Published in 2017
Scientific review of the different forms of cognitive enrichment that have been tested for laboratory, farm and zoo animals. It identifies research needs and proposes new indicators for testing.
Document Types: Scientific review
Animal categories:Cattle, Goats, Wild animals, Sheep, Pigs, Rodents, Poultry
Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Enrichment, Welfare indicators, Living environment
Published in 2022
Scientific paper testing the effectiveness of an automated device for performing cognitive tests in domestic fowl: a simple test, a serial instruction reversal learning task; and a more complex test, and a delayed sample matching task. The results reveal the behavioral flexibility and conceptual understanding of domesticated hens. They also demonstrate the value of using automated devices to improve our knowledge of farm animal cognition.
Document Types: Scientific paper
Animal categories: Poultry
Keywords:Animal-based measurements
Published in 2022
A scientific review of dogs' abilities to respond to and make functional use of emotional information from human expressions. It discusses the extent to which dogs can read human emotions.
Document Types: Scientific review
Animal categories:Canine
Published in 2023
Scientific review on insect cognition, focusing on the hypothesis that there is such a thing as a "social brain", i.e. cognitive capacities specific to social species. Most of the research on cognition in insects is done on highly social species, so it is not possible to make comparisons with less social species. It would therefore be necessary to develop specific research programs to address this issue.
Document Types: Scientific review
Animal categories:Insects
Keywords:Cognitive processes, Evolutionary processes
Published in 2023
Article addressing welfare issues for insects in light of increases in insect farming and consumption, their potential as an alternative source of protein for human and animal food, and their cognitive and sensory abilities suggested by the scientific data.
Document Types: Scientific paper
Animal categories:Insects
Keywords: Pain, Societal issues
Published in 2022
Two-yearly update of the NCC broiler welfare guidelines including key welfare indicators (including foot pad health, gait, reduction of leg and wing injuries), with a focus on bird behaviour, objective measures and welfare outcomes, enhanced training programs for proper handling of birds, and an improved audit tool.
Document Types: Good practice guide
Animal categories: Poultry
Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Animal-based measurements, Consciousness, Pain, Societal issues, Enrichment, Welfare indicators, Living environment, Mutilation, Human-animal relationships, Stress, Livestock farming system
Published in 2022
Scientific paper showing the persistent effects of the social housing of early life dairy calves (singly or in pairs) on human-directed behaviours, a phenomenon that may have implications for long-term management.
Document Types: Scientific paper
Animal categories: Bovines
Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Enrichment, Housing, Human-animal relationships
Published in 2022
Scientific article testing the influence of work type, age, sex and breed of horses on their attentional characteristics. It shows that attentional characteristics are strongly related to the type of work the horses are trained for. Horses from equestrian centres had longer and less fragmented attention spans, the sporting activities of eventing horses were correlated to the fragmentation of attention.
Document Types: Scientific paper
Animal categories: Equines
Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Learning, training, Cognitive processes
Published in 2022
Article reviewing the history of animal welfare definitions since the 1960s, and supporting the idea that it relates to individuals and is based on an animal's feelings and experiences.
Document Types: Scientific review
Animal categories: All animals
Keywords: Animal-based measurements, Adaptation of the environment to the animal , Pain, Societal issues, Welfare indicators, Human-animal relationships, Livestock farming system
Published in 2022
EFSA scientific opinion on the protection of domestic birds and rabbits during transport. The main welfare consequences during loading and unloading are handling stress, injury, restriction of movement and sensory hyperstimulation; those while travelling and on arrival are injury, restriction of movement, sensory hyperstimulation, movement stress, heat, cold, prolonged hunger and prolonged thirst. These welfare consequences and the indicators measured on the animals are described. The hazards that cause them, and recommendations on how to avoid such hazards and to correct or mitigate their effects on welfare are presented.
Document Types: Opinions
Animal categories: Poultry
Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Animal-based measurements, Pain, Risk management, Welfare indicators, Human-animal relationships, Stress, Transport
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