter preference for smaller particle substrates. In general, coarse sand (1.5 mm) was found to be the most appropriate substrate in terms of facilitating natural foraging behaviours. These findings are discussed with respect to the welfare and husbandry of goldfish and aquarium fish in general.

One option for improving the welfare of purebred dog breeds is to implement health breeding programmes, which allow selection to be directed against known diseases while controlling the rate of inbreeding to a minimal level in order to maintain the long-term health of the breed. The aim of this study is to evaluate the predicted impact of selection against disease in two breeds: the Cavalier King Charles spaniel (CKCS) and the Labrador Retriever. Heritabilities for mitral valve disease, syringomyelia in the CKCS and hip dysplasia in the Labrador were estimated to be 0.64 (± 0.07), 0.32 (± 0.125) and 0.35 (± 0.016), respectively, which suggest encouraging selection responses are feasible based upon the estimation of breeding values (EBVs) if monitoring schemes are maintained for these breeds. Although using data from disease databases can introduce problems due to bias, as a result of individuals and families with disease usually being over-represented, the data presented is a step forward in providing information on risk. EBVs will allow breeders to distinguish between potential parents of high and low risk, after removing the influence of life history events. Analysis of current population structure, including numbers of dogs used for breeding, average kinship and average inbreeding provides a basis from which to compare breeding strategies. Predictions can then be made about the number of generations it will take to eradicate disease, the number of affected individuals that will be born during the course of selective breeding and the benefits that can be obtained by using optimisation to constrain inbreeding to a pre-defined sustainable rate.