This study investigates the effect of hiding enrichment on stress and behaviour of kennelled cats. Forty-three cats were studied either with a BC SPCA Hide & Perch™ box as enrichment, or with an open bed as control. Observations consisted of Stress Score, approach test and scan sample, recorded daily over the five days following a cat's entrance into the adoption centre, and again on the 14th day if the cat was still present. Days until adoption was noted for cats adopted during the study period. A survey was given to adopters of study cats in an attempt to determine the motivations underlying their choice of cat.

A significant reduction in stress was noted between all study days in the enriched group. Stress levels in this group declined further between the fifth and the 14th day, while those of the control group increased. Cats in the enriched group were significantly more likely to approach and displayed relaxed behaviours much more frequently. No significant difference was found between the two groups in days until adoption, percentage adopted, or in the reasons provided by the new owners in the adoption survey; however temperament was found to be the highest ranked reason for choosing a cat from either group.

Results of this study suggest that the welfare of kennelled cats is greatly improved if they are provided with the opportunity to perform effective hiding behaviour, and that the ability to perform such a behaviour does not decrease the likelihood of those cats being adopted.

This paper reports results from two workshops held in York, England that investigated public attitudes towards the welfare of broiler chickens. At the outset the majority of participants admitted that they knew little about how broiler chickens are reared and were shocked at some of the facts presented to them. Cognitive mapping and aspects of Q methodology were used to reveal the range of variables that participants believed affected chicken welfare, the causal relationships between those variables, and what variables were considered most and least important. While some participants focused on the importance of meeting basic needs such as access to food, water, light and ventilation, others highlighted the role of welfare regulations and public opinion. Factor analysis of the results from a ranking exercise identified two factor groups, ‘Factor one; the bigger picture’ and ‘Factor two; basic animal needs’. The findings demonstrate that some members of the public are both interested in learning about how their food is produced and concerned about the conditions faced by broiler chickens. Some are able to see clear links between public opinion and the welfare of farm animals; an important connection if consumer behaviour is to contribute towards improving animal welfare.

This study was undertaken to investigate the effect of beak length on feed intake with regard to animal welfare. The study involved two treatments groups; short beak pigeons (G-SB; n = 7) and normal beak pigeons (G-NB; n = 7) and was carried out in two consecutive trials. Daily feed consumption, meal length and behavioural traits such as aggressive pecking, preening, resting and locomotor activity were recorded under different feeding conditions. In Trial I the birds had free access to food material during a single feeding period each day, whereas in Trial II feeding was terminated when a pigeon from any of the groups that stopped eating first, moved towards water. It took a longer time for the pigeons in the G-SB group to consume the same amount of feed. Furthermore, the pigeons in G-SB were affected significantly in Trial II and lost bodyweight more compared to G-NB. Although no significant difference between the groups on frequency of aggressive pecking during feeding was found in Trial I, restricted feeding significantly increased the frequency of aggressive pecking in the G-SB group in Trial II. The results of the present study suggest that short beak, which is a side-effect of artificial selection for aesthetic purposes, can cause serious welfare problems under restricted environmental conditions.

Although the term ‘quality of life’ (QoL) is not unfamiliar to veterinary surgeons, only recently has the scientific community attempted to measure it in farm and companion animals. Typically such studies have applied methodologies from the field of human health-related quality of life (HRQoL), without due consideration of the applicability of both the term and its measurement to animals. However, it is necessary to clarify the philosophical basis of QoL if it is to be defended as a rigorous and reliable aid to decision-making in animal welfare science. In this paper we review common concepts in human HRQoL and discuss the value of, and difficulties regarding, the transfer of the concept of human HRQoL to companion animals. Human definitions tend to focus on individuals and their assessment of the state of their life in terms of physical, social and psychological functioning. The use of the term ‘quality of life’ for animals may therefore expand on what is usually considered when using the term ‘welfare’, and thereby improve on current practice, which tends to focus on relatively few outcome measures that are largely indicative of poor welfare. However, failure in the human literature to properly define QoL and defend the choice of measures accordingly, together with the common use of objective indicators and proxies, has led to confusion over the relative roles of objective and subjective measures in the determination and constitution of QoL. A suggestion for an appropriate definition of animal QoL that clarifies these relationships is offered, together with a list of social/environmental and physical/psychological health-related domains that may be suitable for a generic companion animal QoL assessment tool. In the absence of knowledge on both basic needs and individual preferences, particularly for institutionalised animals, QoL tools may be more appropriately designed as outcome-based tools, focussing on observable signs of health and behaviour. The extent to which recent QoL assessment tools for companion animals have covered these domains, and the extent to which the psychometric properties of the tools have been addressed, is also briefly discussed.

This study aims to investigate the relationship between human behaviour, buffalo behaviour and prevalence of oxytocin injection at milking. The research was carried out on 17 buffalo farms. On each farm the stockperson's behaviour toward the buffaloes and the buffaloes' behaviour were observed during one afternoon's milking. Stockperson's behaviour was observed from collection of the animals in the waiting area to exit from the milking parlour. The following variables were recorded: number of positive, neutral and negative interactions. The number of steps and kicks were recorded from the entrance to the milking parlour to the removal of cups whenever the stockperson was less than 0.5 m from the animal. The prevalence of oxytocin injection at milking was recorded on two separate occasions with a 5-month interval to obtain a measure of the long-term consistency of this variable. Significant correlations were found between stepping and kicking, stepping and prevalence of oxytocin injection, kicking and prevalence of oxytocin injection and stockperson positive interactions and kicking. These results indicate that stockperson behaviour is related to buffalo behaviour at milking and the latter to the use of oxytocin injections. In addition, prevalence of oxytocin injection proved to be highly reliable when re-tested five months later.

Aversion to the dip-lift stunning system and to the inhalation of 70 and 90% carbon dioxide was assessed in 18 halothane-free (NN) and 14 heterozygous halothane (Nn) slaughter weight pigs using aversion learning techniques and behavioural studies in an experimental slaughterhouse. Pigs were subjected to the treatments individually. When the dip lift system contained atmospheric air, the proportion of pigs that entered the crate voluntarily increased on subsequent days, indicating that pigs habituate to the stunning system. Based on the number of attempted retreats, for the first descent into the well with atmospheric air, Nn pigs were more reactive than NN pigs. On repeating the descent, Nn pigs showed greater habituation to the procedure. When the pit contained (either 70 or 90%) carbon dioxide, the time taken to enter the crate and the incidence of pigs that attempted to retreat increased on subsequent days, indicating aversion to the carbon dioxide concentrations. The aversion was higher when the stunning system contained 90 as opposed to 70% carbon dioxide due possibly to increased irritation of the nasal mucosal membranes and more severe hyperventilation. Conversely, a decrease in the concentration of carbon dioxide increased the time to loss of posture and, therefore, lengthened the perception of the aversive stimulus till the animal lost consciousness. These results suggest that stunning with carbon dioxide is not free from pain or distress. The degree of aversion depends on the carbon dioxide concentration. Therefore, if higher concentrations of carbon dioxide are recommended for rapid induction of anaesthesia, it needs to be assumed that this may be more aversive to pigs.

Cages for laboratory and pet hamsters are usually small. Using video recordings, the behaviour of sixty female golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus), housed individually in four different cage sizes, was compared in order to draw conclusions about their welfare. The cage sizes were 1,800 cm2, 2,500 cm2, 5,000 cm2, and 10,000 cm2. Enrichment items and litter depth were standardised and all cages were equipped with a running-wheel (30 cm diameter). Stereotypic wire-gnawing, usage of the provided space, weight gain, and reactions to mild husbandry stressors were used as welfare indicators. Stereotypic wire-gnawing was observed in all cage sizes, but hamsters in small cages gnawed significantly longer and more frequently. There were no significant differences in running-wheel activity. In small cages hamsters made use of the roof of their wooden shelters as an additional platform more often than in big cages, which could suggest that they needed more space. Therefore, the welfare of pet golden hamsters in cages with a minimal ground floor area of 10,000 cm2 seemed to be enhanced compared with smaller cages.

There is an increasing requirement for tools to assess and improve animal welfare in an objective and scientifically based manner. In our research a concept of welfare is applied which states that welfare is determined by the balance between positive and negative experiences. This concept implies that an interaction exists between stress systems and reward systems in the brain and, as a consequence: (I) negative experiences induce an increased sensitivity (ie need) for positive experiences; and (II) negative experiences can be compensated for by positive experiences. On this basis, two uses of reward-related behaviour can be hypothesised: (I) reward sensitivity may be used as a tool to assess the state of an animal in terms of welfare because it can indicate the current state of the balance that is dependent on previous (stressful) experiences; and (II) regular presentation of rewards may serve as a tool to counteract stress by shifting the balance to the positive side and, thus, to improve welfare. In order to investigate this, we used the rat as a model. Reward sensitivity was determined by the spontaneous behavioural response shown during expectation of a reward (ie anticipatory behaviour). A third (III) use of reward-related behaviour derives from the fact that anticipatory behaviour is influenced by the (rewarding) properties of the forthcoming reward (or other event) and, thus, may serve as a tool to assess the animal's perception of this reward/event. This paper presents a descriptive overview of the evidence obtained thus far for the three proposed uses of reward-related behaviour. The biological background of our concept of welfare can be generalised to all (vertebrate) species, and anticipatory behaviour can be evoked in a wide range of other species. Therefore, this tool for measuring and improving the welfare of captive animals has great potential and will contribute to a good quality of life for captive animals.

Tests for assessing the animal-human relationship in tied dairy cows have been used in experimental research, but the reliability and feasibility of the measures in the on-farm context has not been studied yet. Therefore we investigated the between-experimenter repeatability of avoidance reactions in dairy cows housed in tie-stall systems. Nine farms in Austria with 15-60 tethered dairy cows were visited. Two to three out of four experimenters were testing the avoidance reaction of the individual cows in a balanced order. Cows were approached slowly from the front and the reactions recorded on an 11-point score. The avoidance reaction of each cow was assessed twice by each experimenter and averaged. Also, a farm value per experimenter was calculated (median). Repeatability between experimenters was assessed within farms and at farm level by calculating Spearman rank correlation coefficients. The average between-experimenter correlations within farms ranged from 0.37 to 0.88. At farm level, median of scores ranged from 2.5 to 6.75 and correlated moderately to highly between experimenters from 0.65 to 0.80. Testing the animals on all farms was relatively simple.

The between-experimenter repeatability within farms differed substantially and reasons for this merit further investigation. At farm level repeatability was moderate to sufficiently high. Due to the high feasibility, this measure seems to be promising and should be developed further.

Attention to the welfare of animals during slaughter transport and lairage at the abattoir is important not only to consumers, but also to the meat production industry. Inadequate transport conditions can result in higher animal mortalities and meat quality problems after slaughter of such animals. In the present study the development of mortality rates both during and after the transport of slaughter pigs, and the incidence of pathological findings, was investigated. It could be shown that the percentage of animals which died during transport and in lairage clearly decreased between 1999 and 2003. This improvement was due mainly to the reduction of animal losses in the summer season where the highest losses over the investigated years occurred. Considering the duration of the transport it could be shown that not only very long (8 h), but also short journeys (1 h) can affect the welfare of animals with increased mortalities and pathological findings during the veterinary inspection at the slaughterhouse, particularly in the summer season. The results presented indicate that the tightening of European animal welfare legislation concerning loading, transport, unloading and lairage of slaughter pigs improved mortality rates and the incidence of pathological findings. Another reason could be a reduction of the percentage of stress susceptible pigs in the porcine population. However, until now the regulations on animal welfare during pig slaughter transport focused only on long-term journeys; the results presented show that short journeys can also affect the welfare of the animals.

This brief guide (see details below) gives an overview of Animal Ethics Committees (AECs) and the role of the lay member in these. In particular, it seeks to reassure concerns that lay members, especially those lacking experience in the area, may have about their importance and legitimacy in the ethical review process. After detailing the role of AECs under New Zealand legislation as it relates to the use of animals in research, testing and teaching, the guide then highlights four factors: independence, public representation, animal advocacy and the possession of a fresh perspective as the most important elements contributed by lay members to the review process. What follows is the now customary explanation of the principle of the 3Rs and how they underline the human use of animals in science and teaching, and then helpful suggestions as to questions and issues that a lay member should consider when assessing a proposal. Finally, a short glossary of terms and references are given. As a guide, it acts as a useful introduction for lay members, but anyone seeking to fulfill this role to the best of their abilities will want to utilise the references given to better understand the issues and concerns more deeply.

In this paper I describe a hypothetical strategy for assessing poor and good welfare with the aim of making a judgement about an animal's quality of life. The concepts discussed here may also contribute to the notion of what makes ‘a life worth living’. The strategy involves attributing scores to positive and negative aspects of an animal's well-being, using predefined categories and a simple scoring rote, and then summating these scores into an overall welfare score. The strategy incorporates a mathematical calculation that has certain mathematical biases to help ensure that any animal suffering is not excessive. I draw attention to some limitations of the proposed strategy and stress that such mathematical scoring systems cannot be used simplistically. Nevertheless, the proposed strategy could be refined, tested and validated to assist decision-making by those with a duty of care to the animal concerned.

Farmers' behaviour towards their animals could be improved by developing training programmes designed to decrease handling stress and improve animal welfare. This requires key preliminary work to collate farmers' beliefs concerning beef cattle and their knowledge of how to handle them easily. This paper reports the preliminary results of a survey conducted in 2004 among Limousin farmers. Fifty-five percent of the 300 French beef cattle farmers surveyed returned a questionnaire covering ease of handling, husbandry conditions, attitudes towards cattle, and behaviour during handling and husbandry practices. The results revealed that farmers' attitudes were generally positive. However, variability within each item indicated the potential for improvement. Temperament of heifers or cows is the first trait considered in decisions on culling an animal. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) showed a relationship between positive attitudes towards animals and towards contact with the animals. Attitudes towards negative behaviour (hitting, shouting) during handling are independent of attitudes towards animals. Most farmers underline human contact followed by quality of the facilities for improving ease of handling. Surprisingly, 28% of the farmers surveyed did not recognise the genetic traits as an important factor in ease of handling. Farmers seem open to improving handling, in particular through positive human contact. These results combined with existing scientific knowledge and additional observations of handling will be useful in defining future training programmes for improving the welfare of beef cattle.

An international panel of experts in the fields of canine and feline health, welfare and behaviour conducted an online discussion addressing two questions: (1) how can one define quality of life (QoL) for dogs and cats in confined living situations, such as laboratories; and (2) what additional research is needed to determine how optimal QoL can be achieved? The panel suggested that QoL encompasses animal welfare and the subjective ‘feelings’ of the animal regarding its life, and that it can only be inferred from behavioural, physiological and other measures. Two methods for measuring QoL were proposed: establishing an ethogram defining QoL for individuals; and developing a ‘quality of living’ scale that can be applied to facilities housing groups of dogs and cats. Constructing these measures requires a comprehensive research program, and the paper discusses overall research objectives, specific questions that must be addressed, and some proposed research methods.

Animal-related parameters best fulfil the requirements of a valid welfare assessment, but often they are less feasible than other parameters. Therefore, this paper examines whether animal-based parameters are connected with each other and with environmental factors in order to find out if some can be discarded without loss of information.

Eighty Austrian dairy herds (21-55 Simmental cows) housed in loose-housing cubicles were visited. Housing, management and the human-animal relationship were assessed. Animal-based parameters such as lameness, skin lesions and social behaviour were recorded. For the statistical analysis, Spearman correlation coefficients and regression trees with additional cross-validations for the assessment of the predictive performance of models were calculated.

The animal-based parameters could be explained by environmental variables only around 2/3 (goodness of fit). The calculated regression trees explained 62% of the percentage of lame animals, 58% of leg injuries on the carpal joints and 69% of the agonistic interactions. Leg injuries on the tarsal joints could be explained to quite a high degree (77%). Cross-validated regression trees, however, which are more significant for prediction on farms in excess of this study, accounted for 31% of the total variance of lameness, 44% of the leg injuries on the tarsal joints, 33% on the carpal joints and 25% of the agonistic interactions.

Only a few correlations between animal-related parameters were found: lameness was correlated with leg injuries on the tarsal joints and on the carpal joints. Leg injuries were correlated with each other.

Due to the lack of interrelations between animal-related parameters and the moderate prediction by environmental factors, we do not suggest replacing the investigated animal-related parameters for on-farm welfare assessment in dairy cattle.

“Stockmanship is the single most important influence on the welfare of farm animals”, thus begins this report from the UK's Farm Animal Welfare Council into the role and scope of stockmanship, as it pertains to ensuring high standards of animal welfare, and the provision of effective education and training for livestock farmers and stockmen within the UK.