Subject: Stress

Ensuring ethical beef production: A comprehensive risk assessment of animal welfare during transportation and slaughter processes

Piotr Janiszewski, Marco Misuraca, Egidia Costanzi, Beniamino Cenci Goga

Published in 2025

EFSA project seeking to produce an updated cattle handling pathway during transport and slaughter that would reduce stress, reliance on coercive devices and the risk of injury due to trama or falls. The project demonstrates how compliance with animal welfare standards can be harmonized with operational efficiency, safety, and product quality.

Document types: Technical Paper

Animal categories: Bovines

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Review of the evidence of sentience in cephalopod mollusks and decapod crustaceans

Jonathan Birch, Heather Browning, Charlotte Burn, Alexandra K. Schnell, Andrew Crump

Published in 2021

Scientific report describing the cognitive and emotional abilities of invertebrates (insects, cephalopod molluscs, decapod crustaceans, etc.)

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Invertebrates

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Welfare Indicators for Aquaculture Research: Toolkits for Five Farmed European Fish Species

Chris Noble, Wout Abbink, René Alvestad, László Ardó, Marie-Laure Bégout, Nina Bloecher, Erik Burgerhout, Josep Calduch-Giner, Mauro Chivite-Alcalde, Petr Císař, Evan Durland, Åsa M. Espmark, Lynne Falconer, Martin Føre, Dimitra G. Georgopoulou, Karsten Heia, Gaute A. N. Helberg, David Izquierdo Gomez, Lill-Heidi Johansen, Gunhild Seljehaug Johansson, Kristbjörg Edda Jónsdóttir, Jelena Kolarevic, Aleksei Krasnov, Santhosh K. Kumaran, Bjarne Kvæstad, Thomas Larsson, Carlo C. Lazado, Angelico Madaro, Federico Moroni, Ingrid Måge, Jonatan Nilsson, Samuel Ortega, Nikos Papandroulakis, Jaume Pérez-Sánchez, Pamela M. Prentice, Sonia Rey Planellas, Bjørn Roth, Adrian Smith, Lars Erik Solberg, Orestis Stavrakidis-Zachou, Lars Helge Stien, Anja Striberny, Ragnhild Aven Svalheim, Bjørn-Steinar Sæther, Gerrit Timmerhaus, Hilde Toften, Linda Tschirren, Hans van de Vis, Elisabeth Ytteborg, Lucas A. Zena, Tone-Kari Knutsdatter Østbye

Published in 2026

Scientific summary highlighting the need to improve and harmonize fish welfare indicators in aquaculture research, taking into account species and life stages, in order to ensure animal protection, scientific quality, reliable results and reproducibility. The authors propose updated toolboxes of welfare indicators for five major species, incorporating euthanasia, sampling, data digitization, and European regulatory requirements into their review.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Fish

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Study of the effects of on-farm hatching on the welfare and performance of fast-growing chickens

Moysan Jean-Philippe, Moro Angélique, Oizel Jean-Michel, Caro Joël, Robert Jean-François, Poulnais Ewen, Szypula Christophe, Belhomme Louis-Jean, Keita Alassane

Published in 2024

Scientific study on hatching on the farm. This strategy appears to improve chick start-up (higher initial weight, less aggressive pecking) without significantly altering performance, mortality, or overall welfare compared to hatchery hatching.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Poultry

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Rapid loss of consciousness in cattle following nonstun slaughter: evidence from a systematic review

Hascalovici JR, Schipper HM, Regenstein JM, Rosen SD, Zivotofsky A, St-Jean G, Freilich S, Morrison TJ, Rabkin SW, Haut S.

Published in 2025

Systematic review analyzing 15 studies on slaughter without stunning in cattle. According to four studies considered to be of good quality, cattle generally lose consciousness in less than 10 seconds, provided that slaughter without stunning is carried out correctly and under optimal conditions.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Bovines

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Gas bubble venting: A novel behavioral indicator of stress in juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

Mikkel Gunnes, Evelina A.L. Green, Inger Lise Andersen, Øyvind Øverli

Published in 2025

Identification of new behavioral indicators for stress in Atlantic salmon, notably bubble emission, which is a visible and sensitive marker that correlates to social aggression. This marker is more responsive than cortisol and could enable the automated detection of stress. improving welfare monitoring in aquaculture.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Fish

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Behavioural adaptations of livestock to environmental stressors: implications for welfare and productivity

Oke OE, Eletu TA, Akosile OA, Fasasi LO, Adeniji OE, Ojedokun MZ, Oni AI

Published in 2025

Synthetic article analyzing behavioral adaptations associated with environmental stressors in livestock and emphasizing the importance of assessment tools and targeted management strategies for the improvement of animal welfare.

Document Types: Scientific review

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

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Pig welfare in scientific literature from 1991 to 2024: A text mining approach

Lianlian Fu, Yu Le

Published in 2026

Systematic review of 1,331 articles (1991-2024) using text mining techniques to identify seven major research Subjects on pig welfare. It reveals a rapid expansion in scientific outputs dominated by Europe and highlights key topics such as tail docking, transport and weaning.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Porcines

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Impacts of Reduced Stocking Density on Broiler Welfare During Transport: Evidence from a Hungarian Study Under Moderate Climatic Conditions

László Szőllősi, Dániel Fróna, Laura Mihály-Karnai, Attila Csorbai

Published in 2025

Hungarian study showing that the reduction in  the transport density of broiler chickens recommended by the EFSA to improve their welfare can nevertheless result in higher mortality, and more injuries and condemned carcasses. The results suggest that increasing the space allowance does not necessarily improve welfare under moderate temperature conditions and that further research is required.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Poultry

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Souffrance à Vendre - Shrimp welfare in European supermarkets

ICAW (International Council for Animal Welfare)

Published in 2025

Report on the growing awareness of the need to protect shrimp welfare  in Europe, responding to both ethical questions and growing consumer demand, and supported by the scientific recognition of this crustacean's sentience. Progress is being made, with several distributors abandoning the use of eyestalk ablation and adopting electric stunning before slaughter.

Document Types: Technical review

Animal categories:Crustaceans

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