Animal category: All animals

Knowledge of lateralized brain function can contribute to animal welfare

Lesley J. Rogers

Published in 2023

Scientific review of the relationship between hemispheric lateralization and behavior in animals. Experiments have shown an association between right-limb preference and positive cognitive bias, and left-limb preference and negative cognitive bias. Animals with weak lateralization tend to be more stressed, fearful and aggressive than those with strong lateralization.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: All animals

Keywords:Aggression, Aggressiveness, Animal-based measurements, Brain integration, Personality, Cognitive processes, Stress

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Synthèse « Le statut juridique des animaux en France : Quelles évolutions ? Quelles répercussions pour l’élevage ? »

French Academy of Agriculture

Published in 2023

Synthesis of the outputs of a working group of the French Academy of Agriculture. It underlines that Western societies are seeking a balance between animal welfare and the economic uses of animals. Various legal scenarios have been explored, three of which appear compatible with livestock farming needs while recognizing animal sentience. It stresses the importance of raising public awareness of the implications of these legal developments and emphasizes the duties of human beings towards animals.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: All animals

Keywords:Societal issues, One Welfare, Human-animal relationships

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Review: Towards an integrated concept of animal welfare

I. Reimert, L.E. Webb, M.A. van Marwijk, J.E. Bolhuis

Published in 2023

Scientific review setting out the history of the scientific study of animal welfare, and proposing that scientists in this field should specify the definition of animal welfare on which they base their work, the level at which their  assessment is carried out, the assumptions they rely on to measure welfare, and the period on which they focus, in order to enable comparison between studies.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: All animals

Keywords:Consciousness, Pain, Societal issues, Welfare indicators, Human-animal relationships

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Choice, control, and animal welfare: definitions and essential inquiries to advance animal welfare science

Maisy D. Englund, Katherine A. Cronin

Published in 2023

Scientific review of animal psychology, including the importance of giving animals choice and control over their environment to improve their welfare.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: All animals

Keywords:Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Consciousness, Societal issues, Enrichment, Living environment, Cognitive processes, Human-animal relationships

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Does Animal Personality Research Actually Help Animals?

Björn Ólafsson

Published in 2023

Article defining animal personality, reviewing scientific knowledge on the subject, and setting out the pros and cons  of taking personality into account in livestock farming, for both farmers and animals.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: All animals

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Consciousness, Societal issues, Personality, Human-animal relationships, Livestock farming system

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Routledge Handbook of Animal Welfare

Andrew Knight, Clive Phillips, Paula Sparks

Published in 2022

Book offering a comprehensive review of animal welfare and the law. It explores the biological basis for the consideration of animals within a moral framework and traces changes in how we conceptualize animal welfare. It takes a detailed look at the welfare issues associated with many different uses of animals. It includes recent issues such as climate change, pandemics and antimicrobial resistance.

Document Types: Scientific work

Animal categories:Cattle, Goats, All animals

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Animal-based measurements, Consciousness, Pain, Societal issues, Enrichment, Environment, Euthanasia, Brain integration, Living environment, Human-animal relationships, Stress, Livestock farming system, Transport

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Animal welfare: Methods to improve policy and practice

Mark Budolfson, Bob Fischer, Noah Scovronick

Published in 2023

Opinion piece arguing that politicians fail to take animal welfare into account in their decision making, despite the ethical and societal importance of animal welfare. It proposes methods to improve policy analysis tools and take better account of animal welfare in public decision-making.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: All animals

Keywords:Societal issues, One Welfare, Human-animal relationships

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Human-Animal Interactions in Disaster Settings: A Systematic Review

Haorui Wu, Lindsay K. Heyland, Mandy Yung, Maryam Schneider

Published in 2023

Scientific review showing that research on the subject has so far focused more on the benefits of human-animal interactions for the health and welfare of humans than for animals.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: All animals

Keywords:Risk management, One Welfare, Human-animal relationships

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Sénat : réponse écrite à la question n°4787 : Création d'un défenseur des droits des animaux

Sébastien Pla (Aude - SER). Answer: Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty

Published in 2023

Answer to a question on whether the French government intends to follow up on the SPA's proposal to create an animal rights advocate who would act as an independent authority that could be tasked with centralizing, monitoring and increasing actions to guarantee respect for animal welfare.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories: All animals

Keywords: Societal issues, Human-animal relationships

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