Discipline: Ethology

An evaluation of the role of 'biological evidence' in zoo and aquarium enrichment practices

J. Brereton, P. Rose

Published in 2022

Scientific review of the impact of enrichment research on zoo and aquarium practices. It reveals that zoo and aquarium professionals are paying heed to species-specific welfare needs by ensuring that enrichment protocols are supported by biological evidence. It goes on to highlight areas and species that need further research.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories:Wildlife, Fish

Keywords:Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Enrichment, Human-animal relationships

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Training as enrichment: A critical review

E.J. Fernandez

Published in 2022

Scientific review of the idea that training can be considered to be a behavioural enrichment for animals. This view is based on 3 propositions: that training facilitates the use of enrichments; that it modifies social interactions and that it broadens behavioural repertoires.

Document Types: Scientific review

Keywords: Cognitive processes, Enrichment, Human-animal relationships,Learning, training

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Conspecific and Human Sociality in the Domestic Cat: Consideration of Proximate Mechanisms, Human Selection and Implications for Cat Welfare

Lauren R. Finka

Published in 2022

Scientific review summarising current knowledge of the factors that may influence the sociality and sociability of domestic cats towards humans and other cats, focusing primarily on cats kept by humans in confined environments.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Felines

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Human-animal relationships, Stress

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Personalized dominance - a questionnaire-based analysis of the associations among personality traits and social rank of companion dogs

Kata Vékony, Fruzsina Prónik, Péter Pongrácz

Published in 2022

Scientific paper demonstrating a link between personality traits as reported by the owner of two or more dogs and the dominant or submissive character of their dogs.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories:Canine

Keywords: Human-animal relationships, Stress

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Disentangling help-seeking and giving up: differential human-directed gazing by dogs in a modified unsolvable task paradigm

Hirschi, Alja Mazzini, Stefanie Riemer

Published in 2022

Scientific paper showing that when a dog looks at humans, its gaze is influenced by its social relationship with the people concerned, by situational associations and by context.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories:Canine

Keywords : Human-animal relationships

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From fish out of water to new insights on navigation mechanisms in animals

Shachar Givonad, Matan Samina, Ohad Ben-Shahar, Ronen Segev

Published in 2021

Scientific paper showing that a fish is able to orientate itself and move intentionally in a terrestrial environment, using a device where the fish is placed in a tank on a wheeled platform that responds to the fish's movements. This suggests that spatial representation and movement abilities are species independent.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Fish

Keywords: Brain integration, Experimentation, Cognitive processes,Adaptation of the animal to the environment

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The Welfare Status of Hens in Different Housing Systems - A Review

Ewa Sosnówka-Czajka, Iwona Skomorucha, Eugeniusz Herbut

Published in 2021

Scientific review of the advantages and disadvantages of different chicken production systems in terms of animal welfare, showing that all systems, even if they take animal welfare into account, affect the behaviour, health and productivity of the birds to different degrees.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords: Welfare indicators, Housing, Human-animal relationships

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Responses to spoken words by domestic dogs: A new instrument for use with dog owners

Catherine Reeve, Sophie Jacques

Published in 2022

A scientific article that sets out to inventory and analyse the words to which pet and working dogs respond. The number (89 on average) and type of words identified vary according to the breed, the status of the dog (pet or working) and its speed of learning.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories:Canine

Keywords:Learning, training, Brain integration, Memory, Human-animal relationships

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Bien-être animal : choisir les enrichissements de ses poulets

Estelle Guérin, Mathilde Stomp

Published in 2022

Technical article setting out the results of ITAVI's work on a multi-criteria analysis of different types of enrichment available on the market that take into account the needs of birds: exploration, perching, dust bathing, self protection and rest.

Document Types: Technical review

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Enrichment, Housing, Human-animal relationships, Societal issues

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Bêtes de science : le cheval, un champion de l’intelligence sociale

Nathalie Mayer

Published in 2022

Article summarising current scientific knowledge on the social behaviours of horses, both intra-species and in relation to humans, and on their emotional capacities, in particular on 'emotional contagion' where emotions are transmitted from one horse to another. 

Document Types: Technical review

Animal categories: Equines

Keywords : Human-animal relationships

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