Keywords: Stress

Exploring the relationship between whole carcass condemnations and farm animal welfare: A rapid scoping review

Christine Kuo, Emma G. Gardner, Murray Gillies, Marianne I. Parent

Published in 2026

Literature review showing that data on carcass rejection at abattoirs can serve as an indirect indicator of animal welfare, but studies remain largely European and focus primarily on poultry. Their main focus is on links between animal health status on farms and carcass rejection, whereas research on other welfare factors (diet, housing, behavior, transport) is limited.

Document Types: Scientific review

Keywords: Slaughter, Feeding, Housing, Health / Diseases, Stress, Transport

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Existing Soundscapes and the Impact of Noise on the Welfare of Farmed Salmonids: A Review

Kathy Overton, Tim Dempster, Marco A. Vindas, Frode Oppedal, Luke T. Barrett

Published in 2026

Review of the limited number of studies on hearing in wild and farmed salmonids, with recommendations on steps towards ascertaining and mitigating the impact of the acoustic environment on the welfare of farmed salmonids.

Document Types: Scientific review

Keywords: Emotion, Housing, Stress

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If you blink at me, I'll blink back. Domestic dogs' feedback to conspecific visual cues

Chiara Canori, Tiziano Travain, Giulia Pedretti, Rachele Fontani, Paola Valsecchi

Published in 2025

Study suggesting that dogs may mimic the eye blinks of other dogs, indicating a potential role in communication. The results also show that these signals do not induce stress, paving the way for further research into their social impact.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories:Canine

Keywords:Socialization, Stress

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EFSA Opinion - Welfare of horses during killing for purposes other than slaughter

EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare

Published in 2025

New EFSA Opinion on the welfare of horses during killing for purposes other than human consumption, whether indivudally or on a large scale. The Opinion details three phases: pre-stunning, stunning and bleeding. It identifies potential hazards and describes stunning and killing methods (captive bolt, firearm, lethal injection). Potential risks, preventive measures and animal welfare measurement criteria are described, along with practices deemed unacceptable on welfare.

Document Types: Opinions

Animal categories: Equines

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Anxiety, Consciousness, Pain, Brain integration, Fear, Stress

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EFSA Opinion - Welfare of horses at slaughter

EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare

Published in 2025

New EFSA opinion on the welfare of horses at slaughter for human consumption. The opinion details three phases: pre-stunning, stunning and bleeding. It identifies potential hazards and describes stunning and killing methods (captive bolt, firearm, lethal injection), and proposes measures to assess animal welfare consequences. Practices deemed unacceptable on welfare grounds are also listed.

Document Types: Opinions

Animal categories: Equines

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Anxiety, Consciousness, Pain, Brain integration, Fear, Stress

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Machine Vision Applications for Welfare Monitoring in Aquaculture: Challenges and Opportunities

Fitzgerald, A., Ioannou, C.C., Consuegra, S., Dowsey, A. and Garcia de Leaniz, C.

Published in 2025

Review article examining the practical applications of AI for monitoring animal welfare in aquaculture. Detection of diseases, parasites and stress-related behaviors remains limited, not least because of the practical difficulties of observations on commercial farms. Algorithmic advances such as YOLO could improve the accuracy and adaptability of these systems.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Fish

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Precision farmingIdentification, Welfare indicators, Living environment, Stress, Behavioural disorders

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Farmed yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor; Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) welfare: species-specific recommendations for a global industry

Barrett, M., Godfrey, R.K., Schnell, A., & Fischer, B.

Published in 2024

Review examining the factors influencing the welfare of yellow mealworms in farming, such as abiotic conditions, nutrition, intra/interspecific interactions and slaughter methods. Practical recommendations and research directions are suggested that would improve and anticipate welfare issues in this rapidly expanding sector.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories:Insects

Keywords:Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Euthanasia, Welfare indicators, Living environment, Stress

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The Interface of Caretaker and Animal Well-being As a Critical Component of Sustainability

Edwards-Callaway, L. N. & Sullivan, P. A.

Published in 2024

Study exploring welfare, both human and animal, as one of the pillars of sustainability in the farmed animal industry. This pillar is often neglected in favor of the environmental and economic pillars.

Document Types: Scientific review

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

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Animal-based measurements, Societal issues, Environment, Welfare indicators, Living environment, One Welfare, Human-animal relationships, Stress, livestock farming systemsBehavioural disorders

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Effects of space allowance on behaviour during lairage, stress physiology, skin lesion scores, and meat quality of market pigs transported in an actively ventilated vehicle in the winter

Vanessa Pasquale, Luigi Faucitano, Nicolas Devillers, Sabine Conte, Renée Bergeron

Published in 2024

Study evaluating the impact of winter transport on pig pwelfare and meat quality. The results show that the location of pigs in the vehicle (upper vs. lower deck) has a greater effect than the space available, influencing their behavior, meat quality and certain blood parameters. Pigs transported in the upper deck are exposed to colder temperatures, affecting muscle brightness and behavior.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Porcines

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Carcass quality, Stress, Transport, Behavioural disorders

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Animaux d’élevage : prendre en compte leurs ressentis

Rachel Degrande, Juliette Cognié, Véronique Deiss, Angélique Favreau-Peigné, Valérie Fillon, Plotine Jardat, Christine Leterrier, Frédéric Lévy, Odile Petit, Freddie-Jeanne Richard

Published in 2024

Article exploring the evolution of the concept of animal welfare and the scientific basis for consideration of animals' cognitive and emotional capacities.

Document types: Technical Paper

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

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Animal-based measurements, Anxiety, Learning, training, Consciousness, Welfare indicators, Memory, Metacognition, Fear, Cognitive processes, Stress, Behavioural disorders

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