Why do dogs wag their tails?
Published in 2024
Scientific review of the mechanism, ontogeny, function and evolution of tail-wagging behavior in dogs.
Document Types: Scientific review
Animal categories:Canine
Discipline: Genetics
Fin de l’élimination des poussins mâles d’un jour : le choix du sexage in ovo
Published in 2023
Scientific review that recaps the French decree banning the killing of male chicks from laying-hen lines, and sets out the three possible alternatives. Of these, in ovo sexing is the only route that is currently technically and economically viable, and this is presented in depth.
Document Types: Scientific review
Animal categories: Poultry
Keywords:Euthanasia
L’avenir de la conception des élevages : bien-être animal et génétique
Published in 2023
Article outlining the factors contributing to animal welfare considerations and developments in genetics that have greatly increased prolificacy, looking at their consequences for the design of pig farming facilities.
Document types: Technical Paper
Animal categories: Porcines
Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Societal issues, Welfare indicators, Lactation, Housing, Human-animal relationships, Stress, Livestock farming system
Impact of heat stress on dairy cattle and selection strategies for thermotolerance: a review
Published in 2023
Scientific review of the impacts of heat stress on the production, fertility, health and mortality of dairy cows, and of the advantages and disadvantages of the various strategies that have been proposed for the selction of heat-tolerant cows.
Document Types: Scientific review
Animal categories: Bovines
Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Risk management, Living environment, Resilience, Robustness
Review: Space allowance for growing pigs: Animal welfare, performance and on-farm practicality
Published in 2023
Scientific review of the scientific basis for the most common approaches to determining minimum space allowances for growing pigs. It examines the various factors that influence and interact with their spatial requirements. It stresses the need for further research replicating commercial conditions to ensure that recommendations deliver positive welfare outcomes in a way that is both practical and relevant.
Document Types: Scientific review
Animal categories: Porcines
Keywords:Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Enrichment, Housing, One Welfare, Behavioural disorders, Societal issues
Epigenetic biomarkers for animal welfare monitoring
Published in 2023
Scientific review describing animal DNA methylation patterns and methods for their analysis, an overview of the molecular and biological basis for the development of epigenetic biomarkers in veterinary science, and their potential use in animal welfare monitoring.
Document Types: Scientific review
Animal categories: All animals
Keywords: Animal-based measurements, Welfare indicators
Domestic dog lineages reveal genetic drivers of behavioral diversification
Published in 2022
Scientific paper to identify genetic factors in canine behavior and understand the relationships between dog breeds and the behaviors that define them. Genetic analysis shows that the diversification of canine behavior pre-dates the creation of modern breeds and that canine genetic diversity is associated with the co-expression of neurodevelopmental genes.
Document Types: Scientific paper
Animal categories:Canine
Keywords:Herding dogs, Neurogenesis, Human-animal relationships
L’hypertype est-il contraire au bien-être animal ?
Published in 2022
Dossier explaining the origins of hypertypes, how they affect animal welfare and an animal's owner, and how to deal with this trend.
Document Types: Scientific review
Animal categories: Canines, Felines
Keywords: Societal issues, Human-animal relationships
Welfare issues and potential solutions for laying hens in free range and organic production systems: A review based on literature and interviews
Published in 2022
Scientific review identifying an increased risk to free-range hens of microbial and parasitic infections, heat stress and predation. They do, however, have better bone quality and show less evidence of pecking behaviors. The review sets out existing preventive strategies and identifies missed opportunities to use genetics and prenatal and nutritional factors to prevent these welfare issues in free-range systems.
Document Types: Scientific paper
Animal categories: Poultry
Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Enrichment, Housing, Living environment, Resilience, Robustness, Stress, Livestock farming system
Improving heat stress resilience should be priority for swine industry
Published in 2022
Summary of a webinar hosted by the USDA on how to mitigate the impacts of heat stress on the health and welfare of pigs in factory farming. It presents research findings to improve heat stress resilience in pigs through a three-part approach, that looks at management, nutrition and genetics.
Document types: Technical Paper
Animal categories: Porcines
Keywords:Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Risk management, Living environment, Resilience, Robustness, Stress
