Animal category: Sheep

A critical review of fear tests used on cattle, pigs, sheep, poultry and horses

Forkman B., Boissy A., Meunier-Salaün M-C., Canali E., Jones R.B.

Published in 2007

Fear is probably the most-studied emotion in pets. In this overview, we attempt to establish the levels of repeatability and validity for fear tests carried out on cattle, pigs, sheep and goats, poultry and horses. We focus our review on the three most common types of fear tests: the arena test (open field), the novel object test and the stress test. For some tests, e.g. tonic immobility in poultry, there is a good body of literature on the factors affecting test results, test validity and age dependency. However, there are relatively few such well-defined and validated tests, and the element that is particularly lacking for most tests is information on robustness, i.e. what aspects can be modified without affecting the validity of the tests. The relative lack of standardised tests is an obstacle to the development of applied ethology as a science.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Bovines, Caprines, Equines, Monogastrics, Ovines, Porcines, Ruminants, Poultry

Keywords: Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Animal-based measurements, Anxiety, Experimentation, Welfare indicators, Memory, Fear, Cognitive processes, Stress, Vocalisation

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Comportement, Conduite et Bien-être Animal

Xavier Manteca i Vilanova, Anthony J. Smith

Published in 2014

Farm management has changed radically in developed countries over the last five decades. Many of these changes are the result of intensification, which leads to farming conditions that are far removed from the natural conditions in which animals can freely express their natural behaviours. For example, laying hens in cages cannot scratch the ground or flap their wings, pregnant sows in individual gestation stalls are unable to prepare a nest for their future litters, and dairy cows are unable to suckle their calves. These changes do not appear to have had a negative effect on animal productivity, but they have raised deeper questions about the moral justification for keeping animals in such conditions. In developing countries, many societies, such as pastoralist peoples, have a long tradition and sophisticated knowledge of animals and animal husbandry. Indeed, the welfare and health of the herder and his family depend on the welfare and health of their animals. Recently, Western practices have spread to developing countries and people with no traditional connection to the keeping of livestock are beginning to work in this sector, particularly in intensive systems. This book is intended to meet the needs of both pastoralists who are the heirs to local traditions and small-scale farmers and businessmen interested in more intensive or Western-type peri-urban management systems. It will also be useful to those involved in rural development and to non-governmental organisations and agricultural advisory services. The book brings together information on the behaviour and welfare of production animals that is likely to be of use in tropical climates and is usually hard to find, being widely dispersed across the scientific literature.

Document Types: Technical work

Animal categories: Bovines, Canines, Ovines, Porcines, Ruminants, Poultry

Keywords: Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Animal-based measurements, Welfare indicators, Fear, Prenatal issues, Human-animal relationships, Stress

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Douleurs animales. 1. Les mécanismes

Paulmier V., Faure M., Durand D., Boissy A., Cognié J., Eschalier A., Terlouw C.

Published in 2015

This article aims to bring together in a single document the knowledge acquired over recent years on the mechanisms of the appearance and modulation of pain in animals. The review is divided into three parts. The first describes the different stages of development, transmission and integration of the nociceptive messages involved in the onset of pain (sensory and emotional components). The second describes the different types of modulation that can activate or inhibit the transmission of nociceptive messages. The third describes the different neurophysiological processes that accompany pain and can modulate it (inflammation, activation of the autonomic nervous system and the neuroendocrine system).

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Bovines, Caprines, Equines, Mammals, Monogastrics, Ovines, Fish, Porcines, Rodents, Ruminants, Poultry

Keywords: Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Animal-based measurements, Pain, Experimentation, Welfare indicators, Brain integration, Mutilation, Cognitive processes, Stress

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Douleurs animales. 2. Evaluation et traitement de la douleur chez les ruminants

Faure M., Paulmier V., De Boyer Des Roches A., Boissy A., Terlouw E.M.C., Guattéo R., Cognié J., Courteix C., Durand D., 2015

Published in 2015

The establishment of efficient and simple tools to detect pain and assess its intensity would make it possible to meet the needs of professionals (farmers and producers, veterinarians, researchers, etc.), to answer questions raised by public opinion and debate on animal pain and to meet the requirements of the regulations on the use of animals for scientific purposes (cf. Coetzee 2013, bibliographical review). Recent studies have already enabled the identification of behavioural, zootechnical and physiological indicators for the presence and even the intensity of pain (cf. review of the literature by Prunier et al 2013). However, no integrated approach involving the simultaneous use of all these indicators has been developed to date. Moreover, some indicators cannot be used in current practice, and the sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) of the various potential indicators are not always optimal. One route is to combine the indicators in order to increase their informational value. Through this overview, we wish to show i) that evaluation of type and level of pain is essential for optimal pain management and ii) that an evaluation based on a multiparametric approach is best suited to such an objective.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Bovines, Caprines, Ovines, Ruminants

Keywords: Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Animal-based measurements, Pain, Experimentation, Welfare indicators, Brain integration, Mutilation, Cognitive processes, Stress

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La Conscience des Animaux

Pierre Le Neindre, Muriel Dunier, Alain Boissy, Emilie Bernard, Xavier Boivin, Ludovic Calandreau, Nicolas Delon, Bertrand Deputte, Sonia Desmoulin-Canselier, Nathan Faivre, Martin Giurfa, Jean-Luc Guichet, Léa Lansade, Raphaël Larrère, Pierre Mormède, Patrick Prunet, Benoist Schaal, Jacques Servière, Claudia Terlouw

Published in 2018

Are animals conscious beings?  How do they perceive their own worlds? These questions are being debated in the scientific community for both academic and practical reasons. Accordingly, on 7 July 2012, a group of leading scientists in England headed by Philip Low felt it necessary to publish The Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness. This manifesto states that "a convergence of evidence indicates that non-human animals have the neuro-anatomical, neurochemical and neurophysiological substrates of conscious states as well as the ability to express intentional behaviour...". It calls for further research to learn more about this capacity in animals. In 2015, INRA carried out a multidisciplinary scientific expertise in order to provide a critical review of the literature on animal consciousness. This work was executed at the request of the European Food Safety Authority (request EFSA-Q-2015-00390, contract no. EFSA/Inra/2015/01).

This study is an overview based on the report from INRA's collective scientific expertise (Le Neindre et al., 2017). It is divided into six chapters:
––the social, ethical and legal context for the expertise (chapter 1)
––consciousness in the animal kingdom: historical perspectives, epistemology and definitions (chap. 2)
––overview of current knowledge on human consciousness, with a discussion of the main current innovative concepts given their usefulness for our understanding of the available data on animals (Chapter 3)
––behavioural and neurobiological components in animals that allow us to talk about more or less elaborate content of consciousness. This chapter constitutes the core of the expertise (chap. 4).
––the positive consequences of taking consciousness into account on our understanding of welfare, suffering and pain (chap. 5)
––the importance of consciousness in the adaptive capacities of animals, especially in their phylogenetic components (Chapter 6)
The book concludes with proposals for future avenues of research resulting from the deliberations of various scientific bodies.

Document Types: Scientific work

Animal categories: Bovines, Canines, Caprines, Equines, Mammals, Monogastrics, Birds (except poultry), Ovines, Fish, Porcines, Primates, Reptiles, Rodents, Ruminants, Poultry

Keywords: Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Anxiety, Learning, Training, Consciousness, Pain, Societal issues, Enrichment, Brain integration, Metacognition, Cognitive processes, Evolutionary processes, Stress

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Douleurs Animales en Elevage

P. Le Neindre, D. Baldin, S. Desmoulin, R. Guattéo, D. Guéméné, JL. Guichet, R. Larrère, K. Latouche, C. Leterrier, O. Levionnois, P. Mormede, L. Mounier, J. Porcher, P. Prunet, A. Prunier, A. Serrie, J. Servière, C. Terlouw, PL. Toutain, N. Vialles

Published in 2013

There is growing public sensitivity to animal pain across a variety of human activities: animal experimentation, pet cruelty, live performances such as in circuses, and the rearing of animals for human consumption. This situation gives rise to a sometimes difficult dialogue between animal rights campaigners who refuse to accept any exploitation of animals, those who advocate improvements to the living conditions of animals, and businesses who point out the financial constraints within their sectors. The contents of this expertise are intended to inform public decision-making and, beyond this, to provide a robust reference framework to argue positions and decisions in the public debate, and to identify the needs of research in this field in order to better respond to the questions raised.

Document Types: Scientific work

Animal categories: Bovines, Caprines, Equines, Mammals, Monogastrics, Ovines, Fish, Porcines, Ruminants, Poultry

Keywords: Adaptation of the animal to the environment,  Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Animal-based measurements, Pain, Precision farming, Experimentation, Force-feeding, Welfare indicators, Brain integration, Mutilation, Cognitive processes, Stress

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