Species : Dogs

European Parliament: Written answer to Question E-001907/2024: Greece is failing to meet its animal welfare obligations

Question: Matthias Ecke (S&D). Answer: Mrs Kyriakides on behalf of the European Commission

Published in 2024

Answer from the European Commission to a parliamentary question on non-commercial pet movements in Greece, where the government refuses to cooperate with animal welfare associations to implement the TRACES system. The Commission points out that such movements, which are associated with transfers of animal ownership, are covered by Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/688, which does not require the use of TRACES.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories: Canines, Felines

Keywords: Adoption,Abandonment, Animal trade, Transport

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Assemblée nationale : réponse écrite à la question n°495 : Maltraitance animale dans les DROM-COM

Question: Mme Maud Petit (Les Démocrates - Val-de-Marne (4th district)). Answer: Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry.

Published in 2024

Answer to a question from  a Deputy on the abuse of stray animals in the overseas territories and départements. In it, the government states that it is implementing a plan to improve the management of strays, strengthen synergies between local stakeholders, and support animal protection associations. Legislative measures and awareness-raising campaigns are planned to combat animal abandonment and abuse.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories: Canines, Felines

Keywords:Abandonment, Adoption, Education, Population management, Abuse

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National Assembly: written answer to question n°1282: Animal torture on the islands of Reunion and Mayotte

Question: Mme Béatrice Roullaud Seine-et-Marne (6th district) - Rassemblement National. Answer: Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry

Published in 2024

Answer from the French Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry to a question from a Deputy on  the measures the Government intends to take against acts of animal torture committed on the islands of La Réunion and Mayotte

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories: Canines, Felines

Keywords:Abandonment, Adoption, Education, Population management, Abuse

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Effects of changing veterinary handling techniques on canine behaviour and physiology Part 2: Behavioural measurements

Squair C, Proudfoot K, Montelpare W, Doucette T, Overall KL

Published in 2024

Study comparing application of a stress-reducing protocol during veterinary visits with standard care for dogs. Dogs cared for under the protocol had lower clinical stress scores, particularly during weighing and physical examinations. These results highlight the value of simple interventions to improve animal welfare in veterinary contexts.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories:Canine

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Anxiety, Fear, Human-animal relationships, Stress, Behavioural disorders

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Dog-human vocal interactions match dogs' sensory-motor tuning

Eloïse C. Déaux, Théophane Piette, Florence Gaunet, Thierry Legou, Luc Arnal, Anne-Lise Giraud

Published in 2024

Scientific article reporting that dogs' response to human speech is tuned to a slower rhythm than humans. To improve the effectiveness of communication with dogs, humans should, and do, slow their speech rate.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories:Canine

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Cognitive processes, Human-animal relationships, Vocalisation

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The Welfare of Dogs and Cats in the European Union: A Gap Analysis of the Current Legal Framework

Contalbrigo, L.; Normando, S.; Bassan, E.; Mutinelli, F.

Published in 2024

Analytical article raising the issue of pet welfare not covered by European legislation, such as ethical breeding, sales, transport and end-of-life care. It concludes that a transdisciplinary approach and better education in responsible pet ownership are essential to improve pet protection via a harmonized legal framework.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories: Canines, Felines

Keywords:Abandonment, Adoption, Castration, Euthanasia, End of life, Abuse, Living environment, One Welfare, Spaying, Aging, Animal trade

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European Parliament: Written answer to Question P-001523/2024: Respect for EU animal welfare standards, with reference to the excessive euthanasia of stray animals in Romania

Question: Nicolae Ştefănuță (Greens/EFA). Answer: Mrs Kyriakides on behalf of the European Commission

Published in 2024

An MEP raises the issue of the mass slaughter of stray animals in Romania in relation to EU animal welfare standards. The European Commission points out that there are no specific European regulations on the euthanasia of dogs and cats, leaving this issue to the Member States. A proposal for a regulation on the welfare of dogs and cats, currently passing through the legislative process, addresses certain aspects of euthanasia.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories: Canines, Felines

Keywords: Adoption, Euthanasia,Abandonment, Population management

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The odour of an unfamiliar stressed or relaxed person affects dogs' responses to a cognitive bias test

Z. Parr-Cortes, C. T. Müller, L. Talas, M. Mendl, C. Guest, N. J. Rooney

Published in 2024

Scientific article confirming that dogs can discriminate between human odors emitted during positive or negative emotions with no other cues. The results also show that olfactory signals of human stress affect dogs' behaviors when approaching a bowl of food placed in an ambiguous location and may affect their learning.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories:Canine

Keywords: Cognitive processes, Consciousness, Memory, Human-animal relationships,Learning, training

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Effects of single- or pair-housing on the welfare of shelter dogs: Behavioral and physiological indicators

Hecker G, Martineau K, Scheskie M, Hammerslough R, Feuerbacher EN

Published in 2024

Scientific article reporting that dogs housed in pairs in shelters, even for a short time, exhibit fewer stress-related behaviors (lip licking, whining, and ears back) than dogs housed individually. In addition, the urinary cortisol:creatinine levels in non-isolated dogs were lower.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories:Canine

Keywords: Adoption, Animal-based measurements,Abandonment, Behavioural disorders, Housing, Socialization, Stress, Welfare indicators

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Towards Dog Bark Decoding: Leveraging Human Speech Processing for Automated Bark Classification

Artem Abzaliev, Humberto Pérez Espinosa, Rada Mihalcea

Published in 2024

Scientific article showing that artificial intelligence speech-modelling tools that have been pre-trained on human speech can be applied to some classification tasks relating to dog vocalizations and can help in their interpretation. 

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories:Canine

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Precision farming, Human-animal relationships, Vocalisation

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