Animal Welfare Research Research Articles

Adult zebrafish primarily use vision to guide piscivorous foraging behavior

The sensory modalities used by predatory fish to detect and capture prey are a key dimension of their foraging strategy. Determining the sensory cues that guide predation can also further conservation efforts under environmental change, and address the welfare of research animals. Here, we experimentally manipulated the sensory modalities used by adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) when foraging for larval conspecifics in captivity. We used minimally invasive techniques to test the consequences of eliminating visual, olfactory, and mechanosensory cues for predator behavior and success. Our results indicate that zebrafish require visual cues, but not olfactory or mechanosensory input. Reducing the visual contrast between prey and their surroundings decreased capture rates, suggesting that contrast underlies visual foraging. Video recordings of zebrafish during foraging indicate that they actively hunt larval fish, rather than employing a sit-and-wait approach. Together, our findings indicate adult zebrafish rely on visual cues to guide an active predation strategy.

A Ligated Intestinal Loop Model in Anesthetized Specific Pathogen Free Chickens to Study Clostridium Perfringens Virulence.

Necrotic enteritis was studied in chickens using various in vivo infection models. Most of these use a combination of predisposing factors, such as coccidiosis and diet, with gavage or administration via the feed using Clostridium perfringens. In these models, the comparison of multiple C. perfringens strains for virulence studies requires a large number of hosts to obtain significant results. Mortality during the course of the study can be high depending on the experimental model, hence raising ethical concerns regarding animal welfare in research. The development of new infection models requiring fewer animals to study pathogenesis, yet providing statistically significant and valid results, is important in reducing animal use in research. Intestinal ligated loop models have been used to study clostridial infections in various species such as mice, rabbits and calves. Following surgical procedures to create ligated loop segments, C. perfringens strains are injected directly into the loops to establish a close contact between the bacteria and the intestinal mucosa. Samples of the small intestine and luminal contents are taken at the termination of the procedures after a few hours. Multiple bacterial strains can be inoculated in each animal, hence reducing the number of required subjects in the experiments. Also, procedures are performed under general anesthesia to reduce animal pain. In chickens, this model would be more appropriate than oral administration to compare C. perfringens strain pathogenicity because fewer animals are needed, no predisposing factors are required to induce the disease, and pain is controlled by analgesics. The intestinal ligated loop model is poorly described in chickens and standardization is essential for its optimal use. This manuscript provides all the necessary steps to create numerous intestinal ligated loops in chickens and brings information on the critical points to obtain valid results.

Perception of animal welfare issues during Chinese transport and slaughter of livestock by a sample of stakeholders in the industry.

China is the world’s biggest livestock producer, and has a rapidly expanding intensive livestock production in response to growing demand. The large size of the country and geographical dispersion of the livestock production systems means that animals are often transported long distances to slaughter. This study investigated perceptions of animal welfare issues by stakeholders in the Chinese transport and slaughter industry using utility scores and adaptive conjoint analysis. An initial workshop for experts in this field identified key concerns; these were then included in a questionnaire, which was distributed electronically to stakeholders. Stakeholders, particularly those with higher levels of education, were most concerned about the absence of pre-slaughter stunning and failure to maintain unconsciousness throughout the slaughter process. For all livestock species electrical stunning was considered the best method of stunning and blunt trauma the worst; for cattle and sheep stunning using a penetrating captive bolt was considered preferable to the use a percussive captive bolt. Other concerns considered very important were journey quality and livestock workers’ experience and attitudes. Heat stress and closed-sided vehicles were of greater concern than cold stress. Loading facilities and journey length were considered of intermediate importance, while lairage and methods for catching chickens were of least concern. The importance of some welfare concerns, e.g. livestock having to remain standing during a journey, was more commonly recognised by stakeholders who reported a high level of knowledge and experience. Therefore, these welfare issues could be a focus for future training activities. Compared to respondents directly involved in livestock transport, respondents involved in teaching and researching within livestock production rated the presented animal welfare issues as more important. These results can be used to guide development of training programmes, animal welfare research, and certification and regulatory control to target challenges to animal welfare in livestock transport and slaughter in China.

Ethology & Animal Welfare research in Brazil

Mankind has always tried to understand the behavior of animals and also to establish close contact with wildlife aiming to domesticate, to utilize or to enjoy the company of other animals. Nowadays the study of animal behavior – ethology – is a science in this own right and animal welfare is seen as a growing area of interest among scientists of different backgrounds, bringing together ethology, veterinary, zoology, psychology, and husbandry under the same framework of common interests. Here, we surveyed PubMed database using two keywords, “ethology” and “animal welfare”, which encompassed the period from 1981 to 2017. Also we have consulted the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development – i.e. “Diretório de Grupos do Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa (CNPq)” – aiming to disclose how many research groups there are working within the Animal Welfare realm, and where they are geographically localized. We found 156 articles addressing “Ethology” and “Animal Welfare”, an average of 7.7±4.2 articles per year from 2003 to 2017. 55 groups corresponding to 36.9% of the total are studying “Animal Welfare”. They are localized in 70% of the Brazilian states, mostly in the South and in the Northeast regions of the country. The presence of those groups allow us to be optimistic regarding the future of the Animal Welfare field in Brazil.

EVALUATING ALLOSTATIC LOAD: A NEW APPROACH TO MEASURING LONG-TERM STRESS IN WILDLIFE.

Animal welfare, conservation, and stress assessment are all critical components of species survival. As organisms experience stressors, they accumulate physiologic dysregulation, leading to multiple negative health outcomes. This brief review suggests measuring the degree of stress-induced damage, known as allostatic load, and then using allostatic load to evaluate changes implemented to improve animal welfare and conservation efforts. Over the past two decades, human clinical research has developed multiple allostatic load indices constructed from composites of neuroendocrine, cardiovascular, metabolic, and immune biomarkers. These indices are designed to estimate allostatic load in hopes of ameliorating or even negating damaging effects of stress. Among humans, allostatic load is associated with a variety of factors such as age, sex, stressful experiences, personality, social position, and early life history. Despite conservation of stress responses throughout mammalian species, reported allostatic load indices for animals are rare. Because many zoo researchers and field scientists already collect data on multiple biomarkers, constructing allostatic load indices may be a relatively affordable, easily implemented, and powerful tool for assessing relative risks of morbidity and mortality within wildlife. As an example, in a study among zoo-housed gorillas, an allostatic load index constructed using seven biomarkers was associated significantly with age, sex, stressful experiences, rearing history, markers of poor health, and mortality risk. Such results evidence that allostatic load is as applicable to animal populations as it is to humans. By using allostatic load as a predictive tool, human caretakers will be better informed of individuals at greatest risk for health declines. Most importantly, allostatic load may provide earlier opportunity for preemptive care while contributing a transformational tool to animal welfare research. Additionally, allostatic load may be compared between individuals and groups within the same population and allow comparisons of health between and across populations, consequently informing habitat and population protection efforts.

A Need for Clarity in Animal Welfare Regulation and Research Terminology: What is ‘Cervical Dislocation’ and ‘Stunning’ in On-farm Poultry Slaughter?

A Need for Clarity in Animal Welfare Regulation and Research Terminology: What is ‘Cervical Dislocation’ and ‘Stunning’ in On-farm Poultry Slaughter?

10 Animal Welfare Research Perspectives and Opportunities for the United States Swine Industry.

10 Animal Welfare Research Perspectives and Opportunities for the United States Swine Industry.

Assessing equine emotional state

The scientific study of animal emotion has recently become an important focus for animal behaviour and welfare researchers. For horses used by humans for work, recreation or sport, the question of the significance of their life experiences in terms of their emotional response, is an important one if we are to provide for their welfare needs. Horses have received relatively less scientific attention than many livestock species when it comes to investigating emotional state or affective experience, although their behavioural responses during sporting or recreational performance are often described anecdotally using terminology indicating an underlying presumption of equine emotions. Indeed, the international governing body for equestrian sport, the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), include the concept of ‘the Happy Equine Athlete’ into their rules, as a key objective during training and competition.This review presents available evidence to date of the physiological, behavioural and cognitive components of equine emotion and evaluates the extent to which the question concerning ‘how horses feel’ can be answered. The characterization of equine emotion in terms of level of arousal and valence, based on physiological, behavioural and cognitive indicators, offers a way forward to determine the impact of different situations and experiences on horses during their working lives. There is a need to develop robust validated methods for accessing equine emotions, to underpin a universally agreed method for/approach to providing an accurate assessment of equine welfare that can be utilized in a variety of contexts. This will provide a means of monitoring and improving the horse’s experience, ensuring that the horse enjoys a good life, rather than one that is just worth living.

In Vivo Recording of Neural and Behavioral Correlates of Anesthesia Induction, Reversal, and Euthanasia in Cephalopod Molluscs.

Cephalopod molluscs are among the most behaviorally and neurologically complex invertebrates. As they are now included in research animal welfare regulations in many countries, humane and effective anesthesia is required during invasive procedures. However, currently there is no evidence that agents believed to act as anesthetics produce effects beyond immobility. In this study we demonstrate, for the first time, that two of the most commonly used agents in cephalopod general anesthesia, magnesium chloride and ethanol, are capable of producing strong and reversible blockade of afferent and efferent neural signal; thus they are genuine anesthetics, rather than simply sedating agents that render animals immobile but not insensible. Additionally, we demonstrate that injected magnesium chloride and lidocaine are effective local anesthetic agents. This represents a considerable advance for cephalopod welfare. Using a reversible, minimally invasive recording procedure, we measured activity in the pallial nerve of cuttlefish (Sepia bandensis) and octopus (Abdopus aculeatus, Octopus bocki), during induction and reversal for five putative general anesthetic and two local anesthetic agents. We describe the temporal relationship between loss of behavioral responses (immobility), loss of efferent neural signal (loss of “consciousness”) and loss of afferent neural signal (anesthesia) for general anesthesia, and loss of afferent signal for local anesthesia. Both ethanol and magnesium chloride were effective as bath-applied general anesthetics, causing immobility, complete loss of behavioral responsiveness and complete loss of afferent and efferent neural signal. Cold seawater, diethyl ether, and MS-222 (tricaine) were ineffective. Subcutaneous injection of either lidocaine or magnesium chloride blocked behavioral and neural responses to pinch in the injected area, and we conclude that both are effective local anesthetic agents for cephalopods. Lastly, we demonstrate that a standard euthanasia protocol—immersion in isotonic magnesium chloride followed by surgical decerebration—produced no behavioral response and no neural activity during surgical euthanasia. Based on these data, we conclude that both magnesium chloride and ethanol can function as general anesthetic agents, and lidocaine and magnesium chloride can function as local anesthetic agents for cephalopod molluscs.

Electrical water bath stunning for Halal poultry meat production: animal welfare issues and compatibility with the Halal rules.

Abstract The use of electrical water bath stunning for the 'humane' slaughter of poultry has drawn criticism from some animal welfare research scientists and animal welfare organizations throughout the world. During water bath stunning, birds are shackled and inverted prior to entry into an electrified water bath, current is passed from the head, through the body and legs to earth via stainless steel shackles. From a Halal perspective, the rules stipulate that the welfare of animals is protected at all times and that animals must be alive (not conscious) at the point of neck-cutting. Some Muslim authorities have therefore questioned the suitability of water bath stunning for Halal meat production due to its negative impact on animal welfare and the possibility of some birds dying prior to exsanguination. This paper examines possible welfare compromises during water bath stunning and how these may affect compatibility with the rules of Halal meat production.

Sir Patrick Bateson 1938–2017

Sir Patrick Bateson 1938–2017

How Should Death Be Taken into Account in Welfare Assessments?

That death is not a welfare issue appears to be a widespread view among animal welfare researchers. This paper demonstrates that this view is based on a mistaken assumption about harm, which is coupled to ‘welfare’ being conceived as ‘welfare at a time’. Assessments of welfare at a time ignore issues of longevity. In order to assess the welfare issue of death, it is necessary to structure welfare assessment as comparisons of possible lives of the animals. The paper also demonstrates that excluding the welfare issues of being deprived of life from the ethical assessment of killing distorts the ethical considerations.

Mapping farm animal welfare research in an enlarged Europe: international collaboration, bibliometric output, research resources and relation to economic indices

Against the background of divergent political developments across Europe, farm animal welfare (FAW) science has evolved during the last three decades as an inter-disciplinary research area. Recent achievements include pan-European research projects and the implementation of animal welfare assessment systems on-farm. The aim of this study was mapping activities for FAW science and investigating geographical differences in FAW research in Europe (EU28 + candidate countries and the European Economic Area) with regard to available resources (e.g. human resources, infrastructure, funding) and research output (e.g. collaborations and publications). Further, we enquired if economic attributes such as the Coefficient of National Innovation Capacity (NIC) were associated with the reported available resources and research output factors (publications and collaborations) of FAW research. Based on questionnaires sent out to a wide researcher network in regions of an enlarged Europe, we found differences with regard to ‘input factors’ such as human resources, animal and laboratory facilities and national and international research funding and ‘output factors’ such as inter/national collaboration, participation in EU-funded projects related to FAW and number of publications. Respondents were allocated to 4 Western and 4 Eastern geographical clusters of countries (‘hubs’). There were a larger number of researchers, students and technical staff per laboratory in Western compared to Eastern hubs. A pronounced difference was found for funding, as 35% of respondents in the Eastern hubs stated that they lack funded FAW projects compared to 4% in the West. In general, respondents from the Western hubs stated significantly more often that they run projects in the field of FAW research (p = 0.034). Furthermore they were significantly more involved in EU-funded schemes, such as FP7 (EU’s Research and Innovation Funding Programme for 2007–2013) with 24% (p = 0.013) and in ERA-NET Cofund projects (European Research Area—Coordination of Research Programmes) with 5.7% (p = 0.042). The average sum of impact factors from 5 self-named citations was 3.0 ± 2.8 (mean, SD) in the Eastern hubs and 7.5 ± 4.4 in the Western Hubs. When investigating associations of the economic status of EU countries with resource factors and achievements in FAW research, the ‘Coefficient of National Innovation Capacity (NIC)’ was moderately correlated with the input factors for FAW research such as the average number of PhDs currently employed in the institutions (r s = 0.66; p < 0.001) and the total number of employed researchers (r s = 0.56; p < 0.01). Stronger associations were found between the scientific output and the economic ranking, here represented by the cumulative impact factor of their published papers (r s = 0.74; p < 0.001), and between the number of EC-project reports published in CORDIS 2015 with NIC (r s = 0.67; p < 0.001). We conclude that due to economic disadvantages as represented by the lower NIC or rare participation in EU-funding schemes, the Eastern Hubs could not reach the same level of output factors as the Western Hubs, which negatively impacts on the number of young researchers (PhDs) and impact factors, thus resulting in lower visibility and influence.

Ensuring due process in the IACUC and animal welfare setting: considerations in developing noncompliance policies and procedures for institutional animal care and use committees and institutional officials.

Every institution that is involved in research with animals is expected to have in place policies and procedures for the management of allegations of noncompliance with the Animal Welfare Act and the U.S. Public Health Service Policy on the Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. We present here a model set of recommendations for institutional animal care and use committees and institutional officials to ensure appropriate consideration of allegations of noncompliance with federal Animal Welfare Act regulations that carry a significant risk or specific threat to animal welfare. This guidance has 3 overarching aims: 1) protecting the welfare of research animals; 2) according fair treatment and due process to an individual accused of noncompliance; and 3) ensuring compliance with federal regulations. Through this guidance, the present work seeks to advance the cause of scientific integrity, animal welfare, and the public trust while recognizing and supporting the critical importance of animal research for the betterment of the health of both humans and animals.-Hansen, B. C., Gografe, S., Pritt, S., Jen, K.-L. C., McWhirter, C. A., Barman, S. M., Comuzzie, A., Greene, M., McNulty, J. A., Michele, D. E., Moaddab, N., Nelson, R. J., Norris, K., Uray, K. D., Banks, R., Westlund, K. N., Yates, B. J., Silverman, J., Hansen, K. D., Redman, B. Ensuring due process in the IACUC and animal welfare setting: considerations in developing noncompliance policies and procedures for institutional animal care and use committees and institutional officials.

Challenges facing the veterinary profession in Ireland: 3. emergency and casualty slaughter certification

BackgroundVeterinarians are faced with significant conflicts of interest when issuing certificates for the transport and slaughter of acutely injured and casualty livestock. In a recent Policy Delphi study, emergency and casualty slaughter certification was a key concern identified by veterinary professionals in Ireland. In this case study (the third in a series of three resulting from a research workshop exploring challenges facing the veterinary profession in Ireland; the other two case studies investigate clinical veterinary services and the on-farm use of veterinary antimicrobials), we aim to provide a value-based reflection on the constraints and opportunities for best practice in emergency and casualty slaughter certification in Ireland.ResultsUsing a qualitative focus group approach, this study gathered evidence from relevant stakeholders, namely a representative from the regulatory body, local authority veterinarians with research experience in emergency slaughter, an animal welfare research scientist, official veterinarians from the competent authority, a private veterinary practitioner, and a member of a farming organisation. Results revealed a conflict between the responsibility of private veterinary practitioners (PVPs) to safeguard the welfare of acutely injured bovines on-farm and the client’s commercial concerns. As a consequence, some PVPs may feel under pressure to certify, for example, an acutely injured animal for casualty slaughter instead of recommending either on-farm emergency slaughter or disposal by the knackery service. Among Official Veterinarians, there are concerns about the pressure within processing plants to accept acutely injured livestock as casualty animals. Confusion pertaining to legislation and definition of fitness to travel also contribute to these dilemmas.ConclusionsConflicts of interest arise due to the gap between governance and provision to facilitate on-farm emergency slaughter of livestock. Increased availability and acceptance of on-farm emergency slaughter by Food Business Operators (FBOs) would mitigate the need to certify acutely injured animals fit for transport and slaughter and thereby safeguard animal welfare. In the absence of nationwide availability and acceptance of on-farm emergency slaughter by FBOs, consideration should be given to methods to encourage all those involved in the food chain to prioritise animal welfare when in conflict with the commercial value of the animal. Training and guidelines for PVPs on the regulatory landscape and ethical decision-making should become available. The reintroduction of the fallen animal scheme should be considered to support farm animal welfare.

Expérimentation animale, peut-on s’en passer ?

Animal experiment is a subject of controversies. Some people, defenders of animals, think that it is not acceptable to use for scientific purposes at the risk of making them suffer or assert that the results obtained with animals are not transposable in the human beings. Others, in particular researchers in biology or medicine, think that the animal models are essential for the biomedical search. This confrontation of the opinions bases largely on an evolution of the place of animals in our society. The regulations authorize the use of animals for scientific purposes but oblige to make it under restrictive conditions. The application of 3Rs — replacement, reduction, and refinement — expressed in 1959 by Russel and Burch is an ethical guide to improve the welfare of animals in research. The alternative methods do not allow, in the present state of the knowledge, to answer all the scientific questions in biology and medicine research. They are, most of the time, complementary methods of the in vivo methods.

The Digestive Tract of Cephalopods: Toward Non-invasive In vivo Monitoring of Its Physiology.

Ensuring the health and welfare of animals in research is paramount, and the normal functioning of the digestive tract is essential for both. Here we critically assess non- or minimally-invasive techniques which may be used to assess a cephalopod's digestive tract functionality to inform health monitoring. We focus on: (i) predatory response as an indication of appetitive drive; (ii) body weight assessment and interpretation of deviations (e.g., digestive gland weight loss is disproportionate to body weight loss in starvation); (iii) oro-anal transit time requiring novel, standardized techniques to facilitate comparative studies of species and diets; (iv) defecation frequency and analysis of fecal color (diet dependent) and composition (parasites, biomarkers, and cytology); (v) digestive tract endoscopy, but passage of the esophagus through the brain is a technical challenge; (vi) high resolution ultrasound that offers the possibility of imaging the morphology of the digestive tract (e.g., food distribution, indigestible residues, obstruction) and recording contractile activity; (vii) needle biopsy (with ultrasound guidance) as a technique for investigating digestive gland biochemistry and pathology without the death of the animal. These techniques will inform the development of physiologically based assessments of health and the impact of experimental procedures. Although intended for use in the laboratory they are equally applicable to cephalopods in public display and aquaculture.

Laws, Regulations, Guidelines and Standards for Animal Care and Use for Scientific Purposes in the Countries of Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and India.

The laws, regulations, guidelines, and standards on animal care and use for scientific purposes in the countries of Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia, and India are described in this manuscript. For each of these five countries, a brief introduction is provided on the history of how the need for animal welfare in research, education, training, and testing came to being. This is followed by some background information leading to the current status of regulations and guidelines in each of the five countries. There is also a description of the responsibilities and functions of institutional animal welfare and ethics oversight bodies, enforcement agencies, penalties, and organizations supporting the industry. Finally, a conclusion with insights into the future of laboratory animal welfare and science in each of these five countries in Asia is provided.

Female and male pigs’ performance in a spatial holeboard and judgment bias task

Studies of the cognitive abilities of pigs are increasing in number, due to their relevance for the fields of animal welfare and biomedical research. While both female and male pigs have been used in cognitive tasks, possible sex differences in performance have not yet received extensive attention. This is of interest, as sexual dimorphism in cognitive abilities has been documented for a variety of species. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of sex on pigs’ performance in two cognitive tasks. Spatial learning and memory of ten female and ten male pigs was compared in a spatial holeboard task. Working and reference memory, as well as measures of motivation and exploration were assessed. Both females and males acquired the task and no differences were found between sexes for any measures of spatial memory. However, female pigs performed more successfully during reversal trials (shorter latency to first reward, higher number of rewards found), indicating greater response flexibility. This difference between sexes was transient, with males eventually reaching the same level of performance as the females. Judgment bias, a cognitive measure of affective state, was subsequently assessed using an active choice judgment bias task. Pigs were trained to respond differently to a negative and a positive stimulus, signaling either a small or a large reward. During judgment bias testing, pigs were presented with ambiguous cues and their trained ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ responses were recorded as optimistic or pessimistic choices, respectively. Both females and males displayed a slightly optimistic judgment bias. Optimistic choosing decreased with repeated testing for both groups. It is likely the pigs learned about the unrewarded outcome of ambiguous cues, rendering them no longer ambiguous. Further improvement of the judgment bias task as a cognitive measure of affective state is deemed necessary. Overall, our results indicate that sex is not a confounding factor when measuring baseline performance of pigs in the spatial holeboard or judgment bias task. Sex effects were only found when subjecting the pigs to a reversal task, warranting further study of sex differences in response flexibility. Such a difference would have implications for pig welfare, as it suggests that males are slower to cope with changes in their environment.

Design and test of a web-survey for collecting observer’s ratings on dairy goats’ behavioural data

A considerable amount of behavioural research studies are based on observer’s ratings collected during field visits. New methods for collecting this type of data have recently emerged, for instance using videos or photographs that are presented and assessed during workshops or meetings, or through electronic data devices. In this article we present and discuss the use of web-surveys as an alternative method for data collection, using as an example a case-study aiming at developing a goat lameness scoring system. We detail how the web-survey for collecting ratings on dairy goats’ behavioural data in videos was developed and applied from a researcher viewpoint, so that others can replicate and benefit from our experience. In comparison with other methods reported in the literature, we were able to reach a high and more diverse number of respondents through the implementation of a simple logistic setting and innovative technology-based design, and without disturbance of animals’ routine. We believe that this study provides valuable information at two levels. First it contributes to the establishment of web-surveys in animal behaviour and welfare research, and it provides relevant information for researchers and practitioners that need to collect and analyse observeŕs ratings through new formats. Second, the data collected allowed us to get an insight of potential difficulties an observer can experience while analysing lameness, particularly when faced with the challenge of assessing simultaneously more than one lameness sign. This information is particularly important for researchers developing new lameness scoring systems. Additionally, the web-survey proved to be appropriate for analysing the impact of background and experience on lameness ratings, showing particularly how occupation and education can influence observers’ proficiency in assessing dairy goats’ behavioural data. Finally, we discuss how answers to the web-survey can potentiate investigation and open new research lines, including: assessing intra-observer and inter-observer reliability; and, in the specific case of our web-survey, generating information for building and validating a new lameness scoring system. We finish by reflecting on some potential weaknesses of the web-survey.