Discipline: Veterinary

The AWIN welfare assessment protocol for horses

Emanuela Dalla Costa, Michela Minero

Published in 2015

The European AWIN project has developed welfare assessment protocols that provide a range of reliable, feasible and practical animal-based indicators for evaluating animal welfare to promote the improvement of animal production systems across Europe. The protocols have been developed for species kept under very different husbandry systems, ranging from highly intensive to pasture-based systems, and that involve different production parameters, from intensive dairy production to extensive meat or draught animal production.
This welfare assessment protocol is intended for horses over 5 years of age.

Document Types: Good practice guide

Animal categories: Equines

Keywords: Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Animal-based measurements, Anxiety, Livestock buildings, Pain, Enrichment, Environment, Welfare indicators, Housing, Restraint equipment, Living environment, Modelling, Mutilation, Fear, Human-animal relationships, Stress

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Douleurs animales. 1. Les mécanismes

Paulmier V., Faure M., Durand D., Boissy A., Cognié J., Eschalier A., Terlouw C.

Published in 2015

This article aims to bring together in a single document the knowledge acquired over recent years on the mechanisms of the appearance and modulation of pain in animals. The review is divided into three parts. The first describes the different stages of development, transmission and integration of the nociceptive messages involved in the onset of pain (sensory and emotional components). The second describes the different types of modulation that can activate or inhibit the transmission of nociceptive messages. The third describes the different neurophysiological processes that accompany pain and can modulate it (inflammation, activation of the autonomic nervous system and the neuroendocrine system).

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Bovines, Caprines, Equines, Mammals, Monogastrics, Ovines, Fish, Porcines, Rodents, Ruminants, Poultry

Keywords: Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Animal-based measurements, Pain, Experimentation, Welfare indicators, Brain integration, Mutilation, Cognitive processes, Stress

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Douleurs animales. 2. Evaluation et traitement de la douleur chez les ruminants

Faure M., Paulmier V., De Boyer Des Roches A., Boissy A., Terlouw E.M.C., Guattéo R., Cognié J., Courteix C., Durand D., 2015

Published in 2015

The establishment of efficient and simple tools to detect pain and assess its intensity would make it possible to meet the needs of professionals (farmers and producers, veterinarians, researchers, etc.), to answer questions raised by public opinion and debate on animal pain and to meet the requirements of the regulations on the use of animals for scientific purposes (cf. Coetzee 2013, bibliographical review). Recent studies have already enabled the identification of behavioural, zootechnical and physiological indicators for the presence and even the intensity of pain (cf. review of the literature by Prunier et al 2013). However, no integrated approach involving the simultaneous use of all these indicators has been developed to date. Moreover, some indicators cannot be used in current practice, and the sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) of the various potential indicators are not always optimal. One route is to combine the indicators in order to increase their informational value. Through this overview, we wish to show i) that evaluation of type and level of pain is essential for optimal pain management and ii) that an evaluation based on a multiparametric approach is best suited to such an objective.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Bovines, Caprines, Ovines, Ruminants

Keywords: Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Animal-based measurements, Pain, Experimentation, Welfare indicators, Brain integration, Mutilation, Cognitive processes, Stress

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Douleurs Animales en Elevage

P. Le Neindre, D. Baldin, S. Desmoulin, R. Guattéo, D. Guéméné, JL. Guichet, R. Larrère, K. Latouche, C. Leterrier, O. Levionnois, P. Mormede, L. Mounier, J. Porcher, P. Prunet, A. Prunier, A. Serrie, J. Servière, C. Terlouw, PL. Toutain, N. Vialles

Published in 2013

There is growing public sensitivity to animal pain across a variety of human activities: animal experimentation, pet cruelty, live performances such as in circuses, and the rearing of animals for human consumption. This situation gives rise to a sometimes difficult dialogue between animal rights campaigners who refuse to accept any exploitation of animals, those who advocate improvements to the living conditions of animals, and businesses who point out the financial constraints within their sectors. The contents of this expertise are intended to inform public decision-making and, beyond this, to provide a robust reference framework to argue positions and decisions in the public debate, and to identify the needs of research in this field in order to better respond to the questions raised.

Document Types: Scientific work

Animal categories: Bovines, Caprines, Equines, Mammals, Monogastrics, Ovines, Fish, Porcines, Ruminants, Poultry

Keywords: Adaptation of the animal to the environment,  Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Animal-based measurements, Pain, Precision farming, Experimentation, Force-feeding, Welfare indicators, Brain integration, Mutilation, Cognitive processes, Stress

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