Subject: Emotion

Development and Validation of a Test for the Classification of Horses as Broken or Unbroken

Laura Menchetti, Emanuela Dalla Costa, Michela Minero, Barbara Padalino

Published in 2021

Scientific paper presenting and validating a behavioural test based on the animal's reaction to approaching, haltering and leading, to describe a horse as broken in or not. This test could be used to determine the status of horses prior to transport, given that transport regulations are stricter for unbroken horses.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Equines

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Human-animal relationships, Transport

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Qualitative Behavioral Assessment in Juvenile Farmed Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar): Potential for On-Farm Welfare Assessment

Susan Jarvis, Maureen A. Ellis, James F. Turnbull, Sonia Rey Planellas, Francoise Wemelsfelder

Published in 2021

Scientific paper presenting an adaptation of the QBA qualitative welfare assessment method to farmed salmon and assessing its potential as a tool for monitoring salmon welfare.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Fish

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Livestock farming system, Welfare indicators

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Best Farming Practices for the Welfare of Dairy Cows, Heifers and Calves

Giulia Ventura, Valentina Lorenzi, Francesca Mazza, Gianfilippo Alessio Clemente, Claudia Iacomino, Luigi Bertocchi, Francesca Fusi

Published in 2021

Scientific paper describing the protocol to assess the welfare of dairy cattle in loose-housing systems using animal and non-animal based indicators that has been developed by the Italian Reference Centre for animal welfare. It uses the protocol to generate a list of 38 farming practices that will ensure a high level of welfare in dairy cattle.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Bovines

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Livestock farming system, Welfare indicators

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Do You Think I Am Living Well? A Four-Season Hair Cortisol Analysis on Leisure Horses in Different Housing and Management Conditions

Silvia Michela Mazzola, Carla Colombani, Giulia Pizzamiglio, Simona Cannas, Clara Palestrini, Emanuela Dalla Costa, Alessia Libera Gazzonis, Arianna Bionda, Paola Crepaldi

Published in 2021

Scientific paper investigating the chronic stress levels of recreational horses in relation to their living conditions in order to determine the best management strategy for the welfare of the horses.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Equines

Keywords:Housing, Living environment, Stress

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Cognition and the human-animal relationship: a review of the socio-cognitive skills of domestic mammals towards humans

Plotine Jardat, Léa Lansade

Published in 2021

Scientific review of 5 social-cognitive abilities possessed by domestic mammals in relation to humans: ability to distinguish between humans and recognise individuals;  perception of human emotions; interpretation of our attentional states and goals; use of referential communication (recognising human signals or sending signals to humans); and engagement in social learning with humans.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Keywords:Cognitive processes, Human-animal relationships

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Reducing weaning stress: is pre-weaning socialisation a good strategy?

John Pluske

Published in 2021

Technical paper setting out the advantages and disadvantages of the two main techniques for socialising piglets housed indoors: one allows piglets to move freely between farrowing pens but not dams, and the other allows dams and piglets to interact freely. The outcomes of early socialisation are not only behavioural (more play, less aggression) but also physiological, with lower metabolic energy levels that could explain reductions in stress and aggression.

Document types: Technical Paper

Animal categories: Porcines

Keywords:Pain, Mutilation, Weaning, Stress, Livestock farming system

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Does nutrient composition of feedstuffs affect the proportion of oral stereotypies and redirected behaviors among horse working groups?

Farah Hanis, Eric Lim Teik Chung, Mamat Hamidi Kamalludin, ZulkifliI drus

Published in 2021

Scientific paper demonstrating that ration composition and energy intake influence the incidence of oral stereotypies (especially empty chewing) and redirected behaviours (especially bedding consumption) in working horses (leisure, equestrian, patrol and endurance). Endurance horses are the most sensitive to ration composition.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Equines

Keywords:Anxiety, Welfare indicators, Housing, Living environment, Stress, Psychiatric disorder

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Animal Signals, Music and Emotional Well-Being

Charles T. Snowdon

Published in 2021

Scientific review of the effect of music on the emotional state of animals. It recommends that available information on the sensory systems and behaviours of each species should be taken into account so that music can be selected in light of the desired emotional response from the animal, thereby improving its well-being.

Document Types: Scientific review

Keywords:Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Enrichment, Living environment, Livestock farming system

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Tail-Biting in Pigs: A Scoping Review

Maggie Henry, Hannah Jansen, Maria del Rocio Amezcua, Terri L. O'Sullivan, Lee Niel, Anna Kate Shoveller, Robert M. Friendship

Published in 2021

Scientific review setting out to identify articles on risk factors and interventions associated with tail biting in pigs, along with data gaps in the literature.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Porcines

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Enrichment, Housing, Risk management, Societal issues, Mutilation, Pain

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The effect of pair housing on dairy calf health, performance, and behavior

Katarína Bučková, Radka Šárová, Ágnes Moravcsíková, Marek Špinka

Published in 2021

Scientific paper comparing animal-based indicators for health, productivity and behaviour in individually and pair-housed dairy calves. Housing type did not affect health, feed intake or weight gain, but individually-housed calves placed in a new pen scored higher on movement behaviour than pair-housed calves placed in a new pen. This rebound effect indicates that the individual housing of calves results in activity deprivation.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Bovines

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Housing, Living environment, Stress, Livestock farming system, Welfare indicators

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