Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science最新文献

Blood extraction is extremely important for the development of scientific research; however, the existing methods for amphibian´s blood sampling are invasive, mainly leading to the euthanasia of the animal. Therefore, less intrusive methods that allow the obtention of multiple samples from the same individual, are needed as an alternative to the common methods available. Hence, the aim of this study was to propose a minimally invasive method for obtaining blood from the hind leg of Xenopus laevis, that allows continuous sampling without compromising the wellbeing of the organisms. With this method, it was possible to extract blood and plasma from adults and juveniles, and the amount of sample was enough to perform biochemical and molecular assays to assess the viability of the blood. The results also revealed that this method is a convenient alternative to obtain blood without affecting the welfare of the experimental organisms, avoiding the cull of the animals, and the samples are viable for their use in follow up studies.

Ex-situ research in aquariums and zoological settings not only support scientific advancement, they also provide opportunities for education, facilitating both mental and physical stimulation, consequently improving welfare. This study aimed to investigate the impact of cognitive testing on the well-being of a group of male Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins. The occurrence of affiliative, aggressive and potentially stereotypical behaviors was assessed based on seven monitored behavior types and compared between "Session days" and "Non-session days." The consistency of the impact was assessed over a three-year period. The analyses revealed that "Play with enrichment," "Affiliative tactile," "Social play" and "Synchronous swim" were significantly higher, while "Aggression" was significantly lower on Session days than on Non-session days. Individual analysis showed significant increase in the positive welfare indicators in all dolphins during Session days. The social network analysis of aggressive interactions between group members also supported an overall decrease of aggression during Session days. These results indicate that dolphin groups that voluntarily participate in cognitive tests under human care benefit from the testing and show an improvement in animal welfare while contributing to scientific advancement.

Commercial swine producers are responsible for implementing changes in their production systems to ensure animal welfare. The objective of this study is to evaluate the levels of animal welfare on rearing and fattening farms certified in good animal husbandry practices using the Welfare Quality® protocol. Eighty-one certified commercial farms (n = 2,150 pigs), distributed in six geographical areas of Colombia, were evaluatedby six trained veterinarians. . A multilevel analysis was performed to identify variables associated with the animal welfare/farm rating and to identify behavioral variables. Farms evaluated had an enhanced (n = 68, 83.9%), followed by excellent (n = 7, 8.7%) and acceptable (n = 6, 7.4%) level of animal welfare. Variables significantly associated with the overall protocol rating (R2 = 0.37) were temperature comfort (OR: 1.05, p = 0.008), absence of disease (OR: 1.06, p = 0.02) and absence of pain (OR: 1.06, p = 0.0001). Significant differences in behavioral measures were observed across farms (P < 0.05). The high animal welfare scores of certified farms suggest changes in producers' understanding and attitudes towards production and animal welfare.

This study aimed to investigate trends and concerns related to the commercialization of dogs in Brazil. The authors analyzed 1,500 ads for the sale of Miniature Schnauzer, Chihuahua, and German Spitz breeds using the methodology of hedonic price analysis. Marginal and relative values of attributes were calculated for puppy sex, coat, age, pedigree, vaccination and deworming, seller type and region, using ordinary least squares. The most valued attributes for each breed were identified as selling by kennels, pedigree, and coat color. The results suggest that this market niche is willing to pay for guarantees of better dog breeding, which represents an opportunity for the development of certification labels for origin and good practices for kennels. Such labels could become an effective strategy to ensure greater transparency and better welfare standards in the Brazilian dog market. This study also provides valuable insights for the development of guidelines and public policies aimed at improving animal welfare and reducing information asymmetry in the pet market.

Benefits and challenges of dogs being present at the office were analyzed from three perspectives: the company view, the dog owner (employee) and the dog view. For companies, office dogs may serve as a branding symbol, leading to higher employee satisfaction and productivity, increased stress resilience and fewer turnover intentions. Yet, companies need to apply pet policies, risk management strategies and mitigate nuisance such as barking, loose fur or excrement. Additional breaks to walk the dogs are required and other employees or customers may be irritated. Employees take advantage of stress reduction, social support, higher job satisfaction, not having to leave their animal at home. Still, an office dog is an added responsibility in terms well-being, safety, distraction from work and emotional involvement. Although the animal perspective has not yet been scientifically addressed, we propose potential benefits such as less separation distress by having the owner nearby, higher social engagement and additional walks during breaks. Challenges for dogs may involve unwanted attention, aversive environmental stimulation, being restrained via leash or crate, irritation caused by conspecifics, emotional contagion or individual requirements.

This study researched end-of-life (EoL) decision-making processes in small animal practices in the Netherlands, focusing on strategies veterinarians contemplate during this process. Fourteen veterinarians were interviewed about animal end-of-life decision-making. The results of these interviews show that the decision-making process consists of three steps. The first step is to assess the animal's health and welfare. During the second step, veterinarians consider the position of the owner. Based on steps 1 and 2, veterinarians decide in step 3 whether their advice is to a) euthanize or b) contemplate one or more strategies to come to a decision or potentially alter the decision. These results can support members of the veterinary profession to reflect on their decision-making process. If veterinarians know what strategies their peers use to deal with EoL situations, this can help to reduce the stress they experience in such situations. In addition, veterinarians may find inspiration for new strategies in the study results. For the veterinary profession itself, the current results can be used as a starting point for describing best practices for EoL decision-making in small animal practice.

The agricultural professionals are ethically obligated to provide good care for the animals under their care. We analysed Brazilian agricultural science students' profiles based on their perceptions of animal welfare (AW). The survey included 239 students from agronomy, animal science, and veterinary courses in 44 universities. A factor analysis and a cluster analysis identified four students' profiles. "The farm animal stewards" group (n= 79) focused their perceptions of AW on basic health and functioning as a basis for meat, wool, egg, and dairy production, while the "the industrial view" group (n= 15), in the profitability and economic factors. "The animal rights position" (n= 76), in the face of conflicting interests (animals vs. owners), perceive that the animal's interest should prevail and give an equal treatment for all species. "The balanced" group (n= 69) incorporates concepts from animal and human to explain their perceptions. The students' perception of AW is multifaceted and influenced by value-based ideas about what is important or desirable for animals and all stakeholders. Scientific fields focusing on AW need to be emphasized within agricultural science curriculum.

Harnesses have become increasingly popular and whilst there are benefits to harnesses, the impact of harness design on canine biomechanics, and thus physical health and welfare is largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of three popular commercially available harnesses on canine locomotion in 66 domestic dogs. Dogs were filmed moving on a loose lead over a Tekscan Strideway gait analysis system. Stride length as a proportion of limb length (calculated as distance from the elbow to the floor), body weight distribution in the front versus the hind limbs (%), and minimum and maximum apparent angles of the lateral epicondyle of humerus (LEH) and greater tubercle of humerus (GTH) during the motion cycle were measured. Except for GTH angles, there were significant differences in all the investigated metrics. Differences varied across breeds/breed types. It is recommended that, when purchasing and fitting harnesses for dogs, owners and harness fitters treat dogs on an individual basis. The impact of pulling in harness on dog gait requires investigation as dogs may experience greater restrictions when pulling than during locomotion on a loose lead.

Environmental changes like vet visit could cause stress in cats. Studies have attempted to develop stress management strategies targeting sensory systems. Even though species-appropriate music which includes cat affiliative sound (e.g., cats' purring and suckling sound) has been shown to relieve stress in cats. Little is known whether the cat sound alone works in stress management. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of species-relevant auditory stimuli on stress in cats exposed to a novel environment. During the 28-day experiment periods, 20 cats received four types of sound treatments which included silence (T1), purr of cats (T2), eating sound in cats (T3), and the mixed sound of T2 and T3 (T4) in a novel environment in random orders with intervals of 1 week between treatments. Cats' behaviors were recorded during each 10-min test. Results showed that T4 reduced visual scanning (P = 0.017) without significantly affecting other behaviors, compared with other treatments. Together, the two types of cat-specific sounds did not exert pronounced effects of relieving stress on cats exposed to a novel environment.

Assistance dogs for people with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) support their handlers by performing tasks that are supposed to mitigate the effects of their mental disability. This study examined the Quality of Life (QoL) of PTSD-assistance dogs' handlers in Austria and Germany using a qualitative online questionnaire based on the Capability Approach. To correspondingly explore whether the involved assistance dogs experience distress triggered by their daily schedules, we measured their salivary cortisol values. These were compared to the cortisol levels of companion dogs without special tasks, as well as diabetic-signal dogs that have a similar workload. Our results showed that people suffering from PTSD-symptoms can improve their QoL with the aid of their assistance dog. However, being accompanied by an assistance dog creates new social barriers. Surprisingly, we found significantly lower salivary cortisol levels in PTSD-assistance dogs compared to the control groups. We conclude that a positive relationship between PTSD-assistance dogs and their handlers can reduce stress on both sides, and that training well tuned to the requirements of an assistance dog can prevent stress in their daily lives.