Document type : Scientific review

Animal welfare risks from commercial practices involving cephalopod molluscs and decapod crustaceans

Browning H, Burn C, Schnell AK, Crump A, Birch J.

Published in 2025

Article updating a 2021 study. It proposes practical improvements that can be made to the welfare of cephalopods and crustaceans, and identifies research priorities as a guide for good practice.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories:Crustaceans, Mollusks

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Animal welfare definitions, frameworks, and assessment tools: Advancing the measurement and laying the foundation for improved animal welfare through a three-step approach

van der Staay FJ, Goerlich VC, Meijboom FL, Arndt SS.

Published in 2025

This overview summarizes the three steps involved in developing animal welfare assessment tools: arriving at a shared definition of welfare, establishing theoretical and ethical frameworks, and  designing validated tools.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: All animals

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L’enrichissement du milieu de vie

Céline Tallet and Violaine Colson

Published in 2025

Article on environmental enrichment in captive animals. Conditions in captivity restrict the satisfaction of animals' physiological and ethological needs. Lack of stimulation and stressful practices can be detrimental to their welfare and affect the quality of scientific research carried out on these animals.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories:Cattle, Goats, Equines, Sheep, Fish, Pigs, Rodents, Poultry

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La cognition, pierre angulaire des émotions et du bien-être des animaux

A. Boissy

Published in 2025

Article exploring the emotional and cognitive skills of animals, their consciousness and the affects of their psychological activity in order to arrive at the concept of animal welfare.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: All animals

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The neurobiological basis of emotions and their connection to facial expressions in non-human mammals: insights in nonverbal communication

Daniel Mota-Rojas, Alexandra L. Whittaker, Cécile Bienboire-Frosini, Jhon Buenhombre, Patricia Mora-Medina, Adriana Domínguez-Oliva, Julio Martínez-Burnes, Ismael Hernández-Avalos, Adriana Olmos-Hernández, Antonio Verduzco-Mendoza, Alejandro Casas-Alvarado, Karina Lezama-García, Temple Grandin

Published in 2025

Scientific synthesis exploring the emotional sensitivity of non-human mammals, manifested in particular by facial expressions associated with limbic system activity. The AnimalFACS tool, adapted from the human Facial Action Coding System, makes the scientific analysis of these facial movements possible for several animal species. This approach helps to improve the understanding and interpretation of animal emotions, facilitating more accurate non-verbal communication between humans and animals.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Mammals

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Relevance of state-behaviour feedbacks for animal welfare

Montalcini, C.M., Driver, C.C. and Mendl, M.T.

Published in 2025

Scientific review exploring the dynamic interactions between an animal's state (health, emotions) and behavior. These create positive or negative feedback loops that impact animal welfare. The authors propose adjustment strategies that favor positive affective states. The use of dynamic models incorporating longitudinal data is recommended to improve understanding and achieve sustainable improvements in animal welfare.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: All animals

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Developments in Chinese Attitudes to Animal Welfare

Clive J. C. Phillips

Published in 2025

Review describing the evolution of Chinese attitudes to animal welfare. Despite low levels of government commitment, interest in animal welfare science is growing in China, particularly the use of technology and remote sensing.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: All animals

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Rethinking Animal Welfare in a Globalised World: Cultural Perspectives, Challenges, and Future Directions

Oxley Heaney, S.; Szydlowski, M.; Hill, K.; Hooper, J.

Published in 2025

Sociological review considering the challenges to the welfare of humans and non-human animals that arise from cultural, political and social boundaries. A trans-species approach is key to understanding and managing these complex relationships in the Anthropocene era.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: All animals

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Outdoor access versus conventional broiler chicken production: Updated review of animal welfare, food safety, and meat quality

Yan L. Campbell, Lin L. Walker, Brooke M. Bartz, James O. Eckberg, Allison N. Pullin

Published in 2025

Review article comparing the animal welfare, food safety and meat quality performance of the conventional and free-range broiler sectors in the USA. The data revealed advantages and disadvantages to both farming systems,  and results are not comparable from one study to the next. As most of the scientific data was obtained from outside the USA, a need was identified for studies specific to USA to be carried out. 

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Poultry

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Face readers

Christa Lesté-Lasserre

Published in 2025

Article reviewing the multiple potential benefits of AI for the analysis of animals' facial expressions and detection of signs of pain or complex emotions, in which it sometimes performs better than human experts. Researchers are developing algorithms capable of interpreting the emotional states of dogs, cats, horses and primates using deep learning and annotated image databases. However, scientists remain wary of the lack of transparency in the decisions made by AI, and are seeking to combine facial analysis with other indicators to refine the assessment of animal welfare.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories:Canine, Equine, Feline

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Pain, Identification, Wellfare indicators

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