Welfare is being promoted as a reason why ostriches should not be kept on farms in Europe. It is reasoned that the climate, particularly during winter, is unsuitable for these birds despite there being little scientific evidence to support this claim. This study recorded the frequency of behaviours of male and female adult ostriches kept on a farm in Britain during the spring of 1996. ‘Rainy’, ‘dull and dry’, ‘bright and dry’, and ‘sunny’ weather categories were used to assess the influence of climate on behaviour. Six main behaviours (sitting, standing, pacing, walking, foraging and feeding) were observed together with a variety of low frequency ‘other’ behaviours which were combined for analysis. Gender had no significant effect on any of the behaviour frequencies. During ‘rainy’ periods both males and females showed sitting behaviour five times more than during ‘dull’ and ‘bright’ weather and two and a half times more than during ‘sunny’ weather. Increased sitting behaviour during rainy periods was due to a significant reduction in pacing and ‘other’ behaviours with no significant effect on feeding and foraging behaviours. Sitting during sunny weather also occurred more often than during dull and bright weather but not at the expense of any other particular behaviour. Adult ostriches in Britain alter their behaviour in response to prevailing weather conditions, particularly rain.

Much of my research has been devoted to determining the cognitive and communicative abilities of Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus), but other companion animals and those in captivity in Zoos also have considerable capacities that are often under-utilised in such settings. Many such animals are left to their own devices for large parts of the day; their boredom may translate into unsuitable behaviour patterns. In order to address this problem, my colleagues and I began to devise various computer-based ‘toys’ that would not only provide enrichment in the sense of relieving boredom and reproducing situations somewhat like the challenges faced by animals in the wild on a daily basis, but also would help us determine the extent of these animals’ cognitive capacities. Some of these systems allow remote interactions between owners and their pets and others might be adapted for animal-animal interactions. In this paper I will describe these projects, their aims, and our limited progress.

This study evaluates the methods utilised to release and monitor three troops of rehabilitated vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops) in South Africa. In all cases, monitoring was poor and conducted over a short time-frame disallowing release outcomes to be fully assessed. Wild troops were present at two of the three locations, casting doubt upon sightings of released monkeys and indicating that the release sites chosen were unsuitable and presented disease risks to the wild vervets. Eighty-three percent of monkeys were unaccounted for at the end of monitoring. Any future releases should make use of radio or GPS collars to track the monkeys, have a planned monitoring schedule covering a period of at least one year, collect detailed data on behaviour, demographics and ecology and should follow the IUCN Guidelines for Non-Human Primate Re-introductions.

In Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, the number of pets and pet owners has been increasing in recent years. The experiences people have with pets might impact their relationships with animals in general and especially attitudes towards animal protection and use. However, research on the impact of pet ownership on values and attitudes towards animals is relatively scarce. We analyse associations of pet ownership with different values and attitudes towards animals. We derived seven attitude constructs towards animals from three different datasets using Principal Component Analyses. Data were collected using standardised online surveys with German residents (dataset 1 = 1,049 respondents; dataset 2 = 414 respondents; dataset 3 = 1,048 respondents). All three samples are non-probability quota samples. The seven attitudinal constructs represent values and attitudes towards animals ranging from general values and attitudes towards, eg animal protection, to more specific attitudes towards, eg eating animals. We analysed the relationship of pet ownership, sex, and age with these constructs using ANOVA. Our results show that effect sizes are small to medium. Pet ownership has the strongest association with more general values and attitudes towards animals, with pet owners being, eg more involved in animal protection and more in favour of awarding fundamental rights to animals. In contrast, we found that more specific attitudes, such as the evaluation of current pig farming systems or attitudes towards eating meat, were more related to sex than pet ownership. Our findings indicate that having pets relates to their owners’ attitudes towards animals, but that this association varies depending on the specificity of attitudes.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether linear and non-linear measures of heart rate variability (HRV) could be used as indicators of piglet castration pain. Thirty piglets were allocated to 1 of 4 treatments: i) sham castrated HRV (SHRV; n = 8); ii) surgical castrated HRV (CHRV; n = 7); iii) sham castrated blood collection (SBC; n = 7); or iv) surgical castrated blood collection (CBC; n = 8). Piglets in the SHRV and CHRV treatment groups underwent a 1-h HRV and postural behaviour evaluation on day-1, day 0 (castration treatment), day 1 and day 3 of the experimental procedure. Piglets in the SBC and CBC groups underwent blood collection for serum cortisol analysis at -0.5, 1, 2, 3, 24, 48 and 72 h relative to castration treatment. Castrated piglets (CHRV) exhibited greater low to high frequency ratio, lower sample entropy and greater percent determinism compared to SHRV piglets, indicating greater pain-related stress due to the surgical castration procedure. Serum cortisol was greater in CBC pigs at 1 h post-castration compared to SBC piglets. No effect of treatment was found for amount of time spent lying post-castration. In conclusion, surgically castrated pigs exhibited greater pain-related stress than their sham castrated counterparts. Additionally, non-linear HRV measures seem to complement traditional linear HRV measures and may be valuable for assessing pain-related stress in future studies investigating swine welfare.

Farmed juvenile blue foxes were housed either singly, in pairs, or in quartets at a stocking density of either 0.6 m2 or 1.2 m2 per animal. The effects of group size and space allocation on physiological, behavioural and production-related parameters were assessed. The results showed that the larger space allocation, although having only minor effects on the measured parameters, allowed the foxes to maintain their individual space even in the larger group sizes. Social tension within the groups affected the behavioural and production-related parameters to a greater extent than did space allocation. The sex-related dominance order, with males having easier access to feed than females, and females having more bite scars and higher serum cortisol levels than males, appears to be the major factor affecting the general performance of mixed-sex group-housed farmed blue foxes. These results suggest that group housing of farmed juvenile blue foxes could be considered as an alternative, socially enriched way of housing these animals.

Defining perception, awareness, consciousness and reflexive or self-reflexive consciousness is difficult. I will not linger on definitions of fuzzy concepts but will attempt to put forward evidence for the rationale that awareness is likely to emerge as a consequence of how the brain processes information. Efficiency in information processing has resulted in a limited number of preferential (motivational) states of the brain and, in fact, of the whole organism. In addition, animals have the ability to internally represent external conditions and, through interactions with the motivational state, generate expectations.

It is argued that optimal decision-making requires that possible sequences of behaviours each activate their associated neuronal networks representing cue- and context-related information. Prior to the initiation of an action, the consequences of each possible scenario are estimated. An efficient animal must have the ability to anticipate, weight and choose. This weighting occurs at a hierarchically higher level and results in signals which possess a coordinative function in activating the appropriate motivational state, response selection, activation of associated networks and maintenance of attention.

Higher cognitive executive centres perceive and recognize such signals and integrate ongoing behaviour with internal representations about the past and expectations within the context of the signal induced state. Humans experience these simultaneously-occurring processes as awareness. The nature of the subjective experience may vary from an emotional state to reflexive consciousness depending on the cognitive abilities of the species and the stage of development and the level of arousal in the individual.

When introducing environmental enrichment in laboratory animals, positive and/or negative effects on behavioural and physiological parameters should be evaluated. This three-step randomised controlled trial in male C57BL/6 mice investigated the effect of supplementing the environment with one or more hemp ropes. In part 1, the effect of a hemp rope on aggressive and social behaviour, stress and anxiety levels was assessed by social interaction test, elevated plus maze behaviour, and faecal corticosterone metabolites, respectively (n = 224 mice). In part 2, the effect of 1, 2 or 7 hemp ropes on aggressive behaviour in mice subjected to routine handling was evaluated by assessing the number of wounded companion animals and wounds per animal (n = 224). In part 3, climbing activity in the rope and amount of material shredded from the rope was assessed (n = 56). Mice housed with one hemp rope engaged in social behaviour for longer time than mice housed without a hemp rope, while no difference was detected in stress and anxiety levels. No difference was seen in the number of wounded animals or wounds per animal when adding 1, 2 or 7 hemp ropes to the existing environment in mice undergoing minimal human handling. The mice continuously shredded and climbed the rope, even when provided with a new rope, although time spent climbing decreased slightly over time. Thus, a hemp rope can be used as additional environmental enrichment amongst male C57BL/6 mice.

Skin lesions of pigs can be used as an indicator of their ability to adapt to the social and physical environment. A total of 315 weaner pigs were assigned to one of three treatments: groups of nine piglets from one litter (9s), mixed groups of nine piglets from three litters (9m) or mixed groups of 36 piglets from four litters (36m). The ear, neck/shoulder, rump, back, hindquarter, tail and belly of piglets were inspected for scratches, abrasions and signs of inflammation on days 0, 5 and 28 post mixing. Due to the large number of body regions, different types of injuries and data from three inspections, the results of explorative data analysis were very heterogeneous. Data preparation focusing on scratches and combination of corresponding regions using factor analysis resulted in a data set which was useful for further statistical procedure. Factor analysis identified corpus, ear and tail as factors. Using the Wilcoxon test different inspections within a treatment were compared. Differences between treatments were analysed using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests. Mixed groups (9m, 36m) showed an increase of ‘many scratches’ on ear and corpus from day 0 to day 5 and a decrease on ear from day 5 to day 28. ‘Many scratches’ on corpus were more frequent in mixed groups than in single litter groups. This study suggests that skin lesion score can be used to analyse treatment effects on the aggression of pigs. However, it has to be focused on a precise hypothesis and should be based on behavioural observations.

At present, UK schools are not required to teach children about animal welfare. This undoubtedly contributes to widespread deficiencies in knowledge, and misconceptions about animals’ needs, likes, and dislikes. Aware of the issues at hand, animal welfare organisations create their own materials for teachers to use, and/or deliver educational programmes directly to children and young people. As the design, content, processes and outcomes associated with these interventions are rarely documented publicly or systematically evaluated, there is little evidence to guide the development of animal welfare education. A three-stage online Delphi study was used to identify who current interventions target, what delivery methods are being used, and how expert practitioners describe priorities and challenges in the field. Thirty-one experts participated in Round 1, with 84% of the sample (n = 26) also taking part in Round 2. Qualitative analysis revealed passionate accounts about the far-reaching potential of educating children about animals. However, we also identified ambiguities and tensions that could thwart the future development of effective animal welfare education. Alongside the production of a web-based framework and evidence-based toolkit to support practitioners, findings will be used to encourage animal welfare professionals to work towards producing shared terminology, definitions, and outcomes’ frameworks; focusing on positive education and the idea of harm as opposed to cruelty. This should facilitate collaboration with schoolteachers and education policymakers to assess the ways in which animal welfare might be successfully incorporated within formal education in the future. These data suggest many potential avenues for inclusion, although a holistic approach emphasising the links between humans, animals and the environment, within the context of young people's recent activism and contemporary health, societal and environmental issues, may be most successful.

Many studies on group-housing of laboratory rabbits to date have focused on management aspects and economic implications. Our aim here is to provide behavioural background information for future investigations focusing on behavioural and welfare aspects of group-housing. In the present study, we established the behavioural repertoire of female laboratory rabbits kept in single-sex groups in enriched floor-pens. Thirty-six adult does of common laboratory breeds were kept in groups of four in enriched floor-pens. Behavioural observations were carried out over a period of 30 months with a total observation time of 21 h per group and 4.2 h per focal animal. Observations took place at natural dusk and dawn and lasted for 120 or 180 min per group. Most of the behavioural elements in the repertoire of mixed-sex wild and domestic rabbits were also observed here in single-sex groups of laboratory does. However, in the absence of males, sexual behaviours were directed towards other females and no maternal behaviours, other than nest building at the end of pseudopregnancies, were exhibited. Attention is drawn to differences between the behavioural repertoire reported here and that of singly caged laboratory rabbits.

Although the number of rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) produced in Europe is important, they are under-represented in welfare research. Studies on the effects of housing conditions have focused on performance and mortality. We conducted a meta-analysis to further understand the impact of the housing environment on growing rabbits. Whilst providing a robust quantifiable review, meta-analyses are restricted to existing literature. We included information on behaviour, mortality and performance. Twenty-seven peer-reviewed and conference publications, with a total of 99 experimental treatments, were used. We collected information about rabbit age, bodyweight, sex and breed; allometric space allowance, pen height, group size, environmental temperature, floor type, substrate and enrichment use, lighting, diet and medicated feed. Predictive equations for each response variable were calculated using multiple regression models. Higher space allowance was found to increase locomotor and social activity, and to reduce resting and comfort behaviour. Restricted pen height increased ingestive behaviour; comfort behaviours decreased as space allowance increased, although these might have been confounded with self-directed behaviours in literature. Mortality remained stable at varying space allowances, but increased with larger group sizes and enrichment objects. Growth rate, feed intake and feed conversion were reduced with higher space allowances and larger group sizes, and by provision of substrate and enrichment objects. Findings suggest that higher space allowance and unrestricted pen height are beneficial for rabbit behaviour, but might have undesired consequences if considered independent from other aspects. The challenge of promoting welfare in commercial conditions was highlighted, as a number of parameters which improved behavioural expression reduced performance. In certain cases welfare inputs complemented performance, including providing non-medicated feed and higher space allowance in cooler climates. Although our results should be interpreted with caution given the limitations of the included variables, they are expected to contribute to the improvement of current and new rabbit housing systems to optimise welfare.

Humane euthanasia of cattle under field conditions presents special challenges for veterinarians and producers. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the CASH Dispatch Kit captive-bolt system combined with improved shot placement landmarks as a single-step euthanasia method for cattle. Cattle destined for euthanasia for reasons unrelated to the study were utilised. Adult (> 2 years), young (6-24 months) and neonatal (< 1 month) cattle each received a single shot from the CASH penetrating captive-bolt pistol. An additional group of neonatal animals was shot with a non-penetrating muzzle attachment. The shot was placed on midline halfway between the top of the poll and an imaginary line connecting the lateral canthus of each eye. Following the shot, the animals were immediately assessed for loss of consciousness based upon: i) immediate collapse (if standing); ii) loss of eye reflexes with a centered, dilated pupil; iii) lack of co-ordinated respiration; iv) lack of vocalisation; and v) lack of a righting reflex. Lack of consciousness and heartbeat were assessed at 1-min intervals until cardiac arrest. All animals were adequately stunned by a single shot. Euthanasia via a single shot was successful in 28/31, 17/19, 8/10, and 9/10 adult, young, neonate (penetrating) and neonate (non-penetrating) animals, respectively. Reasons for failure included return of co-ordinated respiration and prolonged time until cardiac arrest. A single shot from the CASH Dispatch captive-bolt system will humanely euthanase most animals. However, the results of this study indicate that application of a follow-up step to ensure death is still needed in certain instances.

All cephalopod molluscs and decapod crustaceans should be regarded as sentient and protected under UK animal welfare law. This is the headline conclusion of this thoughtful report, that is going to have a profound impact on the way these animals are treated within the UK — and likely inform policy elsewhere. In response, the UK government has indicated that they accept this position and will look to/have extended forthcoming animal welfare legislation to include lobsters, octopus and crabs and all other decapod crustaceans and cephalopod molluscs.

This study assessed how sound affected fear- and maintenance-related behaviour in singly housed cats (Felis silvestris catus) in an animal shelter. Two daily 30-min observation sessions (morning and evening) were made for 98 cats from admittance for ten days or until the cat was removed. Cat behaviour and presence of sound (classified by the source) were recorded by instantaneous and one-zero sampling with 15-s intervals. Each 30-min observation session was classified as ‘quiet’ or ‘noisy’ if the one-zero score for presence of sound was above or below the median of sessions at that time of day. To ensure that cats had at least two complete days of comparable observations, statistical analysis was restricted to the 70 cats (30 females, 40 males) present for two or more weekdays. Cats varied widely in the amount of fear and maintenance behaviour they performed. Males showed less fear and maintenance behaviour than females. Morning sessions consistently had much more sound than evenings, and cats showed more fear behaviour and less maintenance behaviour in the mornings. Cats showed more fear behaviour in noisy morning sessions than quiet ones, with no comparable difference in maintenance behaviour. Where sessions included a pronounced transition in sound, fear-related behaviour was more common after a transition from quiet to noisy and less common after a transition from noisy to quiet The results show that shelter cats vary greatly in their responses and suggest that sound in shelter environments can substantially affect their behaviour. Lowering sound levels in shelters may help improve cat welfare.

Play is often considered an indicator and promotor of animal welfare and may facilitate closer cat-human relationships. However, few studies have empirically investigated these associations. The current study aimed to investigate play-related factors associated with four welfare outcome measures in cats (Felis catus) including: cat quality of life; cat-guardian relationship quality; problem behaviour prevalence; and behavioural changes. An online survey was developed using demographic information, questions related to play and resources, free text sections and the following validated measures: cat quality of life (QOL), the cat owner relationship scale, and the adult playfulness trait scale. Responses were completed by 1,591 cat guardians from 55 countries. Higher cat playfulness scores and a greater number of games played were significantly associated with higher cat QOL scores while longer amounts of daily play, greater number of games, both cat and guardian initiating play and higher guardian playfulness scores were all significantly associated with higher cat-guardian relationship scores. Exclusively indoor housing was significantly associated with both higher cat QOL and higher cat-guardian relationships scores compared to cats with outdoor access. Behavioural changes associated with distress in cats were reported when play was absent. Play may be an important factor in assessing and maintaining cat welfare. Further research into the mechanisms of how play impacts welfare and cat-guardian relationships is needed.

The most widely used stunning method in sheep is electrical. However, in lambs, this method leads to rupture of the blood vessels, provoking ecchymoses. In pigs (Sus scrofa), the use of CO2-stunning systems has increased in popularity due to positive effects on meat quality and animal welfare (movement of animals in groups). The aim here was to assess the effectiveness of a progressive exposure to 90% carbon dioxide (CO2) in inducing unconsciousness in lambs (Ovis aries) through changes in the middle latency auditory-evoked potentials (MLAEP) of the central nervous system (CNS), blood parameters (pH, carbon dioxide partial pressure (pCO2), oxygen partial pressure (pO2), oxygen saturation (SatO2) and bicarbonate (HCO3J, behaviour (head-shaking, sneezing, gasping and gagging) and physiological reflexes (corneal reflex, breathing and sensitivity to pain). Fourteen male lambs of the Ripollesa breed, weighing between 19 and 25 kg were progressively exposed to an atmosphere of 90% CO2 over 66 s. All blood parameters changed between 23 and 43 s after the onset of the immersion. The MLAEP did not decrease significantly until after 48 s exposure to CO2, suggesting an absence of auditory-evoked brain activity. Before that, lambs exhibited head-shaking and sneezing starting at 10.6 (± 0.77) s, and gasping starting at 20.6 (± 1.36) s. After exposure, all animals showed absence of breathing and sensibility to pain, and 36% of them absence of corneal reflex. The pH and pCO2 recovered basal values at 90 and 120 s, respectively, after the end of the exposure. The burst suppression index (BS%) and the A-Line ARX index (AAI) recovered basal levels at 116 and 159 s, respectively. Exposure to CO2 at high concentration induces effective stunning in sheep for a period of 124 s. However, during exposure, the animals exhibited signs of aversion and breathlessness.

In certain areas of South America, free-ranging, wild guanacos (Lama guanicoe) are exploited for fibre by local people. This activity includes the capture and handling of animals which can adversely affect their behaviour and physiology. This study investigated the behavioural and physiological responses of guanacos to shearing and handling activities in order to obtain a better picture of the welfare state of individuals. Parameters that were assessed consisted of: time enclosed; handling time; sex; age; and vital signs (heart beat frequency per minute, respiratory rate per minute, body temperature and body condition). Blood samples were also collected to measure serum cortisol levels and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratios. Frequencies of spitting, kicking, escape attempts and vocalisations were recorded as behaviours considered indicative of stress. Our results showed that stress behaviour frequencies were higher with increased handling time, whereas serum cortisol and N/L levels were higher when body condition scores were low. Handling time should be kept as short as possible to minimise individuals’ stress levels, particularly when body condition is low. Stress behaviour rates and serum cortisol levels were higher in juvenile compared to adult guanacos. Finally, both physiological measures of stress — serum cortisol concentrations and N/L ratios — were higher during the management activities of 2010 than in 2009, which may have been as a result of more inclement weather in 2010. When managing guanacos, it is important to consider both animal traits and previous environmental conditions and to avoid shearing juveniles and individuals with poor body condition scores if weather conditions are severe. These management recommendations are likely to improve animal welfare, facilitating sustainable management of this wild and emblematic species from the desert biomes of South America.

A questionnaire on methods of replacement and retention of pre-parturient vaginal prolapse, performed by the shepherd or veterinary surgeon, was completed by 108 veterinary undergraduate students after their farm experience as lambing assistants. The retention methods routinely employed included various suture patterns (72 replies; 66.7%), a plastic intravaginal retaining device (17.6%) and a truss (15.7%). In the sutured group, Buhner perivulval sutures, purse string perivulval sutures and horizontal mattress sutures had been used in 13 per cent, 46.4 per cent and 40.6 per cent of replies respectively. While 5mm nylon tape had been used for 52 of 72 (72.2%) procedures, autoclaved suture material had been used in only 29.6 per cent of replies. No analgesia was employed prior to placing the sutures in 40 (55.6%) replies. Frequent or pronounced abdominal straining by the ewe during replacement of the vaginal prolapse was observed by 69 of 108 respondents (63.9%). On a subjective basis 20 students (18.5%) considered that the welfare consequences of the procedure were a matter of concern and a further 40 students (37.0%) judged that the welfare consequences of the procedure were poor.

The housing condition of pig (Sus scrofa) fattening farms are increasingly receiving criticism, because they are associated with impaired animal welfare. Consumers view the increase in farm sizes critically, even though scientifically based knowledge on the relationship between farm size and welfare is still limited. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the welfare level of conventional fattening pig farms in Germany and to evaluate the relationship between farm size and animal welfare level. In total, the Welfare Quality® protocol (WQ) for pigs was applied on 60 farms. Farms were classified according to their size into small (< 1,500 pigs per farm), medium (1,500-3,000 pigs per farm) and large (> 3,000 pigs per farm). Independent of the farm size, the overall WQ classifications ‘excellent’ and ‘not classified’ were not recorded in any of the farms, while ‘enhanced’ and ‘acceptable’ was achieved by 80 and 20% of the farms, respectively. Farm sizes had no effect on any of the four principles ‘good feeding’, ‘good housing’, ‘good health’ or ‘appropriate behaviour’. Overall, moderate bursitis (35%) was found to be the most prevalent indicator of welfare-related problems. However, it did not differ between farm sizes. Another highly prevalent indicator, moderately soiled body, increased from 11.1% in small-to 20.8% in large-sized farms. In conclusion, our findings show that none of the farm sizes were superior in terms of animal welfare. Overall, acceptable or enhanced scores were achieved for many of the criteria, however the need for improvement in other criteria such as ‘expression of other behaviour’ and ‘positive emotional state’, was clear.