Outdoor group housing is generally reported as being beneficial to the welfare of horses compared to single boxes, being considered to show greater similarities with the living conditions of feral horses, allowing full expression of behaviours such as grazing, social interactions and free movement. However, concerns persist regarding the ability to maintain a good nutritional state and the possibility of acquiring injury. No data reporting a comprehensive assessment of welfare for horses in outdoor group-housing systems are currently available. The present study aimed at applying a scientifically valid welfare assessment protocol to group-housed outdoor horses in ‘parcours’, a particular management system used in the south of France. ‘Parcours’ are semi-natural areas, grazed by domestic herbivores located in lowland, mountain, or marsh. One hundred and seventy-one horses older than a year pertaining to six farms and kept on ‘parcours’ were evaluated by a trained veterinarian using a modified version of the second level Animal Welfare Indicators (AWIN) welfare assessment protocol for horses. No major welfare issues were detected. Horses in ‘parcours’ displayed few abnormal behaviours, they could move freely for most of the day and interact with conspecifics, maintaining a healthy state of nutrition and a good relationship with humans. The main welfare concerns were related to the presence of superficial integument alterations such as alopecia, difficulty in reaching quality controlled water sources and a lack of shelter. As the number of facilities involved in this study is relatively limited, further harmonised data collection should aim to enlarge the sample size and allow comparison with different outdoor group-housing conditions.

Human activities are increasingly impacting our oceans and the focus tends to be on their environmental impacts, rather than consequences for animal welfare. Global shipping density has quadrupled since 1992. Unsurprisingly, increased levels of vessel collisions with cetaceans have followed this global expansion of shipping. This paper is the first to attempt to consider the severity of ship-strike on individual whale welfare. The methodology of the ‘Welfare Assessment Tool for Wild Cetaceans’ (WATWC) was used, which is itself based upon the Five Domains model. Expert opinion was sought on six hypothetical but realistic case studies involving humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) struck by ships. Twenty-nine experts in the cetacean and welfare sector took part. They were split into two groups; Group 1 first assessed a case we judged to be the least severe and Group 2 first assessed the most severe. Both groups then additionally assessed the same four further cases. This was to investigate whether the severity of the first case influenced judgements regarding subsequent cases (i.e. expert judgements were relative) or not (i.e. judgements were absolute). No significant difference between the two groups of assessors was found; therefore, the hypothesis of relative scoring was rejected. Experts judged whales may suffer some level (>1) of overall (Domain 5) harm for the rest of their lives following a ship-strike incident. Health, closely followed by Behaviour were found to be the welfare aspects most affected by ship-strikes. Overall, the WATWC shows a robust potential to aid decision-making on wild cetacean welfare.

Snake ownership is popular; however, housing and care may not always satisfy the animal's welfare needs. For example, snakes are often kept in environmental conditions that restrict their ability to stretch out fully or move around, using rectilinear locomotion. To date, little empirical data exist on the housing and husbandry of captive snakes and how these impact welfare. This study analyses survey responses from 744 snake owners worldwide and explores potential welfare concerns for snakes kept within private homes. It documents the most common housing and husbandry methods and compares the three most common families (Pythonids, Boids and Colubrids). Owner-reported data were used to derive scores for two potential welfare indicators: number of clinical signs of ill health and the number of reported negative (abnormal) behaviours. Using these indicators, associations were tested with snake-keeping variables, such as enclosure size, level of enrichment, temperature and humidity. Owners reported that 90.7% (n = 675) of snakes adopted rectilinear (straight-line or near straight-line) positions or movements. Snakes kept in enclosures > 1 snake length tended to have more enrichment types and were reported with fewer clinical signs of ill health. Some snakes were housed at unknown temperature (7.7%) or humidity (48.1%) ranges or in environmental conditions not in keeping with current recommended guidelines. Corn snakes (Pantherophis guttatus) were the most likely species to be kept at a humidity which did not match recommendations which may present a welfare concern. This study's results can be used to target husbandry guidance for future recommendations and care manuals.

This study aimed to identify current weak points in animal welfare in Danish dairy production at herd level using the Welfare Quality® (WQ) protocol, and at national level using the Danish Animal Welfare Index (DAWIN) protocol. The DAWIN was developed as a monitoring tool for the welfare of the Danish dairy cow population, derived from the aggregation of DAWIN assessments at herd level. The DAWIN dairy cow protocol covers 29 measures (13 resource- and 16 animal-based measures) that were weighted and aggregated into a final overall population welfare score. A total of 3,591 cows from 60 dairy herds were assessed throughout 2015. Results from both the WQ and DAWIN were presented at six criteria levels in order to identify specific areas of concern relating to animal welfare at herd versus population level. Both protocols indicated a good general level of welfare across study herds, but also identified insufficient water supply as the main area of concern. In addition, resting comfort (ie time needed to lie down, collisions with barn equipment, cleanliness of rear body parts, animals lying outside of the designated lying area) and disease (in terms of the proportion of cows with chronically elevated somatic cell counts) were identified as problematic areas. The two assessment protocols both identified behavioural deficits, but in the WQ it was due to zero-grazing systems in contrast to the insufficient numbers of cow brushes in the DAWIN protocol. Despite differences in the aggregation, similar areas of concern were identified at criteria level.

Some aspects of on-farm assessment of social behaviour and avoidance distance were investigated on 20 Austrian dairy farms. The avoidance distance of at least 75% of cows was assessed. Social behaviour of the cows was observed for one hour and the number of animals standing was recorded every 10 min. Lameness of each animal was scored, and Spearman correlations were calculated. Generally, the avoidance distance of the cows was very low. Lameness did not correlate significantly with avoidance distance. The number of agonistic interactions with body contact per cow correlated negatively with the percentage of lame animals (rs = -0.49; P = 0.029). However, this correlation was no longer found (rs = -0.22; not significant) when calculated on the basis of standing animals only. The total number of social interactions correlated highly with the number of social interactions when interactions in the feeding rack were disregarded. The present study suggests that lameness confounds the assessment of social behaviour but not that of avoidance distance of cows, and that social interactions of animals standing in the feeding racks can be disregarded without decreasing the reliability of the assessments.

This study sought to investigate whether animal health and welfare state and changes were associated with technical efficiency in a sample of 34 Austrian dairy farms. Health and welfare were assessed twice using the Welfare Quality® (WQ) assessment protocol for dairy cattle. Following a baseline welfare assessment, farm-specific health and welfare planning was conducted on the farms. This included the identification, selection and implementation of measures in housing and management that aimed at improving health and welfare states. One year after implementation, farms were reassessed to evaluate changes in health and welfare states and consequences for farms’ technical efficiency were analysed using the Malmquist index. Our results indicated that farms with a higher health state (WQ principle score ‘Good health’) achieved higher technical efficiencies. However, we could not show that changes in the welfare state within a one-year period affected technical efficiency: across all farms, technical efficiency remained stable and Malmquist indices (indicating efficiency and technological change) could not be explained by the different welfare scores. Nevertheless, our study showed data envelopment analysis to be a valuable method for analysing the relationship between animal welfare and farm success and our results indicate substantial potential synergies between these two aspects.

Currently recommended landmarks for captive-bolt euthanasia of cattle often result in failure to penetrate the brainstem. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability to disrupt the brainstem by placing the shot at a higher position on the head. Intact heads from euthanased animals or natural mortalities were used for this study. Heads were grouped as adult (> 2 years), young (6-24 months) and neonate (< 1 month) and randomly assigned to either the LOW group (the intersection of two lines drawn from the medial canthus to the top of the opposite ear) or the HIGH group (midline halfway between the top of the poll and an imaginary line connecting each lateral canthus). Each head received a single shot from a CASH penetrating captive bolt with bolt length and power load selected based on manufacturer's recommendations. Computed tomography images of each head were evaluated independently by two veterinary radiologists. Brainstem disruption was assumed to occur if the bolt passed caudal to the presphenoid bone and deep to the third ventricle and was within 1.5 cm of midline. Brainstem disruption occurred in 16/18 adult HIGH and 7/14 adult LOW heads, 13/16 young HIGH and 11/19 young LOW heads, and 11/11 neonate HIGH and 14/14 neonate LOW heads. The higher shot location landmarks used in this study increased the probability of disrupting the brainstem when adult cattle were shot with a penetrating captive bolt which should reduce the risk of regaining sensibility. Reliable brainstem disruption is a precondition for considering penetrating captive bolt as a single-step euthanasia method. Further research is needed to determine if this method will reliably ensure a humane death.

Electronic microchip implants were used to identify groups of crab-eating (Macaca fascicularis) and rhesus (Macaca mulatta) macaques. They were implanted in different body sites and monitored for up to fifteen months. One group of rhesus macaques was trained to present the wrist in which the microchip was placed, to enable it to be read easily with the scanner. An improved method of permanently identifying primates will lead to better record keeping and could benefit the animals’ welfare.

If we are to bring about improvements in animal welfare, animal welfare assessment is the first step towards sustainable improvements, followed by the identification of risk factors and subsequent interventions. Largely driven by an increased public interest, which is accompanied by political strategies such as the Community Action Plan on the Protection and Welfare of Animals 2006-2010 (Commission of the EC 2006), the science of animal welfare assessment has developed considerably since the 1st International Workshop on Assessment of Animal Welfare at Farm and Group level held in 1999 in Copenhagen (Sørensen & Sandøe 2001). This is reflected in major research initiatives at national and international level and in the continuously increasing number of participants at the workshops.

Qualitative Behaviour Assessment (QBA) is a methodological approach to assess the whole animal using terms to describe and quantify the emotionally expressive qualities of behaviour and identifying larger patterns of expressivity through multi-variate statistical integration. A key condition for the success of QBA is achieving a common understanding of the meaning of descriptive terms by raters. Based on this, our study aimed to develop a list of terms in Brazilian Portuguese for the QBA of broiler chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus), and to test this list by studying its inter- and intra-rater reliability. Fourteen experts participated in a workshop and developed a list of 25 QBA terms, and 40 undergraduates tested this list by scoring 18 video clips using a 125-mm visual analogue scale. Principal Component Analysis was used to analyse observers’ scores. Principal Component (PC) 1 ranged from disturbed/frustrated to comfortable/lively, suggesting this PC may be interpreted in terms of emotional valence. PC2 ranged from calm/dull to agitated/active, suggesting this PC indicates the level of arousal/energy of the birds. Both PC1 and PC2 clip scores showed good inter- and intra-rater reliability. This study demonstrates the importance of producing QBA term lists bottom-up as opposed to merely translating pre-existing lists from the scientific literature. Results suggest the standardised Portuguese QBA term list developed in this study is reliable in assessing the expressive qualities of broiler behaviour; therefore, a next step is to test it on-farm with experienced raters and further refine it concerning terms related to poor welfare.

The aim of this study was to investigate how difficult it was to halter and separate a horse (Equus caballus) from a group for riding or training purposes and to describe how human-horse interactions could affect this common procedure. A total of 20 different horse groups, with a minimum of five horses in each, were studied on 14 farms in Norway, from June to October 2007. On each farm, information about the facilities, the horse and the handler was recorded. In each group, the horse owner or keeper (handler) was asked to enter the group, approach his/her horse, halter it and lead it out through the gate, then keep the horse standing out of sight from other horses for two minutes. The entire procedure was video recorded and the behaviour of the target horse, handler and other horses was subsequently scored. Only one of the 100 horses moved away from the handler when approached. Ninety-six percent of the target horses followed their handler without showing any resistance. In 75% of the tests, the other horses did not interact with the target horse and/or handler. At the gate, 26% of the handlers did not turn the target horse around before closing the gate, thereby placing themselves in a vulnerable position, with their body in very close proximity to the horse's hind legs. In conclusion, separating a horse from its group can be considered relatively safe and unproblematic, provided good management practices and trained handlers.

The use of genetically modified (GM) animals in biomedical research has increased during recent years and its ethical aspects have been subject to ongoing academic discussion. In order to reinforce this discussion, we analysed applications submitted to animal ethics committees in Sweden during 2002. The aim was to investigate the researchers' statements concerning the production and use of GM animals, as well as the committees' assessments of the applications. For our analysis, we constructed an analytic form. In part, we included the questions and categories of the mandatory application form, noting for example species, degree of severity regarding pain and distress, the management of pain, and endpoints. In addition, we included our own specific questions and categories, and classified the applications accordingly. In particular we focused on the methods of GM animal production and on the expected clinical symptoms attributable to genetic modification and experimental use. Our analysis, which was partly quantitative and partly qualitative, revealed that applications were often approved by the committees despite containing insufficient information regarding ethically relevant aspects, that the arguments for using GM animals were often unclear, and that some applicants indicated awareness of possible unintentional welfare effects attributable to genetic modification. In more than 36% of the applications, obvious or minor clinical symptoms attibutable to genetic modification were expected. However, we also noted that many applicants emphasised that certain GM animals were to be used without the expectation that the animals would display any clinical symptoms. This was obviously viewed as an ethical advantage.

Evidence-based approaches are key to advancing all areas of zoo and aquarium practice. Output from empirical study must be disseminated to those within the industry so that results can support changes to husbandry and management for individual species. Information on enrichment techniques is published in a range of sources, including papers in the peer-reviewed and ‘grey literature’ (ie professional but non-reviewed publications). To investigate how evidence is implemented into enrichment practices, we sampled all enrichment studies identified in one online repository of peer-reviewed papers and two grey literature publications across an eleven-year period. We recorded whether the enrichment was supported with biological evidence (whether it was developed using published enrichment-focused research for that species and/or with the species’ ecology and behaviour information) alongside analysis of the type of enrichment used and the chosen study species. Enrichment articles were more likely to be supported by biological evidence in peer-reviewed than grey literature. Taxonomic differences in the use of evidence were noted; for example, enrichment provided to carnivores and parrots was more likely to be supported with biological evidence compared to that used for penguins. Of the five enrichment types, nutritional enrichment was most often based on biological evidence. Multi-category and physical enrichment types were more common across all literature sources whereas social enrichment was less common, suggesting barriers to implementation of all enrichment types in zoological facilities. Our research suggests that zoo and aquarium professionals are considering species-specific welfare needs by ensuring that enrichment protocols are supported by biological evidence. However, opportunities to diversify the enrichment types being offered and species being researched are identified.

Individual gestation housing of pregnant sows in stalls from four weeks after mating is banned in the EU. Two experiments were conducted to study the effect of two gestation management and housing systems (STALL: gilts housed in stalls and PEN: gilts loose-housed in pens with increased feed ratio) on gilt and piglet performance during lactation. Thirty-seven PEN and 33 STALL gilts were used. Backfat, litter pre-weaning mortality and total feed intake (TFI) during lactation were recorded in gilts. Weight and rectal temperature was recorded in piglets. In Exp 1 the behaviour of a subsample of gilts was videotaped during lactation. In Exp 2 saliva cortisol in gilts, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and T4 hormones in piglet blood were measured. PEN gilts had more backfat when moved to the farrowing stalls. PEN gilts tended to have higher cortisol concentration 24 h after entering the farrowing stall and to spend more time sitting or standing up one day before parturition than STALL gilts. PEN piglets had higher bodyweight (BW) on day 0 (Exp 2) and lower T4 concentration than STALL piglets. However, STALL piglets showed higher rectal temperature 60 min after birth and lower mortality at day 2. In Exp 2, STALL piglets also had higher BW and average daily gain at weaning. During lactation, PEN gilts lost more backfat and weaned less piglets. Gilts loose-housed with increased feed ratio during gestation might be more stressed when housed in farrowing stalls than those kept in stalls during gestation, thus compromising their offsprings’ thermoregulatory capacity and growth however, from our results, it is difficult to differentiate the effect of feed level from the effect of allocation during gestation.

Management systems allowing free nest access are widely used in commercial rabbit breeding, but these produce a potential conflict with the doe's behavioural goal of a closed nest entrance. Furthermore, the restricted space in commercial breeding units prevents the doe from achieving a sufficient distance between her and the nest, another highly adaptive behavioural goal. This can lead to behavioural problems and pup mortality higher than 20%, attributable to hypothermia, injuries, weakness caused by the scattering and crushing of pups, or even cannibalism. In this study we tested a type of nest entrance (a metal cat-flap) that visually closed the nest box while still allowing the doe free access during the first 15 days after parturition. The effects of a cat-flap access (group CF) and of a permanently open nest box (group O) on nest-related behaviour, general activity, and plasma corticosterone concentration of the does, and on the mortality and weight of the pups, were compared using 15 ZIKA does in each group. Over 24 h, there was no difference between the groups in the frequency of ‘nest controls’ (approaches or entries to the nest without nursing of pups). However, outside nursing hours, does in group O showed more ‘head contacts’ with the nest, whereas does in group CF performed more nose contacts and nesting activities outside the nest. Does in group O performed twice as many potentially disturbing nest contacts in this time than does in group CF and had a higher increase of corticosterone after the administration of exogenous adrenocorticotrophic hormone. Pup mortality from days 16 to 35 was significantly higher in group O, and pups born to does in group O left the nest earlier. There was no significant difference in the weaning weights of pups between the two groups. As does with a cat-flap at the nest entrance still showed repeated nest approaches, the cat-flap possibly did not block all nest stimuli from the does. Alternatively, it is possible that the repeated approaches to the next box result from its being one of very few attractive or interesting features in an otherwise barren environment. Removal of the nest box from the cage is an effective method to eliminate nest stimuli, but this increases work for the staff without improving the barren environment for the rabbits. A better way of increasing the distance between the doe and the nest, as well as presenting a number of other attractive features, is group-housing of does.

An online training package providing a concise synthesis of the scientific data underpinning EU legislation on enrichment and tail-docking of pigs was produced in seven languages, with the aim of improving consistency of professional judgements regarding legislation compliance on farms. In total, 158 participants who were official inspectors, certification scheme assessors and advisors from 16 EU countries completed an initial test and an online training package. Control group participants completed a second identical test before, and Training group participants after, viewing the training. In Section 1 of the test participants rated the importance of modifying environmental enrichment defined in nine scenarios from 1 (not important) to 10 (very important). Training significantly increased participants’ overall perception of the need for change. Participants then rated nine risk factors for tail-biting from 1 (no risk) to 10 (high risk). After training scores were better correlated with risk rankings already described by scientists. Scenarios relating to tail-docking and management were then described. Training significantly increased the proportion of respondents correctly identifying that a farm without tail lesions should stop tail-docking. Finally, participants rated the importance of modifying enrichment in three further scenarios. Training increased ratings in all three. The pattern of results indicated that participants’ roles influenced scores but overall the training improved: i) recognition of enrichments that, by virtue of their type or use by pigs, may be insufficient to achieve legislation compliance; ii) knowledge on risk factors for tail-biting; and iii) recognition of when routine tail-docking was occurring.

Pit bull dogs are a focus of concern because of their reputation for aggression toward people and because they may be mistreated by owners who try to promote aggressive behaviour. This study followed 40 pit bulls and 42 similar-sized dogs of other breeds at an animal shelter. Three pit bulls and two dogs of other breeds were euthanised because of aggression toward people at the shelter, and the remaining 77 dogs were re-homed. Of these, one pit bull and ten dogs of other breeds were returned to the shelter because of alleged aggression. For the dogs that were retained for at least two months, owner reports of aggression in various situations (to strangers, to other dogs, etc) were similar for the two groups. Reported care of the two groups was also similar except that pit bulls were more likely to sleep on the owner's bed and more likely to cuddle with the owner. Pit bull adopters were more likely to be under the age of 30, to rent (rather than own) their home, and to be adopting their first dog, perhaps because of a bias against pit bulls among older adopters. The study provided no evidence of greater aggression or poorer care among adopted pit bulls compared to dogs of other breeds.

Preferences for nest box size and position were tested in two groups of common marmoset, Callithrix jacchus jacchus. In a pre-test phase two, new, wooden nest boxes were introduced to each group alongside their old metal one, so that the animals could become familiar with them, and so that any pre-existing preference could be identified. In successive experiments: i) the old metal nest box was closed so that the marmosets had to choose a preferred box from the two new nest boxes; ii) the size of the preferred nest box was systematically reduced; and iii) in one of the groups the reduced nest box was restored to full size, but its position interchanged with the non-preferred box. In a further experiment, the position of the preferred, and then of the non-preferred box was raised to the highest point in the cage. The marmosets showed strong positional preferences which could not have been predicted without performing the tests. One of the groups also showed a strong preference for the high nest box. It was concluded that marmosets may exhibit preferences for their cage furniture, the basis of which may not be clear to us. These preferences should, however, be taken into account when designing cages to maximize the welfare of the animals.

A welfare assessment system is being developed for commercial organic egg production based on indicators of behaviour, health, system, and management, which is the general Danish Institute for Agricultural Science (DIAS) concept for assessing animal welfare at farm level. The welfare assessment system works as an advisory tool for farmers, helping them to improve welfare in their flocks. Identification of individual animals in organic egg production is impossible; therefore, management and welfare assessment are based on flock evaluation. Mortality is often a major welfare problem in organic egg production, to some extent caused by inefficient disease detection and control. Health indicators are therefore closely monitored, including variations in live weight, mortality, food and water consumption, and autopsies. Severe outbreaks of feather pecking and cannibalism causing excess mortality are often induced by the presence of stressors. Various stressors, as well as indicators of stress, are therefore included in the welfare indicator protocol. Finally the daily management effort and routines are evaluated on the basis of a management plan prepared by the farmer and a consultant in cooperation, as well as by use of interviews.