Discipline: Ethology

Towards Machine Recognition of Facial Expressions of Pain in Horses

Pia Haubro Andersen, Sofia Broomé, Maheen Rashid, Johan Lundblad, Katrina Ask, Zhenghong Li, Elin Hernlund, Marie Rhodin, Hedvig Kjellström

Published in 2021

Scientific review describing two promising systems for the automatic recognition of facial expressions of pain in horses. The first is based on a manual classification system that involves machine learning. The second is based on recurrent neural network learning.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Equines

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

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Validation of the Donkey Pain Scale (DOPS) for Assessing Postoperative Pain in Donkeys

Maria Gláucia Carlos de Oliveira, Valéria Veras de Paula, Andressa Nunes Mouta, Isabelle de Oliveira Lima, Luã Barbalho de Macêdo, Talyta Lins Nunes, Pedro Henrique Esteves Trindade, Stelio Pacca Loureiro Luna

Published in 2021

Scientific article proposing and testing a scale for acute pain in donkeys during castration. The proposed scale is both reliable and valid.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Equines

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

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The importance of considering age when quantifying wild animals' welfare

Luke Hecht

Published in 2021

A scientific review of work on age-related welfare levels in wild animals, which proposes a  new conceptual framework based on welfare expectancy. This quantifies the welfare of a population of wild animals using individual data on average welfare as a function of age.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories:Wildlife

Keywords: Modelling, Human-animal relationships,Welfare indicators

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Effect of transportation and social isolation on facial expressions of healthy horses

Johan Lundblad, Maheen Rashid, Marie Rhodin, Pia Haubro Andersen

Published in 2021

Scientific paper describing the facial expressions of healthy, pain-free horses before and during transport and social isolation, both of which are potentially stressful management procedures. The following facial features were observed in both cases: increased eye white, dilated nostrils, elevated upper eyelid, elevated inner forehead, exposed tongue, increased ear movements and blinking frequency. Some of these stress markers are already used as indicators of pain.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Equines

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Pain, Welfare indicators, Stress, Transport

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Automatic Pain Detection on Horse and Donkey Faces

Hilde I. Hummel, Francisca Pessanha, Albert Ali Salah, Thijs J. P.A.M. van Loon, Remco C. Veltkamp

Published in 2021

Summary of a presentation at a conference on the use of automatic facial recognition to develop an automatic pain prediction system for horses, based on grimace scales.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Equines

Keywords:Anxiety, Precision farming, Welfare indicators, Human-animal relationships, Pain, Stress

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Behavioral Biology of Horses

Janne Winther Christensen

Published in 2021

Scientific overview chapter dealing with the behaviour of horses, covering human-horse relationships, especially during dressage and training, social behaviour, effects of environmental restrictions and cognitive abilities

Document Types: Scientific work

Animal categories: Equines

Keywords:Learning, training, Brain integration, Cognitive processes, Human-animal relationships

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A preliminary study of the effects of the number of consecutive days of training and days off on foal recall

Jaymie Loy, Leigh Wills, Sally King, Kirsty Jenkins, Sarah Ellis, Hayley Randle

Published in 2021

A scientific paper on experimental work to determine how the incorporation of rest days during initial preparation influences foal learning outcomes. The results support the inclusion of a rest day during the first four days of initial training programmes, to reduce the occurrence and development of undesirable behaviours such as biting.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Equines

Keywords:Learning, training, Brain integration, Cognitive processes, Human-animal relationships

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Activity Budget Comparisons Using Long-Term Observations of a Group of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) under Human Care: Implications for Animal Welfare

Tim Huettner, Sandra Dollhaeupl, Katrin Baumgartner, Lorenzo von Fersen

Published in 2021

Scientific paper reporting long-term observations of the behaviour of a group of dolphins in a dolphinarium. It highlights that noise leads to decreases in play behaviour and training performance, and increased time spent swimming rapidly, and that significant changes to time allocation in activity budgets can affect the animals' welfare.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Mammals

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

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Guide to good welfare practice for equidae

Horse industry

Published in 2021

The first draft of the Guide de bonnes pratiques pour l’application des engagements de la charte pour le bien-être des équidés was submitted for evaluation to Anses, which issued its opinion in January 2021. This revised version 2.0, which incorporates Anses's recommendations, was validated by the Ministry of Agriculture on 15 July 2021.

Document Types: Good practice guide

Animal categories: Equines

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Consciousness, Enrichment, Welfare indicators, Housing, Human-animal relationships, Stress, Pain

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Invited review: The welfare of dairy cattle housed in tiestalls compared to less-restrictive housing types: A systematic review

Annabelle Beaver, Daniel M. Weary, Marina A.G. von Keyserlingk

Published in 2021

Systematic review of the scientific literature on the comparison of welfare indicators, including emotional status, natural behaviour and health of tethered and loose-housed cows. It shows differences in the prevalence of some diseases between the two types of housing and changes to some natural behaviours in tethered housing. There is insufficient data on the emotional state of the animals.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Bovines, Caprines, Ovines

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Housing, Livestock farming system, Welfare indicators

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