Discipline: Ethology

A systematic reviewon whether regenerative agriculture improves animal welfare : A qualitative analysis with a One Welfare perspective

Matías Javier Hargreaves-Méndez, María José Hötzel

Published in 2023

Review of the scientific literature to determine the extent to which regenerative farming systems are or are not associated with positive One Welfare outcomes. It reveals that articles mainly associated animal welfare with animal health, human welfare with the financial situation of the farm and the farmer's self-awareness, and environmental conservation with soil improvement. It shows that processes affecting human welfare and environmental conservation can also affect animal welfare.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Bovines, Caprines, Ovines, Porcines, Poultry

Keywords: Environment, One Welfare, Human-animal relationships, Resilience, Robustness,Societal issues, Welfare indicators

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Horses discriminate human body odors between fear and joy contexts in a habituation-discrimination protocol

Plotine Jardat, Alexandra Destrez, Fabrice Damon, Zoé Menard--Peroy, Céline Parias, Philippe Barrière, Matthieu Keller, Ludovic Calandreau, Léa Lansade

Published in 2023

Scientific article describing the use of a habituation-discrimination protocol which showed that horses were able to distinguish human odors produced in contexts of fear and happiness.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Equines

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Human-animal relationships

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A six-step process to explore facial expressions performances to detect pain in dairy cows with lipopolysaccharide-induced clinical mastitis

L. Ginger, L. Aubé, D. Ledoux, M. Borot, C. David, M. Bouchon, M. Leach, D. Durand, A. de Boyer des Roches

Published in 2023

Study identifying 7 facial action units taken from the eye and ear regions and from the mouth and muzzle for the detection of mild pain associated with induced inflammatory mastitis in dairy cows. It uses a six-step process that incorporates expression, selectivity, intra- and inter-observer reliability and measurement error (specificity and sensitivity).

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Bovines

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Pain, Welfare indicators, Human-animal relationships

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Integrating Individual Animal and Population Welfare in Zoos and Aquariums

Louis DiVincenti, Jr., Allen McDowell, Elizabeth S. Herrelko

Published in 2023

Article on the links between animal welfare at individual and population levels in zoos and aquariums, and how these two levels can be mutually reinforcing or in conflict.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories:Wildlife

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Enrichment, Societal issues, Welfare indicators, Living environment

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How to Understand Them? A Review of Emotional Indicators in Horses

Letícia Santos Maurício, Denise Pereira Leme, Maria José Hötzel

Published in 2023

Scientific review of the indicators, both physiological (concentrations of certain hormones, body temperature) and behavioral (ear position, facial expressions, approach and avoidance behaviors), and cognitive bias tests developed to assess emotions in horses.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Equines

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Human-animal relationships, Welfare indicators

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Models of Conditioned Reinforcement and Abnormal Behaviour in Captive Animals

Vera Vinken, Lena Lidfors, Jenny Loberg, Anna Lundberg, Johan Lind, Markus Jonsson, Stefano Ghirlanda, Magnus Enquist

Published in 2023

Scientific article proposing three models, including conditioned reinforcement, to study the complex relationships between environments, innate predispositions and learning in captive animals, which can lead to the development of stereotypies.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories:Wildlife

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Enrichment, Living environment, Human-animal relationships, Behavioural disorders, Societal issues

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Welfare of ducks, geese and quail on farm

EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Animal Welfare (AHAW Panel), Søren Saxmose Nielsen, Julio Alvarez, Dominique Joseph Bicout, Paolo Calistri, Elisabetta Canali, Julian Ashley Drewe, Bruno Garin-Bastuji, Jose Luis Gonzales Rojas, Christian Gortázar Schmidt, Mette Herskin, Virginie Michel, Miguel Ángel Miranda Chueca, Barbara Padalino, Paolo Pasquali, Helen Clare Roberts, Hans Spoolder, Karl Stahl, Antonio Velarde, Arvo Viltrop and Christoph Winckler

Published in 2023

Scientific opinion identifying the most common farming systems in the European Union for each species and category of animal. It describes and assesses the welfare consequences for each species of the following factors: restriction of movement, injury, group stress, inability to adopt comfort behavior, inability to adopt exploratory or foraging behavior and inability to express maternal behavior. It provides recommendations on how to predict negative welfare consequences using both quantitative and qualitative methods.

Document types: Technical Paper

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Animal-based measurements,Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Consciousness, Pain, Risk management, Welfare indicators, Housing, Living environment, Mutilation, Human-animal relationships, Stress, Livestock farming system

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Welfare of dairy cows

EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Animal Welfare (AHAW) : Søren Saxmose Nielsen, Julio Alvarez, Dominique Joseph Bicout, Paolo Calistri, Elisabetta Canali, Julian Ashley Drewe, Bruno Garin-Bastuji, Jose Luis Gonzales Rojas, Christian Gort ́azar Schmidt, Mette Herskin, Virginie Michel, Miguel ́Angel Miranda Chueca, Barbara Padalino, Helen Clare Roberts, Hans Spoolder, Karl Stahl, Antonio Velarde, Arvo Viltrop, Alice De Boyer des Roches, Margit Bak Jensen, John Mee, Martin Green, Hans-Hermann Thulke, Elea Bailly-Caumette, Denise Candiani, Eliana Lima,Yves Van der Stede and Christoph Winckler

Published in 2023

EFSA opinion identifying the main types of housing for dairy cows in Europe and, for each, the main strengths, weaknesses and risks likely to reduce animal welfare. It examines five specific negative welfare consequences: locomotor disorders, mastitis, restricted movement and resting problems, inability to adopt comfort behavior and metabolic disorders. It also analyzes a set of farm characteristics that could be used to classify the level of welfare on farms.

Document Types: Opinions

Animal categories: Bovines

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Animal-based measurements,Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Consciousness, Pain, Risk management, Welfare indicators, Housing, Living environment, Mutilation, Human-animal relationships, Stress, Livestock farming system

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Analysis of Various Facial Expressions of Horses as a Welfare Indicator Using Deep Learning

Su Min Kim, Gil Jae Cho

Published in 2023

Article using deep learning to identify various facial expressions that can be used as indicators of welfare in horses. It proposes a model for the automatic recognition of facial expressions including the eyes, nose and ears, to identify horses in various situations: at rest, in pain, immediately after exercise and during shoeing.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Equines

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Castration, Pain, Precision farming, Welfare indicators, Sterilization

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Devenir des jeunes ruminants laitiers : comment concilier élevage et attentes sociétales 

Dominique Pomiès, Caroline Constancis, Julien Jurquet, Isabelle Veissier, Hugues Caillat, Gilles Lagriffoul, Marie Drouet, Clément Fossaert, Yannick Le Cozler

Published in 2023

Review of the natural behaviors of young stock from the three major dairy breeds, and of farming practices currently employed for these young animals. It lists alternative practices that can meet the expectations of the public and consumers in terms of animal welfare, as well as those of farmers on improving their profession's public image and the way their products are sold.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Bovines, Caprines, Ovines

Keywords: Enrichment, Human-animal relationships, Lactation, Living environment, One Welfare, Weaning, Stress, Livestock farming system,Societal issues, Welfare indicators

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