Enrichment of the environments of captive primates is currently of interest as both a basic and an applied research question, particularly when social and inanimate enhancements are used simultaneously. We measured the behavioural effects of two intensities of inanimate enrichment on 12 unimale-multifemale groups and 12 all-male groups from three cohorts of three to four-year-old rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Half of the groups received a simple, inexpensive enrichment programme while the other groups received a more complex and costly combination of physical andfeeding enhancements. Observations were conducted on 93 subadults of both sexes during their initial year of group housing. Intensity of enrichment did not differentially affect the amount of time subjects spent in any of the activities analysed. Subjects that received the more complex programme spent only 8.3 per cent of their time using the extra enhancements. Therefore, there was little demonstrated benefit of the more costly enrichment programme. The three cohorts differed in the amount of time that they spent inactive, behaving agonistically, playing and located near a group mate. A planned comparison of one cohort that had been single-housed without visual access to social groups, to the two cohorts that had visual access to social groups during single caging, revealed differences in play and socially-located behaviour, which may have been due to differences in extra-cage conditions two years prior to the present study. When primates are housed socially with conspecifics as ‘social enhancements ‘, the relatively simple inanimate enrichment programme we used was as effective as the more costly programme. When enrichment resources are limited, inanimate enrichment efforts should be focused on monkeys that are not socially enriched.

This study aimed to refine bird-soiling as a broiler chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) welfare indicator, and to develop and test two additional indicators, namely contact dermatitis on the breast and abdominal areas and carcase scratches. We constructed a questionnaire with pictures of birds presenting different indicator levels for classification as absent, low, moderate or severe. The questionnaire was sent to 146 invited experts for the first round and 88 for the second, in a Delphi process. Visual scales were built for the target indicators, which were tested by three assessors in ten flocks on-farm (n = 1,303 birds) and at the slaughterhouse (n = 1,631 birds). High concordance was observed among groups of Delphi respondents and among assessors. A total of 90.7% of the birds were either moderately or severely soiled, 99.9% were poorly feathered, 73.4 and 90.0% presented erythaema and carcase scratches, respectively. The correlations between litter quality and all outcomes assessed on-farm, and between bird-soiling and contact dermatitis on the breast and abdominal areas, were moderate. Results suggest that adoption of the proposed scales may improve our ability to assess broiler chicken welfare, since relevant problems were prevalent and measurement consistency acceptable. Substantial concordance observed among assessors encourages application of these animal-based indicators to assess broiler chicken welfare in a wide range of poultry houses, in a variety of different countries, thereby allowing the scales to be tested in a host of animal welfare conditions.

Field-based animal researchers need to balance the potential adverse effects of their research activities against the benefits of research outcomes, but the data required to do this are often lacking. Assessing, and subsequently reporting the effects of researcher activities on wild animal populations can be difficult, so that studies to detect these effects sometimes lack rigour or fail to encompass sufficient time to ensure that the effects are tested under a range of environmental stresses. We monitored the effect of investigators working in colonies of two seabirds, the short-tailed shearwater (Puffinus tenuirostris) and the little penguin (Eudyptula minor). Disturbance of breeding birds while checking nests or the weighing of chicks to monitor growth are very common activities for demographic and ecological studies, but how these activities may influence the birds is rarely measured. We investigated differing levels of disturbance during both activities between 2002-03 and 2008-09 to assess their effect on egg laying, chick survival and growth rate and observed no effect for nest checking or handling of short-tailed shearwaters and indeterminate effects for handling in little penguins. Over a period of several years the study has observed a large-scale decline in the number of breeding shearwaters and includes years when control nests had above and below average breeding success.

The objective of this exploratory, preliminary study was to survey dairy farmers using robotic milking systems to better understand their mental health and potential connections to their cow health and welfare. Only farms using robotic milking systems in Ontario, Canada were visited for collection of data on management practices, cow welfare, and milk production and quality. Those farmers also completed an online survey that included validated psychometric scales used to assess resilience, stress, anxiety, and depression; results from 28 farms were analysed. Thirty cows per farm (or 30% for herds > 100 milking cows) were scored for body condition (five-point scale: 1 = thin to 5 = over-conditioned) and lameness (five-point scale: 1 = sound to 5 = lame); cows with a Body Condition Score ≤ 2.5 and lameness score ≥ 4 were defined as under-conditioned and severely lame, respectively. Farmer stress was positively associated with severe lameness prevalence, was greater for females vs males, and was greater for those feeding manually vs using an automated feeder. Anxiety and depression were greater for females vs males, and for those working alone, feeding manually, and with lesser milk protein percentage. Anxiety was also positively associated with the prevalence of severe lameness. Resilience was greater for those with automated feeding systems, but tended to be negatively associated with milk yield per robot and positively associated with milk somatic cell count. This is the first study to identify associations between farmer well-being and cow lameness, udder health, and milk yield. With future research, we can better understand this relationship to improve the well-being of both agricultural animals and their caretakers.

At present, animal experimentation remains central to our understanding of human disease-related processes and of the biological effects of many substances. Traditional experiments have relied heavily on invasive techniques to monitor changes in blood biochemistry, tissue structure or function, or to phenotype or genotype genetically modified animals. In some cases, a proportion or all of the animals used during the course of a study may be sacrificed for histopathological assessment. In most cases, this is to track the progression or regression of a disease over time, or to determine the levels of toxicity evident in specific organs or tissues. However, many of these techniques fail to provide details of how a disease develops or how a substance elicits its effects. In recent years there has been a gradual increase in the application of imaging techniques that were originally developed and used in fundamental research or in medicine. These non-invasive techniques allow diseases, and responses to exogenous substances, to be monitored in a temporal and spatial manner, therefore allowing a greater amount of information to be derived from smaller numbers of animals, which in turn, increases the statistical validity of the data by reducing the level of experimental variation. Non-invasive imaging also allows more informative and humane endpoints to be used and, perhaps most importantly, allows functional details to be studied in the context of a living animal. Some of the recent developments within the field of non-invasive imaging and their significance with respect to animal welfare and the understanding of human physiology are discussed.

Responses to potential threats to welfare vary greatly between species. Even closely related animals often differ in their fear of humans and/or novelty; their behavioural responses to pain; and when captive, their overall welfare and the form and frequency of their stereotypies. Such species differences stimulate hypotheses about I) the way that responses to challenge co-vary with other biological traits; 2) the adaptive value of particular responses; and 3) the factors predicting responses to evolutionarily new scenarios, such as captivity. We illustrate how these ideas can be statistically tested with multi-species comparisons, and show how techniques such as the Comparative Analysis of Independent Contrasts can be used to control for any non-independence of data points caused by species’ relatedness. For each of the three types of hypothesis, we then provide several welfare-relevant examples including one that has been fully tested (respectively, the relationships between sociality and anti-predator behaviour in antelopes; predation pressure, foraging niche and neophobia in parrots; and home range size and stereotypy in carnivores). Ultimate explanations such as these, based on species’ ecology and evolutionary history, have great explanatory appeal. Species comparisons can also have great practical value, allowing the test of hypotheses that would be almost impossible to investigate experimentally, and generating principles that allow predictions about the welfare of similar unstudied species. Multi-species data, for example from the many taxa held in zoos, thus hold enormous potential for increasing the fundamental understanding of animal welfare.

Farm assurance schemes can set standards to assure compliance with specific requirements relating to animal welfare. As such, standards can be set to address genetic-related welfare problems in farm animals, such as those associated with fast growth rates in meat chickens (broilers) (Gallus gallus domesticus). Based on discussions with broiler breeding companies, broiler producers and in line with published research, the RSPCA placed a maximum limit on the genetic growth rate potential of broilers that could be used within its own farm assurance scheme — Freedom Food. Despite the introduction of this requirement, the number of birds reared on the scheme increased from 25 million to 55 million per year over a three-year period, with all of these birds meeting the genetically slower growing requirement. In addition, the two largest global broiler breeding companies responded to this change in the market by each developing a genetically slower growing bird. This demonstrates that assurance schemes can have a pivotal role in tackling genetic welfare problems in farm animals, such as those associated with fast growth in broilers.

Determining objective measures for proof of consciousness in non-human animals has been helped by improved understanding of neural correlates of human consciousness. Functional imaging and neuropsychological studies have shown remarkable overlap between structures involved in actual perception of social and non-social objects and those involved in forming mental images of them. One area of particular interest is individual face recognition. This involves regions of the temporal lobe that are mainly only activated by actual perception or mental imagery of faces. Using behavioural, neuroanatomical and neurophysiological approaches in sheep, we have found that they have similar specialized abilities for recognizing many individuals from their faces. They have developed the same specialized neural processing regions in the temporal lobe for aiding such recognition. Furthermore, parallel activation of other brain regions controlling behavioural and emotional responses only occurs when they are overtly interested in the individuals whose faces they perceive. Such interest might therefore equate to their becoming consciously aware of them. Preliminary experiments have indicated that sheep may form and use mental images and that the regions of the temporal lobe that respond to faces can also do so under conditions where faces are suggested but do not actually appear. Such similarities between humans and sheep in this form of social recognition make it difficult to claim that humans can form mental images of faces whereas sheep cannot. While the ability to form and use mental imagery is not in itself definitive proof of consciousness, it is an important component part.

Increased production has been the major goal of animal breeding for many decades, and the correlated side-effects have grown to become a major issue in animal welfare. In this paper, the main genetic mechanisms in which such side-effects may occur are reviewed with examples from our own research in chickens. Pleiotropy, linkage and regulatory pathways are the most important means by which a number of traits may be affected simultaneously by the same selection pressure. Pleiotropy can be exemplified by the gene PMEL17 which causes a lack of black pigmentation in chickens and, simultaneously, predisposes them to become the victims of feather pecking. Linkage is a probable reason why a limited region on chicken chromosome 1 affects many different traits, such as growth, reproduction and fear-related behaviour. Gene regulation is affected by stress, and may cause modifications in behaviour and phenotype which are transferred from parents to offspring by means of epigenetic modifications. Insights into phenomena, such as these, may increase our understanding not only of how artificial selection works, but also evolution at large.

Despite improvements in zoo housing and management conditions over the last years, zoo animals may still present undesirable behaviours, such as aggression, stereotypies, boredom and a general absence of natural behaviours. In order to improve animal welfare, researchers are constantly looking for tools to enrich the environment and increase sensory information. Semiochemicals carry important information and are already in use for domestic and wild species. The aim of the current study was to evaluate their impact on the behaviour of captive lions. The behaviour of 18 African lions (Panthera leo) living at Aqualeon Safari Park, Tarragona, Spain was recorded during four different experimental conditions: (i) no intervention (baseline); (ii) Cat Facial Pheromone F3 in gel-diffuser blocks; (iii) Cat Appeasing Pheromone (CAP) in gel-diffuser blocks; and (iv) placebo blocks. The schedule consisted of six days with exposure to each condition and three days without. It was repeated twice. The statistical analysis showed a number of differences: animals exhibited longer periods of ‘follow’ behaviour when exposed to F3 than control or placebo; and longer periods of ‘play’ behaviour during F3 than control, placebo or CAP, although there was also a significant difference between CAP and placebo vs control. The lions also ‘ran’ more during F3 than during all other conditions and ‘walked’ more during F3 than during control or CAP; walking time was also significantly higher during placebo and CAP vs control. These results suggest that semiochemicals affect the behaviour of lions in captivity and might be considered and studied more thoroughly as potential tools to improve welfare.

A comprehensive synopsis of the welfare of captive, wild (ie non-domesticated) animals in travelling circuses is missing. We examined circus animal welfare and, specifically, behaviour, health, living and travelling conditions. We compared the conditions of non-domesticated animals in circuses with their counterparts kept in zoos. Data on circus animals were very scarce; where data were absent, we inferred likely welfare implications based on zoo data. Circus animals spent the majority of the day confined, about 1-9% of the day performing/training and the remaining time in exercise pens. Exercise pens were significantly smaller than minimum zoo standards for outdoor enclosures. Behavioural budgets were restricted, with circus animals spending a great amount of time performing stereotypies, especially when shackled or confined in beast wagons. A higher degree of stereotyping in circuses may be indicative of poorer welfare. Inadequate diet and housing conditions, and the effects of repeated performances, can lead to significant health problems. Circus animals travel frequently and the associated forced movement, human handling, noise, trailer movement and confinement are important stressors. Although there is no conclusive evidence as to whether animals habituate to travel, confinement in beast wagons for long timeperiods is a definite welfare concern. Circuses have a limited ability to make improvements, such as increased space, environmental enrichment and appropriate social housing. Consequently, we argue that non-domesticated animals, suitable for circus life, should exhibit low space requirements, simple social structures, low cognitive function, non-specialist ecological requirements and an ability to be transported without adverse welfare effects. None of the commonest species exhibited by circuses, such as elephants and large felids, currently meet these criteria. We conclude that the species of non-domesticated animals commonly kept in circuses appear the least suited to a circus life.

This paper describes a case example where initiatives from private assurance schemes, scientists, charities, government and egg companies have improved the welfare of UK cage-free laying hens. The RSPCA and Soil Association farm assurance schemes introduced formal welfare outcome assessment into their annual audits of laying-hen farms in 2011. Feather loss was assessed on 50 birds from each flock on a three-point scale for two body regions: Head and Neck (HN) and Back and Vent (BV). In support of the observations, assessors were trained in feedback techniques designed to encourage change in farmer behaviour to improve welfare. In addition, during Year 2 farmers were asked about changes they had made, and intended to make on their farms. During 2011-2013 there were also wider industry initiatives to improve feather cover. Data were analysed from 830 and 743 farms in Year 1 and Year 2, respectively. From Year 1 to Year 2 there was a significant reduction in the prevalence of feather loss from 31.8% (9.6% severe) to 20.8% (6% severe) for the HN region, and from 33.1% (12.6% severe) to 22.7% (8.3% severe) for BV. Fifty-nine percent of 662 farmers reported they had made changes on their farms during Year 1 to improve bird welfare. For such a substantial industry change, attributing causation to specific initiatives is difficult; however, this is the first study to demonstrate the value to animal welfare of certification schemes monitoring the effectiveness of their own and other industry-led interventions to guide future policy.

In response to an increased awareness concerning the welfare of captive animals, several studies have investigated the effect of provisions on stress levels in model species, such as small mammals, birds and fish. In contrast, reptiles have received less attention. Although many reptilian species are becoming increasingly popular in the pet trade and are frequently used as model species in various branches of biology and a number of studies have explored how they react to stress in different contexts (eg social, predatory), little is known about how they react to stress induced by housing conditions or experimental treatments. In this study, we quantified the effect of provision of perches and leaves as refuges (provisioned) on the behaviour, morphology and physiology of the green anole (Anolis carolinensis). Our results showed that increased or decreased structural complexity of the cage had no effect on body mass, tail-base width, heterophil to lymphocyte ratios (H/L ratios), brightness, body colour, behaviour and faecal corticosterone metabolite (FCM) levels for both males and females in the experimental treatments (provisioned or deprived situation). Our study animals did score very highly for several stress-indicating variables in the three weeks preceding the experiments — suggesting that they had experienced considerable stress during capture, transport and temporary housing in the pet store.

Timely euthanasia on swine farms can help to reduce the incidence of poor welfare outcomes for compromised pigs (Sus scrofa) when recovery is prolonged or impossible. Timely euthanasia relies upon caretakers’ abilities to identify compromised pigs and administer euthanasia in various environments. To determine appropriate timelines and most common reasons for on-farm euthanasia, an online survey was conducted with members of the United States National Pork Board. Additionally, two focus groups were conducted to investigate barriers and possible solutions associated with timely euthanasia. Clinical signs related to poor locomotion (57.6%), prolapses (47.2%), and hernias (43.5%) were identified by the greatest percentage of respondents who believed immediate euthanasia was warranted, while a greater percentage of respondents believed euthanasia was not warranted for clinical signs related to the integumentary (90.3%), reproductive (75.8%), and respiratory (67.5%) systems. The most common reason for euthanasia was poor body condition in pre-weaned piglets and non-ambulatory or severely weak for both breeding and non-breeding pigs. In the focus groups, two themes were identified when evaluating barriers to euthanasia on-farm, and participants agreed that making timely decisions relies upon several dimensions of risk analysis. An unsupportive farm culture was identified as a critical barrier to timely euthanasia decision-making, suggesting that caretaker characteristics may play a role in the success of any timely euthanasia programme. This present study has highlighted areas for future research and demonstrated the need to extend educational efforts both to swine industry leaders and producers to improve overall animal welfare by ensuring timely euthanasia in swine.

Development agencies and animal welfare charities try to improve the health and welfare of livestock in the developing world by educating owners and providing healthcare. The impact assessment of these projects relies mainly upon input-related parameters (eg number of animals treated or educational lectures delivered). The aim of this study was to investigate whether animal-based parameters, such as scores for skin lesions, body condition and lameness, could be used to assess the impact of interventions by development agencies on working donkeys. A general checklist for integument assessment of livestock, developed and then tested on two British farms, was redefined for assessment of equine animals in West Kenya. In total, 346 donkeys were assessed over four days with a mobile clinic of the Kenyan Society for the Protection and Care of Animals, using 25 animal-based parameters. The checklist was easy to use: the parameters could be scored using visual assessment or palpation, and the procedure was completed in approximately 5 min per animal. The method was found to be acceptable for owners and animal health technicians, and no special equipment was required. Significant observations included a reduced frequency of leg lesions when head-tethering (as opposed to leg-tethering) was used, and a reduced frequency of foot lesions in regions previously visited by the charity. This animal-based method proved that the charity had made a positive impact on donkey welfare through owner education.

Qualitative Behavioural Assessment (QBA) is a whole-animal approach used to quantify the expressive style of animals’ behaviour. The aim of this study was to evaluate the inter-observer reliability of principal components and individual descriptors from QBA of housed sheep in Norway using a fixed list of descriptors. In part 1, eight animal welfare inspectors from the Norwegian Food Safety Authority scored 12 two-minute video clips, using 12 pre-defined terms. In the second part, three of these observers visited ten sheep farms and scored the behaviour using a modified list of eight terms. The scores for all assessors within each part were analysed using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The level of agreement for the first two components and for individual terms was assessed using Kendall's coefficient of concordance (W). In part 1, only seven observers were assessed for reliability of principal components due to missing data, and for these observers the agreement was high for PC1 and moderate for PC2. For the sub-group of three inspectors that also participated in part 2, the reliability was high for both components. In the on-farm assessments in part 2, these three observers obtained only moderate agreement for PC1 and low agreement for PC2. Results illustrate that good reliability can be achieved with QBA for housed sheep using videos, but that equally satisfactory reliability is more difficult to obtain using the method on-farm. The result in part 2 may be related to less-controlled circumstances concerning exactly what the observers see when sheep are kept indoors with high stocking densities, observer drift, and limited between-farm variation, which is a challenge for many types of reliability studies in field conditions.

Companion or pet animals are an integral part of many societies. Ownership rates of at least one pet for every two households (50%) have been reported in numerous countries, including the UK (Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association 1996), The Netherlands (Endenburg et al 1990), Poland (Fogle 1994), the USA (Rowan 1992), France (Anon 1995a) and Australia (Anon 1995b). While on one hand the animals gain from their close association with humans by being sheltered, fed and loved, they can also suffer neglect, cruelty, abandonment, unnecessary euthanasia, and may develop behaviour problems. The quality of our relationships with these animals is indeed variable.

‘Animal Ethics Dilemma’ is a freely available computer-supported learning tool (www.animalethicsdilemma.net or www.aedilemma.net) which has been developed primarily for veterinary undergraduates but is applicable also to students in other fields of animal science. The objectives of the computer program are to promote students' understanding of the ethics related to animal use, to illustrate ethical dilemmas that arise in animal use, to broaden students' moral imagination, and to enable students to differentiate between types of ethical argument. The program comprises five case studies: (1) the blind hens; (2) ANDi the genetically modified monkey; (3) euthanasia of a healthy dog; (4) animal slaughter; and (5) rehabilitation of seals. Special consideration has been given to enhancing the pedagogic value of the program. Students can control their learning by selecting a variety of ways to explore the program; for example, they can navigate the program using the ‘Assist Me’ option, which explains the basis of the ethical arguments. Reality text provides details of real events on which the case is based, and a glossary of terminology is available for the students to explore. Selected access to a case template is also available, enabling students and teachers to create their own case studies. Evaluation of the program has been ongoing during its development.

Consumers now demand evidence of welfare assurance at all stages of animal production, marketing, transport and slaughter. In response, retailers have increasingly adopted preferred supply chain relationships which preclude sourcing animals via livestock auction markets. One of the criteria dictating this action is a perceived improvement in animal welfare resulting from direct transport from farm to abattoir.

A survey of complete journey structures of 18 393 slaughterweight lambs from farm to abattoir was conducted between April and July 1997. Journeys were characterized in terms of distances travelled, duration and the number of discrete components within a whole journey which comprised: transport; trans-shipping (when animals were transferred from one vehicle to another); multiple pickups from a number of farms; and holding at either assembly points, lairages or auction markets. The results identified that journeys in the livestock distribution system are diverse and range in complexity, irrespective of marketing channel. Journey complexity was found to be positively related to distance travelled.

The study demonstrates that discussions concerning welfare of livestock in transit should consider the journey structure and not just the marketing channel per se. Furthermore, it also shows that changes taking place in the infrastructure of the marketing and meat processing sectors may result in a reduction in animal welfare.

Positive reinforcement training is one component of behavioural management employed to improve psychological well-being. There has been regulatory promotion to compensate for restricted social housing in part by providing human interaction to singly caged primates, implying an efficacy standard for evaluating human interaction. The effect of positive reinforcement training on the behaviour of 61 singly housed laboratory rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) was evaluated at two large primate facilities. Training involved body part presentation and basic control behaviours. Baseline data were compared to two treatment phases presented in varying order across individuals, six minutes per week of positive reinforcement training and six minutes per week of unstructured human interaction. While a MANOVA involving behavioural categories and study conditions across study subjects was significant, univariate ANOVAs found no effect of phase within any behavioural category. Categorising subjects according to rearing, housing facility, or baseline levels of abnormal behaviour did not reveal changes in behaviour with positive reinforcement training or human interaction. This study failed to detect, to any degree, the types of behavioural changes documented in the scientific literature to result from pairing singly housed monkeys. Implementing short durations of positive reinforcement training across large numbers of singly housed animals may not be the most effective manner for incorporating positive reinforcement training in the behavioural management of laboratory macaques. Rather, directing efforts toward individuals with specific behavioural, management, clinical, research or therapeutic needs may represent a more fruitful approach to improving psychological well-being with this technique.