Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science最新文献

This study evaluated manual and mechanical catching methods on slower growing broiler chickens on the day of processing. Ten catching events, five mechanical and five manual, were evaluated for animal welfare and an additional set of 241 catches, 128 manual and 113 machine, were analyzed to determine the effect on carcass quality. No significant difference in serum corticosterone concentration (CORT) was found between the catching methods (p = 0.9). Pre-catching CORT (15.07 ± 2.24) was significantly lower than post-catching (25.41 ± 2.22) (p < 0.001). Manually caught broilers had four times greater odds of tonic immobility (TI) than mechanically caught birds (OR 4.0, 95% CI: 1.54-10.54) (p < 0.001). Birds also had 77% lower odds of TI before being caught than after, irrespective of catching method. Manually caught birds had 19% greater risk of bruised wings (p < 0.05) and 23% greater risk of bruised legs (p < 0.05). Lower odds of TI and decreased risk of injury in the machine caught birds indicate improved welfare and carcass quality compared with manual catching. Overall, machine catching was found to improve welfare and carcass quality in these slower growing broilers.

Data collected by animal shelters can provide an overview of population numbers and recommendations for shelter management and community programming. While studies utilize data from shelter software, questions remain on whether such data are reliable. The objective of the online experiment was to determine the agreement in data input for surrender reason, breed, and color across shelter staff (n = 81) when presented with four complex narratives of fictional owners surrendering dogs. Additionally, we aimed to understand how staff select surrender reasons for data input through qualitative analysis. Out of 40 possible surrender reasons, the number of unique reasons selected for each scenario ranged from 12-16, suggesting a variety of possible data entries for the same surrender narrative. Agreement was also low for breed and color. Shelter staff described a variety of different methods of determining the surrender reason for input into shelter software, such as asking the owner for their most influential reason or inferring the underlying reason. Further research is required to understand how animal shelter data can be collected consistently in a way that can meaningfully inform shelter management decisions.

We used proximity loggers to map the social network of 15 group-housed suckling Holstein calves over a 70-day period divided into five trial periods. Tag ID, encountered tag ID, and encounter start time and length were collected from the proximity loggers. Use of 3D matrices and trendlines distinguished three encounter types: "rapid decline" (up to ~ 120 s), "moderate decline" (~120 to ~ 600 s), and "exponential decline" (longer than ~ 600 s). We hypothesized that a random encounter between two calves with an agonistic relationship would terminate quickly, whereas affiliative encounters would linger. Quadratic assignment with 5000 random permutations revealed a significant negative correlation between short encounters ("agonistic") and long encounters ("affiliative") matrices in periods 1 and 5 (r = -0.490 and -0.767, respectively), tendency toward negative correlation in period 3 (r = -0.141, p = 0.104), and no significant correlations in periods 2 and 4. These results were in accordance with the social network analyses revealing agonistic (short encounters) relationships in those periods. We suggest using this method in further studies on the effects of various factors on social network dynamics and its effect on health, intake, growth, and efficiency.

Free-roaming dog populations ensue from irresponsible dog ownership and abandonment. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in Hong Kong SAR offers practical solutions to control dog population growth by providing a range of different birth control programs. We present the first results of a trial Trap Neuter Return (TNR) program in Hong Kong SAR; with a free-roaming dog population on Cheung Chau Island (southwest). During the 3-year study, the SPCA undertook surveys to assess population size and trapped, desexed, and, where possible, rehomed free-roaming dogs. We report that a total of 182 dogs were encountered during the period. We estimate that an average of 75% of the population was desexed, reaching the threshold for successful TNR studies. The results of our study show that TNR can assist with free-roaming dog population control and provide guidance for future programs, in Asia and Hong Kong SAR.

Free-roaming dogs are removed from the street by the Municipal Animal Control division/shelter and NGOs to safeguard public health as well as to prevent any suffering dogs may face and to find them homes. However, adoption rates are low and there is a lack of public programs aimed at humane control causing increased numbers of street dogs and overcrowding in shelters, compromising health and welfare. We aimed to evaluate the health of dogs from municipal shelters and independent shelters, and community dogs in the city of Guarapuava through clinical examination and complete blood cell count tests. The main changes found in the clinical examination of 297 dogs were hyperthermia in 4.0%, tachypnea in 20.5%, ocular and oral mucosa hypocorada in 6.4%, and ectoparasite infestation in 42.7%. Changes found in the erythrogram were anemia in 15.1% and polycythemia in 3.4%. In the platelet count, thrombocytopenia was found in 10.1% and thrombocytosis in 10.4%. On the leukogram, leukocytosis was observed in 14.8% and leukopenia in 3%. The results reveal the compromised health of some animals, requiring better diagnostic investigation, since certain clinical and complete blood cell count alterations may be caused by zoonotic agents that can endanger human and animal health.

To determine the humane use of slaughter methods we examined the clinical signs of life in 61 American alligators harvested on-farm using one of three methods: (i) captive bolt and spinal cord severance; (ii) electrostunning, spinal cord severance and pithing; and (iii) spinal cord severance and pithing. Loss of consciousness and the six clinical signs of life that can be used on-farm were assessed for evidence of irreversible unconsciousness and death at Time 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 30 min post slaughter. The brains of alligators from each slaughter method were removed to assess brain tissue disruption. A combination of loss of blink reflex, pupillary light response, jaw tone and respiration are a reliable on-farm tool for determining death. Heartbeat and withdrawal reflex persisted. Captive bolt and electrostunning methods were effective in immediately producing loss of response consistent with irreversible unconsciousness, subsequent death and destruction of neural tissue integrity in the mid and hind brain. They are therefore humane forms of slaughter in American alligators.

Whilst dogs are adored companions worldwide, high numbers continue to be relinquished each year due to perceived behavioral concerns. Subsequently, this paper addresses the question; What are guardian's expectations of canine behavior and companionship? A total of 175 participants responded to a qualitative semi-structured survey, distributed online. Following a reflexive thematic analysis , five themes are discussed; A well-balanced dog, Obedient, Affection and Connection, Shared Interests, and Commitment. The findings highlight a wide range of expectations typically moving beyond realistic behavior and capabilities for both dogs and guardians. Resultantly, we call for clearer conceptualization of canine behavior, particularly in relation to the distinction between observable behavior and behavioral interpretations (personality, temperament etc.). Clarification on the facets of dog behavior, in addition to better understanding guardian expectations, will aid the development of educational materials aimed at supporting existing human-dog relationships and the adoption matching process within canine adoptions. Cumulatively, this would aid successful human-dog bonding, reducing the risk for relinquishment. These findings build on the recently proposed Perceived Canine Reactivity Framework.

Preference responses of cats for scratching fabrics commonly used on furniture were evaluated during four consecutive days in three Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) that rescue companion animals. Cats were grouped and their choices were registered at a group level (no individual identification). Daily choices for chenille, suede, synthetic leather, or waterproof grosgrain fabrics were evaluated for the cats' groups. A preference for chenille and non-preference for synthetic leather and waterproof grosgrain was found, independent of the NGO. In conclusion, although not using chenille does not assure that cats stop scratching furniture - especially if no other option to scratch is available - synthetic leather and waterproof grosgrain seem to be less attractive fabrics for these animals. Further studies are needed to investigate whether these findings apply to cats in a home scenario, when just one or a few individuals are usually present and only one type of fabric covering furniture is commonly available. Although we did not investigate the effect of providing scratching posts for these animals, we recommend such posts are available in the environment as scratching behavior is important to cats.

Enrichment is presented to improve the welfare of captive animals but sound is frequently presented with the assumption that it is enriching without assessing individuals' preferences. Typically, presented sounds are unnatural and animals are unable to choose which sounds they can listen to or escape them. We examined preferences of three zoo-housed gorillas for six categories of sound. The gorillas selected unique icons on a computer touchscreen that initiated brief samples of silence, white noise, nature, animal, percussion, and electronic instrumental sounds. Following training, gorillas selected each sound paired with silence (Phase 2), each sound paired with each other sound (Phase 3), and one sound among all other sound categories (Phase 4). Initially, a single sound was associated with each icon, but additional exemplars of the category were added in phases 5-8. Preferences were generally stable and one gorilla showed a strong preference for silence. Although there were individual differences, a surprising general preference for unnatural over natural sounds was revealed. These results indicate the importance of assessing preferences for individuals before introducing auditory stimulation in captive habitats.

Fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM) concentrations, activity, and personality were assessed for 35 fennec foxes (Vulpes zerda) to determine whether animals managed as ambassadors differed from exhibit or off-exhibit animals. A FGM assay, pedometer, and personality assessment tool were validated. Then, fecal samples and movement data were collected during winter and summer periods. Handling was recorded, and the personality of each fox was evaluated. Generalized linear mixed models assessed the relationships between FGM concentrations, activity, personality, handling, sex, season, rearing type, and role. FGM concentrations did not differ in relation to role or handling. Foxes were most active at night; the time of peak activity did not vary with role or handling. Foxes were more active in winter; males were more active than females, and ambassador foxes were more active than off-exhibit animals. Hand-reared foxes were more sociable, and, at one institution, ambassador foxes were more sociable than foxes in other roles. These results suggest that management for ambassador programs is not associated with changes in glucocorticoid production or circadian patterns but may increase activity and be associated with greater sociability.