Subject: Cognition

Review: Assessing fish welfare in research and aquaculture, with a focus on European directives

M. Toni, A. Manciocco, E. Angiulli, E. Alleva, C. Cioni, S. Malavasi

Published in 2018

Literature review on issues related to the welfare of teleost fish in aquaculture and research. It addresses the practical factors to take into account when assessing fish welfare, rearing and care, behavioural requirements and current regulations.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Fish

Keywords: Animal-based measurements, Pain, Experimentation, Welfare indicators, Fear, Evolutionary processes, Livestock farming system

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Minimal Effects of Rearing Enrichments on Pullet Behaviour and Welfare

Dana L.M. Campbell, Priscilla F. Gerber, Jeff A. Downing, Caroline Lee

Published in 2020

Testing the effect of environmental enrichment for free-range pullets kept indoors on the behavioural and physical development of the birds, with a view to facilitating their adaptation to the outside environment as adults.

Document types: Technical Paper

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords: Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Enrichment, Housing, Living environment, Cognitive processes

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Horses Failed to Learn from Humans by Observation

Maria Vilain Rørvang , Tina Bach Nielsen, Janne Winther Christensen

Published in 2020

Study to determine whether horses can learn to solve an instrumental task by observing a human demonstration.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Equines

Keywords : Learning, training, Human-animal relationships

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Uninhibited chickens: ranging behaviour impacts motor self-regulation in free-range broiler chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus)

Vitor Hugo Bessa Ferreira, Lorène Reiter, Karine Germain, Ludovic Calandreau, Vanessa Guesdon

Published in 2020

Testing the influence of individual behavioural differences in free-range chickens on cognitive performance: relationship between exploratory tendencies and motor self-regulation.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords: Learning, training, Experimentation, Living environment, Cognitive processes

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From Science to Practice: A Review of Laterality Research on Ungulate Livestock

Lisette M. C. Leliveld

Published in 2019

Study of functional laterality in farmed ungulates and its practical applications in reducing stress and improving health and welfare.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Mammals

Keywords: Brain integration, Stress

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Cognition and learning in horses (Equus caballus): What we know and why we should ask more

moreLauren Brubaker∗, Monique A.R. Udell

Published in 2016

Horses (Equus caballus) have a rich history of relationships with humans. Across different cultures and eras, they have been used for work, entertainment, cultural rituals, food, therapy and companionship and they continue to fulfil many of these roles today. As horses are one of the most commonly trained domestic animals, understanding how they learn and how their relationship with humans and other horses impacts their ability to learn can influence their welfare, training, breeding and management. Since, unlike dogs and cats, domesticated horses evolved from prey animals, the horse-human relationship raises interesting and unique scientific theoretical questions. There is still much to learn about the cognition and behaviour of horses from a scientific perspective. This review explores current research in three related areas of horse cognition: human-horse interactions, social learning, and independent learning in horses. Research on these topics is summarised and suggestions for future research are provided.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Equines

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

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Bien dans son corps, bien dans sa tête : qu’est ce que le bien-être du cheval?

IFCE group

Published in 2017

Whether you are a rider, breeder, teacher or horse owner, you will find everything on horse welfare in this "go-to" text from the French Horse and Riding Institute. Nowadays, there is a real awareness of welfare issues for animals, and the horse is no exception to this. What is currently considered to be good or bad practice? What scientific evidence is there? What might future developments look like and what are the regulations? In order to answer these questions, this book offers the reader information that is informed by science and presented in a form that can be understood and used by both professionals and amateurs. With a context-setting preface and introduction written by Axel Kahn and Sylvie Brunel, the wealth of bibliographical research carried out by Christine Briant and her team makes it possible to grasp the concept of equine welfare (including that of donkeys and ponies), and to apply it to feeding, housing, health and behaviour.

Document Types: Scientific work

Animal categories: Equines

Keywords: Animal-based measurements, Anxiety, Learning, Training, Livestock buildings, Pain, Enrichment, Welfare indicators, Housing, Restraint equipment, Memory, Living environment, Fear, Cognitive processes, Human-animal relationships, Stress, Livestock farming system, Transport, Vocalisation

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Travailler son cheval selon les principes de l’apprentissage

IFCE group

Published in 2015

Whether you handle horses as a rider or driver and whatever style you do it in, this practical guide will help you to optimise your horse's training and working habits. The three chapters of this book, based on recent research in ethology, deal with the main types of learning in an accessible and concrete way. The different approaches are first defined and then analysed, with supporting examples and scenarios. The complexities of habituation and awareness, and of operating and Pavlovian conditioning are demystified with a view to their application in everyday life. The step-by-step tutoring through each process and provision of problem-solving tips will provide readers with genuine avenues to improve their relationship with horses. Fully illustrated with colour photos and drawings, this book is an essential tool for anyone wishing to apply training principles in their handling of riding and carriage horses. 

Document Types: Technical work

Animal categories: Equines

Keywords: Anxiety, Learning, Training, Fear, Cognitive processes, Human-animal relationships, Stress

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Ethologie animale. Une approche biologique du comportement

Anne-Sophie Darmaillacq, Frédéric Lévy

Published in 2015

What is ethology, the ideas behind it and its methods? How does an animal inhabit its space, make use of available food resources and build its social world? What are the cognitive processes at work in this? How can personality explain behaviour? Written by specialists from different fields but in an intentionally accessible and explanatory way with the help of numerous illustrations, this book offers an overview of ethology grounded in analysis of cutting-edge research in ethology.

Document Types: Scientific work

Keywords: Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Learning, Training, Consciousness, Memory, Living environment, Fear, Cognitive processes, Evolutionary processes, Human-animal relationships

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