This study was designed to investigate the physiological responses induced in sheep (n = 18) by two different loading techniques followed by a short road journey. All animals were prepared with venous catheters, to minimize the disturbing effects of blood sampling, and nine sheep were fitted with heart rate monitors. The animals were loaded onto a transport vehicle in groups of three, alternately using a conventional tailgate ramp or a crate raised with a hydraulic lift. When all of the sheep were loaded, they were taken on a journey lasting 195min. Blood samples were collected in the home pen, directly after loading, and at 15min intervals during the journey. Measurements were made of plasma concentrations of Cortisol, prolactin and catecholamines (adrenaline and noradrenaline). The results indicated that heart rate increased during loading, regardless of the method used. No changes in concentrations of Cortisol or the catecholamines were detected, although a small increase in prolactin was noted when animals were loaded using the ramp. During transport, all sheep exhibited increases in plasma Cortisol concentrations which were greatest during the first 2h of the journey. The results suggest that, under the conditions employed in this experiment, the effects of the two loading procedures were similar and that transport appeared to be more stressful than loading.

Lameness is one of the most serious health and welfare problems faced by dairy cattle. The aim of this study was to assess how aware Czech farm managers were of this problem. The project was carried out on 14 Czech dairy farms. The proportion of lame cows observed (ie prevalence of moderate and severe lameness) on a farm varied between 9 and 64% while the farm managers’ estimation ranged between 0 and 20%, showing that lameness prevalence was under-perceived by the Czech farm managers. There were no correlations between the farm managers’ estimations and the observed total or severe lameness on each farm. Also, the observed prevalence of lameness did not differ between farms with managers who considered lameness to be a major problem in their herds and managers who did not, although their estimations did differ. The large variation in observed lameness prevalence between farms indicates that there is a large potential for reduction, which must start with increasing the farm managers’ awareness of dairy cow lameness.

Whereas physiological and behavioural responses to acute stressors are well documented, chronic stress remains difficult to assess in farm animals. The aim of the present paper is to investigate whether calves’ behavioural reactions to acute events are modified during chronic intermittent stress. Thirty-two calves housed in pairs were used. For half of the calves the partner and the pen were changed once a week for 14 weeks (regrouped calves) while the others remained unchanged (controls). Four behavioural tests were performed to assess calves’ reactivity to novel or sudden events, to predator cues and to restraint. In the water spray test, regrouped calves were startled more often. In the umbrella test, regrouped calves took a longer time to feed in front of the closed umbrella but no differences between the two treatments were observed on opening the umbrella. In the dog test, regrouped calves moved more and looked at the dog more often. In the restraint test, regrouped calves were more agitated. These differences disappeared when the tests were repeated. In conclusion, repeated changes in the social and physical environment of calves enhances their behavioural reactivity to novelty. This is likely to make them more adaptive to potential changes in their environment.

Lameness, a disease often observed in loose-housed dairy cattle herds, affects animal welfare in general and reduces cow locomotion. As cow traffic may be affected by restricted locomotion, lameness may be a significant problem in herds with automatic milking systems (AMSs). Between January and August 2002, a field study was conducted to evaluate animal health in eight herds with an AMS. Herd sizes ranged from 60 (n = 5 herds with one automatic milking unit [AMU]) to 120 cows (n = 3 herds with two AMUs). Four visits were made, during which 40-50 cows were randomly assigned for clinical examination of body condition, cleanliness, claw length, disorders of claws and legs, lameness, pressure lesions, and disorders of udder and teats. Lameness was observed in 14% of cows, ranging from 5% to 28% between herds. Approximately 60% of cows had pressure lesions on the hock and 23% of cows had overgrown claws. Preliminary results show that overgrown claws, pressure sores with swellings, early stage of lactation, and high milk yield significantly increased the risk of lameness. Lameness significantly reduced the number of voluntary milkings per day.

Six pairs of steers were allowed to choose between two types of floors in a paired choice test. The four floors tested were a fully slatted floor, a fully slatted floor covered with rubber mats, a solid floor with sawdust bedding, and a solid floor with straw bedding. All combinations of floor types were tested and the choices were repeated eight times, using naïve animals. The animals were allowed 17 days to habituate, and on days 18-21 their behaviour was recorded by video for 72 hours. Straw was the most preferred floor type, followed by sawdust, then mats, and finally slats. During a second test period, rubber mats were compared with rubber strips, and no significant preferences were found.

Wilful ignorance is a documented human behaviour whereby people deliberately avoid information. Although much work has documented consumer attitudes toward farm animal welfare, few studies have questioned whether people even want to know how farm animals are raised. Using an internet survey of 1,000 subjects from the US state of Oklahoma, it is shown that around one-third admit to being wilfully ignorant regarding pork production. One-third also chose to look at a blank screen rather than a picture of how pregnant hogs are housed. Avoidance of guilt is shown to be a motivator for this behaviour.

Collar-worn deterrents reduce predation by cats while collar-mounted ID enhances return of lost animals. A perception that collars are hazardous limits their use. We defined cases as ‘collar incidents’ (cat snagged its collar or caught a paw), ‘collar injuries’ (veterinary treatment needed for a collar incident), and ‘collar deaths’ (cat died), before integrating data from veterinarians, owners from the general public and owners from a welfare society. Despite biases associated with each of these groups, taken together, the results from these indicated that collar injuries or deaths are rare. Interviews with one hundred and seven veterinarians indicated an average rate of one collar injury observed per 2.3 years of veterinary practice. At one practice, over three years, only 0.33% of 4,460 cat cases were collar injuries, while 180 cat cases at four clinics during August and November 2011 included none. The 63 owners from the general public reported only one collar injury and no deaths in a lifetime of ownership, although 27% experienced collar incidents. In contrast, 22% reported cats needing treatment following road accidents, 53% reported cats needing treatment for fighting injuries and 62% had owned cats killed on the road. Most (62%) of the 55 respondents from a cat welfare society had experienced a collar incident, but only two cats needed treatment. One died. In contrast, 31 and 58% reported cats needing treatment for road accidents and fighting, respectively, and 41% had owned cats killed on the road. Fighting and road accidents are greater hazards to roaming cats than collars, which offer the compensatory benefits of mounting predation deterrents and ID tags.

Animal welfare is generally referred to as the quality of an animal's life as experienced by the individual animal. On-farm welfare assessment, however, usually relies on both individual and group measures. As regards the latter, individual animals are not identified (eg incidence of stereotypic behaviour in a pen) or features of the whole group (eg score obtained from qualitative behaviour assessment) are used. This raises the question whether our current approaches to on-farm assessment sufficiently consider the individual nature of animal welfare. Measures assessed at the group level bear the disadvantage that distribution across group members may be skewed and the most affected individuals are not necessarily identified. However, the importance of knowing about the welfare state of individual animals depends on the purpose of the assessment. If the primary aim is farm assurance, the individual animal is of lesser importance, but non-compliance with thresholds at herd/farm level or comparison with peer farms may induce change. Using individual measures in a sample of animals means that animals not sampled but requiring intervention, eg for treatment of lameness, would have to be identified subsequently. Measures truly taken at the group level make individual interventions difficult, but interventions implemented at the group level (eg reducing stocking density) do not necessarily require information on the individual animal. Automatic detection of welfare-relevant states has received increased attention and identifying individual animals with impaired welfare seems to be promising. Automated early detection of problems may also reduce the ethical dilemma that traditional assessments at the end of the production cycle, eg in broiler chickens, may identify welfare impairments but not directly benefit the affected animals. Reflection on individual and group measures and their consequences for animal welfare may help in interpreting the outcomes of the assessments and stimulate future developments in the field.

Humane euthanasia of cattle represents a challenge to the beef and dairy industries. Penetrating captive bolt, while traditionally considered to be only a stunning method, can be an effective single-step euthanasia method if both the cerebral cortex and brainstem are disrupted. This report describes a preliminary study investigating the likelihood of brainstem disruption for two captive-bolt shot locations. Heads were collected from 15 cattle that died or were euthanised for reason unrelated to the study and were then randomly assigned to one of two shot placement groups. Heads in the first group (n = 7) were shot at the intersection of two lines drawn from the medial canthus to the opposite horn or top of the opposite ear. Heads in the second group (n = 8) were shot at the intersection of two lines drawn for the lateral canthus to the opposite horn or top of the opposite ear. The guns were held perpendicular (as assessed visually) to the plane of the forehead. Shot placement was then assessed using computed tomography and disruption of the brainstem was determined. In the first group, the captive bolt failed to disrupt the brainstem in any of the heads. In the second group, the bolt disrupted the brainstem in 6 of 8 heads. The results suggest that selecting a higher shot location leads more readily to disruption of the brainstem which reduces the risk of regaining sensibility and should therefore improve animal welfare when cattle are euthanised with a penetrating captive bolt.

The objective of this retrospective cohort study was to determine the factors affecting the time until adoption of dogs re-homed by Dogs Trust, a UK charity. There were 13,338 records included in the study, representing 11,663 dogs. Data were extracted from the Dogs Trust's database between February 2001 and June 2004 representing all re-homing centres in the UK using the database during this time period. A survival analysis was conducted using Kaplan-Meier plots and multivariable Cox regression. The results of the study showed that the median time till adoption for all dogs was 28 days (95% CI 28-29 days). The variables which affected the time till adoption were breed, purebred status, size, sex, neuter status on arrival at a centre, age, coat colour, veterinary history and re-homing centre. It was suggested that temperament could be an important risk factor but this variable had to be excluded from the multivariable analysis. Dogs from the gundog and utility breed groups and purebred dogs were re-homed at the fastest rate.

Concerns over elephant welfare in UK zoos have implications for their future in captivity. To monitor improvements made to elephant welfare in UK zoos, non-invasive, valid and reliable indicators of welfare are needed. Using a rapid review strategy and critical appraisal tool, we aimed to appraise evidence from peer-reviewed literature on potential welfare indicators for captive elephants. Scopus, Web of Knowledge and Ovid were searched in January 2014 using terms relevant to captive elephants and welfare assessment. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied and remaining articles were critically appraised against a specially designed welfare indicator appraisal tool. Thirty-seven unique indicators of welfare were extracted from 30 peer-reviewed papers which met the inclusion criteria. Behavioural measures of welfare (n = 21) were more common than either physical (n = 11) or physiological (n = 5) measures. Stereotypies were the most frequently used behavioural measure, glucocorticoids were the most frequently used physiological measure and body condition scores were the most frequently used physical measure. There was most support for the following indicators of improved welfare state: reduced stereotypies, reduced glucocorticoids and improved body condition scores. Additional measures which require further validation but had strong associations with the most supported measures, and thus have potential use in welfare assessment, were: increased lying rest and positive social interactions. Further validation of the described measures is needed, but this information forms a crucial part of the knowledge required to efficiently monitor and improve the welfare of elephants in captivity.

The Welfare Quality® (WQ) protocols are increasingly used for assessing welfare of farm animals. These protocols are time consuming (about one day per farm) and, therefore, costly. Our aim was to assess the scope for reduction of on-farm assessment time of the WQ protocol for dairy cattle. Seven trained observers quantified animal-based indicators of the WQ protocol in 181 loose-housed and 13 tied Dutch dairy herds (herd size from 10 to 211 cows). Four assessment methods were used: avoidance distance at the feeding rack (ADF, 44 min); qualitative behaviour assessment (QBA, 25 min); behavioural observations (BO, 150 min); and clinical observations (CO, 132 min). To simulate reduction of on-farm assessment time, a set of WQ indicators belonging to one assessment method was omitted from the protocol. Observed values of omitted indicators were replaced by predictions based on WQ indicators of the remaining three assessment methods, resources checklist, and interview, thus mimicking the performance of the full WQ protocol. Agreement between predicted and observed values of WQ indicators, however, was low for ADF, moderate for QBA, slight to moderate for BO, and poor to moderate for CO. It was concluded that replacing animal-based WQ indicators by predictions based on remaining WQ indicators shows little scope for reduction of on-farm assessment time of the Welfare Quality® protocol for dairy cattle. Other ways to reduce on-farm assessment time of the WQ protocol for dairy cattle, such as the use of additional data or automated monitoring systems, should be investigated.

Previous studies have shown that male mink (Mustela vison) removed from their mothers at seven weeks of age develop more tail-biting than males left with their mothers until six months. Mink in the wild do not damage their own pelts in this way, and such behaviour may well be an indication of chronic stress.

The aim of this experiment was to investigate further the causes of tail-biting by considering female young as well as male, and by lowering the age at which the late-weaned ‘ mink were separated from their mother to 11 weeks, by which age their period of socialization should be complete. This was to generate results of more practical use to farmers, who cannot leave all young with their mothers until six months of age for reasons of space. Mink removed from their mothers at seven or eleven weeks of age did indeed differ in the incidence of tail-biting. Early-weaned ‘females were more likely than late-weaned females to have bitten their tails at six months of age. A similar result was evident as a trend for both sexes at ten months. Furthermore, at this age, some animals ‘ tail tips were completely bald and such animals were all early-weaned.

Where provided with plastic drinker dishes, early-weaned animals were also more likely to chew these. Thus weaning age had long-lasting effects on a number of oral behaviour patterns. These results suggest that young animals predisposed to tail-bite might be diverted by the provision of other objects to chew, and that if problems of over-crowding are avoided, leaving mink kits with their mothers until 11 weeks might improve their welfare.

Many animal welfare traits vary on a continuous scale but are commonly scored using an ordinal scale with few categories. The rationale behind this practice is rarely stated but appears largely based on the debatable conviction that it increases data reliability. Using 54 observers of varying levels of expertise, inter-observer reliability (IOR) and user-satisfaction were compared between a 3-point ordinal scale (OS) and a continuous modified visual analogue scale with multiple anchors (VAS) for scoring lameness in dairy cattle from video. IOR was significantly better for the VAS than for the OS. IOR increased with self-reported level of expertise for the VAS, whereas for the OS it was highest for observers with a moderate level of expertise. The mean continuous scores and the mean categorical scores were highly correlated. Three times as many observers stated a preference for the VAS (n = 27) compared to the OS (n = 9) in investigating differences in lameness between herds. Contrary to common perception, these results illustrate that it is possible for a continuous cattle lameness score to be more reliable and to have greater user acceptability than a simple categorical scale. As continuous scales are also potentially more sensitive, and produce data more amenable to algebraic processing and more powerful parametric analyses, the scepticism against their application for assessing animal welfare traits should be reconsidered.

Female laboratory rats (Rattus norvegicus; Wistar, Alderley Park) were housed as singletons or groups of three in units of two cages. Units were divided by different types of barrier which allowed varying degrees of social contact across the barrier. Singletons were established either with another singleton on the other side of the barrier or with a group of three as neighbours. Single-housing among females had markedly less effect on time budgeting and pathophysiological measures than among males in a similar, earlier study. In particular, singletons showed a less marked increase in self-directed behaviours, particularly tail chasing, and a smaller reduction in undirected movement around the cage. The smaller reduction in mobility may reflect a greater tendency for singly housed females to attempt escape. Females generally showed much higher levels of escape-oriented behaviours than males and up to a threefold increase in such behaviours when housed singly. Differences in time budgeting and in the apparent significance of social separation between the sexes can be interpreted in terms of differences in socio-sexual strategy and potential mating opportunity, with singleton males responding to their cage as a territory, but singleton females seeking to re-establish social contact. Such an interpretation is consistent with the effects of barrier type on behaviour in singleton females, in which time spent in escape-oriented behaviours reflected the extent to which the barrier facilitated, or frustrated, contact with neighbours.

The slaughter of animals for the halal market is both ethically and economically significant. There are animal welfare and spiritual requirements that must be met for meat to be considered fit for Muslim consumption. These requirements are enshrined in Islamic law, known commonly as the Shariah law, derived from commandments in the Holy Quran and the Hadith (teachings or traditions of the Prophet of Islam, Mohammed, Peace Be Upon Him). Islamic jurists widely interpret the Shariah law differently, and this has led to debate as to whether pre-slaughter stunning is acceptable for halal slaughter. This paper reviews how these laws are interpreted and implemented and reviews the methods of stunning accepted by proponents of halal stunning. It also describes why some proponents of halal stunning do not accept irreversible stunning methods for producing halal beef within the EU, a situation which has meant that thousands of halal cattle are slaughtered without any form of stunning.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a short-acting antipsychotic (acepromazine) on the stress response to transport in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus). Twenty-one roe deer were submitted to a nine-hour road journey in order to reintroduce and restock this species into Catalonia (north-eastern Spain). The animals were divided into two groups: animals in the treatment group received an intramuscular injection of acepromazine (0.13 mg kg−1 in 0.5 ml; n = 9) while animals in the control group received the same volume of saline (n = 12). Clinical (heart rate and body temperature, measured during transport using remote devices), haematological, and biochemical indicators of stress were used to evaluate the effect of the antipsychotic. Heart rate increased during transportation, but no differences were found between groups. Body temperature decreased during transportation in both groups, but this reduction was faster in acepromazine-treated animals. Comparison of blood parameters before and after transport revealed significantly lower red blood cell counts and haemoglobin concentrations after transport in treated animals compared with control animals; a reduction in lymphocyte count, eosinophil count and serum creatinine levels over transport in treated animals; a decrease in serum potassium levels over transport in the control group; an increase in serum creatine kinase (CK), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activities over transport in control animals; an increase in serum urea and chloride concentrations over transport in both groups; and finally, a decrease in serum glucose concentrations in both groups. These results demonstrate the suitability of acepromazine in transport operations in order to reduce the stress response and prevent its adverse effects in roe deer.

Ethical principles guide decisions about what we consider to be right or wrong proposals and actions, so that when value judgements are made these engage us in ethics. Ethical thinking is clearly relevant to decisions about the way we treat animals, and such thinking has led to the commonly held view that animal use by people is acceptable provided that such use is humane. The ethical requirement that we treat animals humanely means that we must minimise the harms we do to all animals in our care or under our control. Accordingly, we must assess what harms are done to the animals, how bad each harm is in terms of its intensity and duration, what methods are available or can be developed to minimise each harm, and the relative effectiveness of those methods of harm minimisation. We must also seek to use the most humane methods currently available that can be practically applied. Ethically driven scientific evaluations of this sort have improved the humaneness of livestock slaughter and vertebrate pest control. For instance, detailed studies of different pre-slaughter stunning methods have validated their use to pre-empt the pain and distress that otherwise conscious animals would experience during the fatal neck cut and the short period of consciousness (sensibility) that follows it Likewise, reducing injuries caused by restraint traps has improved the humaneness of this vertebrate pest control method, and comparing the effects of different poisons has allowed the least humane ones to be identified. Difficult questions nevertheless remain at the problematic interface between quantitative scientific observations and their interpretation regarding the suffering that animals may experience, as well as questions about the relativities of different types of suffering.

An ever-expanding scientific literature highlights the impact of the prenatal environment on many areas of biology. Across all major farmed species, experimental studies have clearly shown that prenatal experiences can have a substantial impact on outcomes relevant to later health, welfare and productivity. In particular, stress or sub-optimal nutrition experienced by the mother during pregnancy has been shown to have wide-ranging and important effects on how her offspring cope with their social, physical and infectious environment. Variation in the conditions for development provided by the reproductive tract or egg, for instance by altered nutritional supply or hormonal exposure, may therefore explain a large degree of variation in many welfare- and productivity-relevant traits. The scientific literature suggests a number of management practices for pre-birth/hatch individuals that could compromise their later welfare. Such studies may have relevance for the welfare of animals under human care, depending on the extent to which real life conditions involve exposure to these practices. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of extending the focus on animal welfare to include the prenatal period, an aspect which until recently has been largely neglected.

Traditionally, game-keepers and agriculturalists have controlled predators using lethal methods, but there are circumstances under which these may be ineffective or inappropriate for animal welfare or conservation reasons. Generalised aversion is potentially a form of non-lethal control, in which predators are conditioned to avoid foul-tasting bait, causing them subsequently to generalise this avoidance to similar, but untreated, prey, thereby affording it protection. In this exploratory study, a group of captive red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) was successfully conditioned to avoid untreated milk after drinking milk containing BitrexTM, a bitter substance that they were unable to detect except by taste. Our foxes were members of a family group and so housed together to reduce stress, and therefore the individuals’ responses to the various treatments may not have been independent. As a result, we combined data from the three animals, and our most conservative analyses consider the sampling population to be this fox group; we do not make inferences about foxes in general, but confine them to this fox-group. This trial was a pilot to reveal the potential for future work on wild animals. Successful application of generalised aversion to non-lethal predator control has far-reaching implications for the sport hunting industry, nature reserve management and the conservation of threatened predators requiring control, as well as clear animal welfare benefits.