Subject: Welfare indicators

Assessing good physical health and resilience as a foundation for positive welfare in chickens

Lisa Jung, Ruth C. Newberry, Yukari Togami, Manja Zupan Šemrov

Published in 2026

Study proposing anatomical and physiological indicators to assess the health and resilience of chickens, with a view to developing proactive and potentially automated assessment tools to support positive animal welfare.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Poultry

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Animal Board Invited Review: Intrinsic hedonic value, complexity, and possibility for action as essential characteristics of a welfare-friendly environment for animals

I. Veissier, C. Terlouw, R. Botreau, V. Deiss, S. Cowie

Published in 2026

Study examining how the hedonic value of the environment determines animal welfare. Welfare depends on a balance between positive emotions, environmental complexity and opportunities for behavioral expression: these factors must be optimized (rather than maximized), since an excess or a deficiency of any one of them can be harmful to welfare, with the optimal level varying by individual.

Document Types: Scientific review

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

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Review: Understanding cattle social behavior in modern penned production systems with AI technology: Are we tracking welfare indicators?

A. Fuentes, S. Han, J. Liu, J. Park, S. Yoon, D.S. Park

Published in 2026

Review stressing the limitations of AI in automatically monitoring cattle behaviors, currently limited to describing actions independent of context. The authors propose an AI framework based on the principles of multimodal data integration, context-aware behavioral modeling, shared behavioral ontologies, human-in-the-loop system design, and explainable AI to improve assessment of animal welfare.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Bovines

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Integration of computer vision-based behavioral monitoring and machine learning to enhance precision in health and welfare monitoring systems in pig farming

Eddiemar B. Lagua, Hong-Seok Mun, Md Sharifuzzaman, Md Kamrul Hasan, Ahsan Mehtab, Jin-Gu Kang, Young-Hwa Kim, Chul-Ju Yang

Published in 2026

Study showing that computer vision and machine learning are effective in detecting stress-related behaviors in pigs. The models perform very well (especially in binary), but the precise detection of certain states still needs improvement.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Porcines

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Precision Livestock Farming for Dairy Sheep: A Literature Review of IoT and Decision-Support Systems for Enhanced Management and Welfare

Mura M.C., Trimasse O., Carcangiu V., Luridiana S.

Published in 2026

Review showing that precision farming technologies have significant potential to improve the monitoring and welfare of dairy ewes, but their adoption continues to be constrained by economic, technical, and ethical factors.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Ovines

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Behavioral indicators of positive welfare in broilers

Jenna Boewe, Marisa Erasmus

Published in 2026

The welfare of broiler chickens now includes positive states and the expression of natural behaviors, which are assessed using behavioral indicators and promoted through environmental enrichment.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Poultry

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Stereotypical behaviors across species: From neurobiological mechanisms to farm animal welfare

Chenyang Li, Jie Gao, Hang Shu, Guangyong Zhao, Xianhong Gu

Published in 2026

A review describing stereotypical behaviors—indicators of distress—that are based on neurobiological mechanisms that have yet to be fully studied in farm animals. The authors highlight current gaps in knowledge and discuss prospects for better understanding these behaviors and improving animal welfare.

Document Types: Scientific review

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

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The Influence of Environmental Conditions and Husbandry Practices on Goat Welfare

Pilarczyk R., Bąkowska M., Tomza-Marciniak A., Udała J., Seremak B., Kwita E., Sablik P., Pilarczyk B.

Published in 2026

Study showing that goat welfare depends strongly on the environment, diet, and social interactions. Appropriate farming practices (stress management, enrichment, and supervised pain management) and regular assessments significantly improve their welfare, but further research is needed.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Caprines

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Bien-être et comportement des poules domestiques

Cécile Arnould

Published in 2026

Book detailing the sensory, social, emotional, and cognitive abilities of domestic chickens in order to improve recognition of their sensitivities and the importance of their welfare, drawing on scientific advances, changes in legislation, and the author's experience.

Document Types: Scientific work

Animal categories: Poultry

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Applying the five domains to the welfare of farmed black soldier flies, house flies, and yellow mealworms

Samuel Olutunde Durosaro, Meghan Barrett

Published in 2025

A study examining the current state of knowledge regarding the welfare of three insects raised for human and animal consumption (black soldier flies, houseflies, and yellow mealworms) based on the five-domain framework (nutrition, physical health, environment, behavior, and mental state).

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Invertebrates

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