Keyword : Experimentation

Ethique des relations homme/animal – Pour une juste mesure

Denis B.

Published in 2015

Whether it is a question of their status or their welfare, animals find themselves firmly at the centre of major contemporary debates. In this book, the authors address the ethics of human/animal relations in animal husbandry, discussing livestock animals within their economic context of production. 

Document Types: Scientific work

Keywords: Biodiversity, Wildlife population dynamics, Societal issues, Experimentation, Breeding and rearing systems

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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Emotional regulation in livestock: focus on neurobiological actors

Menant O., Destrez A., Deiss V., Boissy A., Delagrange P., Calandreau L., Chaillou E.

Published in 2016

In order to achieve the objective evaluation of emotions in farm animals, the Agri-Bien-Être Animal network (an interdisciplinary group created by INRA in 1998, www6.inra.fr/agri_bien_etre_animal) has proposed experimental strategies based on cognitive evaluation theory in human psychology (Boissy et al 2007, Box 1). According to this conceptual framework, emotions are generated by the cognitive evaluation of a situation confronting the animal. Although the characterisation of these situations is complex (Forkman et al 2007), it is suggested that the animal would evaluate them using basic criteria for relevance (suddenness, novelty, etc) and involvement (predictability, etc), the degree to which they correspond to  expectations, and according to its own adaptive capacities (controllability of the situation). At the end of this evaluation phase, the emotion felt by the animal is translated into emotional expression. It is the latter that can be assessed by the objective measurement of behavioural and physiological emotional responses (Box 2). By applying this conceptual framework to research in the neurobiology of emotions, the representation of the neural circuit of emotions can be built around those structures involved in the perception of the environment, information processing and the expression of emotional responses (Figure 1). From an experimental point of view, this theoretical framework requires the characterisation and standardisation of situations likely to serve as a trigger and the characterisation of the emotional responses expressed by individual animals in relation to the neurobiological actors studied.

Document Types: Scientific review

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

Keywords: Anxiety, Experimentation, Brain integration, Memory, Neurogenesis, Fear, Stress

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A critical review of fear tests used on cattle, pigs, sheep, poultry and horses

Forkman B., Boissy A., Meunier-Salaün M-C., Canali E., Jones R.B.

Published in 2007

Fear is probably the most-studied emotion in pets. In this overview, we attempt to establish the levels of repeatability and validity for fear tests carried out on cattle, pigs, sheep and goats, poultry and horses. We focus our review on the three most common types of fear tests: the arena test (open field), the novel object test and the stress test. For some tests, e.g. tonic immobility in poultry, there is a good body of literature on the factors affecting test results, test validity and age dependency. However, there are relatively few such well-defined and validated tests, and the element that is particularly lacking for most tests is information on robustness, i.e. what aspects can be modified without affecting the validity of the tests. The relative lack of standardised tests is an obstacle to the development of applied ethology as a science.

Document Types: Scientific review

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

Keywords: Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Animal-based measurements, Anxiety, Experimentation, Welfare indicators, Memory, Fear, Cognitive processes, Stress, Vocalisation

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Éthologie Appliquée : Comportements Animaux et Humains, Questions de Société.

Laure Kaiser, Frédéric Marion-Poll, Jean-Michel Faure, Pierre Le Neindre, Alain Boissy, Frédéric Lévy, Raymond Nowak, Xavier Boivin Bertrand Dumont, Pierre Joly, Frédéric Tardy, M. Bilbaut, J.J. Boisard, Hubert Montagner, Catherine Belzung, Claire Detrain, Jean-Louis Deneubourg, Raphaël Larrère, Florence Burgat, Sonia Desmoulin, Pierre Le Neindre, Isabelle Veissier, Alain Boissy, Claude Baudoin, D. Benhaïm, C. Koch-Schott, S. Esquieu-Panis, Jean-Louis Millot, David Benhaim, Claudine Koch-Schott

Published in 2009

While there is growing recognition of applied ethology in France, offering real career opportunities for young graduates, much can still be gained by setting out its different aspects for a broader public. Such is the aim of this book, which describes in as much variety as possible the fields associated with this approach to animal behaviours, focusing on practical measures without neglecting the basic principles that underlie them. With the ongoing devopment of new disciplines and technologies (robotics, virtual reality, etc.), the ethological approach has been able to draw on substantial achievements in the integrative biology sector to innovate and meet societal expectations.
This book is the result of a collective enterprisem with various contributions from recognised scientists and professional ethologists who have been chosen for the complementarity of their skills in the discipline. The contributions are grouped to represent the main fields of activity where ethology is applied:  1) agronomy and animal husbandry, 2) protection of wild flora and fauna, 3) human health and industry, 4) ethical and legal issues related to animal husbandry and experimentation and, finally, 5) human behaviour. Given the diversity of these fields of application, the contribution of each author has been vital and we thank them for their commitment and efficiency. We would also like to thank the members of the French Society for the Study of Animal Behaviour, particularly its then President, for having believed in this work from the outset, for having supported its production and for having placed their trust in us despite a much longer development period than was initially envisaged. Last, we are grateful to Quae publications for having allowed us to turn this project into a reality.

Document Types: Scientific work

Keywords: Adaptation of the animal to the environment,  Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Animal-based measurements, Anxiety, Learning, Training, Wildlife population dynamics, Experimentation, Welfare indicators, Modelling, Cognitive processes, Stress, Breeding and rearing systems

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Cognitive ethology

M. Kreutzer, J. Vauclair, R. Chichery, F. Cézilly, JM. Lasalle, M. Giurfa, . Poncet, E. Save, J. Fagot, E. Wasserman, M. Young, JR. Anderson, B. Thierry, O. Petit, O. Pascalis, M. Drapier, E. Visalberghi, C. Chauvin, AM. Ducoing

Published in 2004

The combination of the cognitive sciences and ethology has given rise to cognitive ethology, which takes as its main object "the observation of animals in a more or less natural environment and the aim of understanding the evolution, adaptation, origin and development of a behavioural repertoire specific to each species". The term "cognitive ethology" was originally proposed by Donald Griffin in his book The Question of Animal Awareness, published in 1976. The term tends to replace the term "animal intelligence" which is considered obsolete in English-language publications. The human equivalent is "cognitive psychology".

Document Types: Scientific work

Keywords: Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Learning, Training, Wildlife population dynamics, Experimentation, Cognitive processes

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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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