Document type : Scientific review

Application of Precision Technologies to Characterize Animal Behavior: A Review

Abdellah Hlimi, Samira El Otmani, Fouad Elame, Mouad Chentouf, Rachid El Halimi, Youssef Chebli

Published in 2024

Article summarising the benefits and potential of precision monitoring technologies (wearable sensors, video observation and smartphones) to increase production and improve welfare in livestock farming.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Bovines, Caprines, Ovines

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Precision farming

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Why do dogs wag their tails?

Silvia Leonetti, Giulia Cimarelli, Taylor A. Hersh, Andrea Ravignani

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

Keywords:Evolutionary processes, Human-animal relationships

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Fin de l’élimination des poussins mâles d’un jour : le choix du sexage in ovo

Sophie Rehault-Godbert, Marie Bourin, Joël Gautron, Maxime Quentin

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

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Advancing Animal Welfare in Zoos through Data Science: Scaling Up Continuous Improvement Efforts

Matyas Liptovszky

Published in 2024

Opinion piece arguing for the transformative potential of data science to advance animal welfare in zoos.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories:Wildlife

Keywords: Animal-based measurements, Precision farming, Welfare indicators

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Pain Assessment in Goat Kids: Focus on Disbudding

Kavitha Kongara, Preet Singh, Dinakaran Venkatachalam, John Paul Chambers

Published in 2023

Scientific review of pain assessment in kids after disbudding, using physiological and behavioral measures

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Caprines

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Pain, Societal issues, Mutilation, Human-animal relationships, Stress

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Annual report of the EFSA Networks on Animal Welfare 2023

EFSA

Published in 2023

Technical report summarizing the activities of EFSA's network subgroups on animal welfare as presented at their 2023 annual meeting, including the progress of EFSA's ongoing welfare mandates along with two new mandates, on dog and cat welfare, and on use of diathermic syncope for cattle stunning. Discussions took place on various subjects, including hypertypes and genetic diseases in dogs, the need for stunning before the killing of decapods, the assessment of welfare at pasture, and population reduction methods in the event of an avian flu crisis.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories:Cattle, Dogs, Goats, Equines, Felines, Molluscs, Sheep, Pigs, Poultry

Keywords:All subjects

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Urban animal welfare

Marion Weisslinger

Published in 2023

Dossier, including a video interview with a researcher in animal ethics, describing the different domestic and liminal animals that inhabit cities, the competition for space with humans, the need to consider the welfare of these animals, and the management of their populations.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories:Wildlife

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Biodiversity, Societal issues, Population management, One Welfare, Human-animal relationships

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Elevated platforms for pigs - A review

Karen Kauselmann, Lars Schrader, E. Tobias Krause

Published in 2023

Scientific review of the value of raised platforms for the improvement of pig welfare. It discusses  different platform and ramp designs, a pig's biological ability to use them, the advantages and disadvantages for pigs and farmers, and methods used to evaluate the effects of platforms on pigs.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Porcines

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Enrichment, Housing

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Lateralised Behavioural Responses in Livestock to Environmental Stressors: Implications for Using Infrared Thermography to Assess Welfare Conditions

Amira A. Goma, Jashim Uddin, Emily Kieson

Published in 2023

Scientific review of the lateralized behavioral responses of farm animals to environmental stressors, and the association between these responses and the infrared temperature of the external body surfaces concerned, with the aim of improving the use of non-invasive measures in the assessment of animal welfare conditions.

Document Types: Scientific review

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

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Precision farming, Welfare indicators, Living environment

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Cognitive tasks as measures of pig welfare: a systematic review

Thomas Ede, Thomas D. Parsons

Published in 2023

Systematic review of the literature to assess the frequency of use and variety in cognitive approaches to the assessment of pig welfare. To this end, it quantifies the different cognitive tasks used and welfare interventions studied in the selected articles, and assesses the frequency with which cognitive task results are in line with treatment effects.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Porcines

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

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