Discipline: Sociology

Human-Dog Relationship during the First COVID-19 Lockdown in Italy

Danila d'Angelo, Andrea Chirico, Luigi Sacchettino, Federica Manunta, Maurizio Martucci, Anna Cestaro, Luigi Avallone, Antonio Giordano, Francesca Ciani

Published in 2021

Scientific paper investigating the human-dog relationship during the first COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Italy. No difference was found in the human-dog relationship during and outside the lockdown period, but owners' perceptions of the costs of dog ownership were lower during the lockdown.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories:Canine

Keywords : Human-animal relationships

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Companion Animal Type and Level of Engagement Matter: A Mixed-Methods Study Examining Links between Companion Animal Guardianship, Loneliness and Well-Being during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Heather Clements, Stephanie Valentin, Nicholas Jenkins, Jean Rankin, Nancy R. Gee, Donna Snellgrove, Katherine A. Sloman

Published in 2021

Scientific paper reporting on work to test whether pet ownership and interactions reduced owners' loneliness and unhappiness during the Covid-19 pandemic. Counter-intuitively, although owners expressed the view that their pet had a beneficial effect on their mental well-being, the data presented by the authors do not support this impression.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories:Canines, Felines, Fish

Keywords : Human-animal relationships

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Addressing the welfare needs of farmed lumpfish: Knowledge gaps, challenges and solutions

Carlos Garcia de Leaniz, Carolina Gutierrez Rabadan, Sara I. Barrento, Rebecca Stringwell, Paul N. Howes, Ben A. Whittaker, Jessica F. Minett, Robert G. Smith, Craig L. Pooley, Ben J. Overland, Leigh Biddiscombe, Richard Lloyd, Sofia Consuegra, Jake K. Maddocks, Paul T. J. Deacon, Ben T. Jennings, Sonia Rey Planellas, Amanda Deakin, Amber I. Moore, Daniel. Phillips, Guillermo Bardera, Maria F. Castanheira, Maria Scolamacchia, Nancy Clarke, Ollie Parker, John Avizienius, Malcolm Johnstone, Michalis Pavlidis

Published in 2021

A scientific paper to identify the challenges and solutions involved in improving  lumpfish welfare in salmon farming using a Delphi method with stakeholders in the fish-farming sector. Respondents identified 5 behavioural and 12 physical indicators that were useful. However, lumpfish and salmon have very different behavioural and physiological needs, so the welfare standards of one species are not appropriate for the other.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Fish

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Consciousness, Pain, Welfare indicators, Living environment, Human-animal relationships, Stress, Livestock farming system

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Is Animal Welfare an Internationally Understood Concept in the Zoo World? Thematic Analysis of Two Regional Groups of Zoo Staff

Heather Bacon, Belinda Vigors, Darren J. Shaw, Natalie Waran, Cathy M. Dwyer, Catriona Bell

Published in 2021

Scientific article comparing the perceptions and knowledge of zoo professionals in Europe and China, using telephone interviews on 3 Subjects: "what animal welfare is", "animal welfare frameworks" and "the human element in animal welfare". It shows that, although the concept of animal welfare is perceived in comparable ways by the two cultures,  its implementation in China would require action by management and staff motivation.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories:Wildlife

Keywords: Societal issues, Welfare indicators, Human-animal relationships

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Leg health of meat chickens: impact on welfare, consumer behaviour, and the role of environmental enrichment

V. Phibbs, P. J. Groves, W. I. Muir

Published in 2021

A scientific review of animal welfare and consumer attitudes to broiler welfare. Leg disorders, techniques for assessing leg health, and possibilities for enriching the birds' environment to improve their mobility and leg health are described.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Pain, Enrichment, Welfare indicators

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Dairy farmers' heterogeneous preferences for animal welfare-enhancing flooring properties: A mixed logit approach applied in Sweden

E. Owusu-Sekyere, H. Hanssona, E. Telezhenko

Published in 2021

Article showing that Swedish dairy farmers have different opinions on the flooring characteristics that impact animal welfare and therefore on the choice of flooring for their facilities.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Bovines, Caprines, Ovines

Keywords:Enrichment, Welfare indicators, Housing

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Gene Editing for Improved Animal Welfare and Production Traits in Cattle: Will This Technology Be Embraced or Rejected by the Public?

Maria Cristina Yunes, Zimbábwe Osório-Santos, Marina A. G. von Keyserlingk, Maria José Hötzel

Published in 2021

Article reporting the opinions of Brazilian citizens on the new genome editing techniques. Acceptance is low and depends on the objectives: it is higher when the intention is to improve animal welfare than when the goal is to increase muscle mass, the benefits of the former appearing to be shared equally by animals, breeders, manufacturers and consumers.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Bovines

Keywords: Societal issues

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Fewer, bigger, more intensive: EU vows to stem drastic loss of small farms

Fiona Harvey

Published in 2021

Article presenting the measures to be included in the new EU Common Agricultural Policy to support small farms and ensure better animal welfare.

Document types: Technical Paper

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

Keywords: Societal issues, Livestock farming system

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Lameness in Beef Cattle: A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Survey of On-Farm Practices and Approaches

Jay Tunstall, Karin Mueller, Dai Grove-White, Joanne W. H. Oultram, Helen Mary Higgins

Published in 2021

Scientific article studying the views and breeding practices of British cattle farmers in terms of the identification and management of lameness, and highlighting a pressing need for training to improve these two aspects of livestock farming.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Bovines

Keywords:Pain, Human-animal relationships, Livestock farming system, Welfare indicators

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The Use of the General Animal-Based Measures Codified Terms in the Scientific Literature on Farm Animal Welfare

Marta Brscic, Barbara Contiero, Luisa Magrin, Giorgia Riuzzi, Flaviana Gottardo

Published in 2021

Scientific review examining the use of the term "animal-based measures" in scientific articles on animal welfare, noting that the term is rarely used and that there is no consensus on the definition.

Document Types: Scientific review

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

Keywords:Animal-based measurements

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