Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Francesca Bandoli, Jenny Mace, Andrew Knight
Summary: This study assessed the integrated impact of environmental conditions and human presence on the behaviour of zoo-housed Asian small-clawed otters. The otters displayed species-specific behaviours and generally had positive welfare states. However, they engaged less in locomotion, food-related and affiliative behaviours, and more in vigilance compared to previous captive studies. Visitor presence and background noise did not affect behaviour, but time of day and animal identity did. The results provide meaningful information for improving husbandry practices and highlight the importance of multivariate analysis to assess animal welfare.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Julia Sophie Lyn Henning, Torben Nielsen, Eduardo Fernandez, Susan Hazel
Summary: Play is a common behavior observed in human-cat interactions and can benefit both the cat and the human in terms of social cooperation and inter-species communication. However, there is limited knowledge about human-cat play and further research is necessary. This study aimed to investigate the duration and factors associated with play in human-cat interactions. The results showed that total daily play times and play session lengths were higher when the cat was younger in age, the guardian played a greater variety of games with the cat, and the guardian had a closer relationship with their cat.
JOURNAL OF VETERINARY BEHAVIOR-CLINICAL APPLICATIONS AND RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Adele Tuozzi, Christine Arhant, Kristina Anderle, Jessica Backes, Catherine Cords, Viola Magierski, Jean-Loup Rault, Ines Windschnurer
Summary: The study found that the presence of a human and playing a prerecorded reading induced greater interest in shelter dogs and cats compared to just audio stimulation.
Review
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Maggie Creamer, Kristina Horback
Summary: Research on human-animal interactions with beef cattle often occurs during stress-inducing contexts, potentially skewing behavioral and physiological responses. Future studies should consider conducting experiments in low stress contexts to better understand how animal personality and previous experience influence cattle production and welfare. By adapting methods used for wildlife response research, researchers may gain insights into improving the quality and outcomes of human-cattle interactions on rangelands.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Jessica E. Stokes, Elizabeth Rowe, Siobhan Mullan, Joy C. Pritchard, Rachel Horler, Marie J. Haskell, Cathy M. Dwyer, David C. J. Main
Summary: Farmers and scientists collaborated to develop a framework for evaluating positive welfare opportunities for dairy cattle. There is a basic consensus between farmers and scientists on what constitutes a good life for dairy cattle. Most farmers support positive welfare assessment and want to include it in existing farm assurance schemes or marketing claims.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Guilherme A. Franchi, Mona L. V. Larsen, Ida H. Kristoffersen, Jeanet F. M. Winters, Lene Juul Pedersen, Margit Bak Jensen
Summary: This study examines the effects of weight gain, feeding behavior, and drinking behavior on play behavior in piglets. The results show that well-nourished piglets are more likely to engage in play behavior, supporting the hypothesis that play behavior is an indicator of positive animal welfare.
APPLIED ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR SCIENCE
(2023)
Review
Veterinary Sciences
Katherine E. Littlewood, Morgan V. Heslop, Mia L. Cobb
Summary: Animal welfare refers to the experiences animals have in their lives, which are subjective and cannot be directly measured. Welfare indicators are used to infer mental experiences, and the Five Domains Model is a framework for assessing animal welfare. Agency is a concept that bridges the gap between positivism and affective welfare discussions, representing the capacity for animals to engage in voluntary, self-generated, and goal-directed behavior. The Behavioral Interactions domain of the Five Domains Model can be used to evaluate competence-building agency and positive welfare in animals.
FRONTIERS IN VETERINARY SCIENCE
(2023)
Review
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
K. Cassie Kresnye, Chia-Fang Chung, Christopher Flynn Martin, Patrick C. Shih
Summary: Enrichment plays a crucial role in promoting the well-being of captive animals. Technology is increasingly being integrated into animal enrichment, and there is a need for including a wider range of species, shifting design focus from human to animal senses, and promoting standardized study designs across different animal contexts.
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Giacomo Riggio, Carmen Borrelli, Patrizia Piotti, Anna Grondona, Angelo Gazzano, Francesco P. Di Iacovo, Jaume Fatjo, Jonathan E. Bowen, Daniel Mota-Rojas, Federica Pirrone, Chiara Mariti
Summary: The aim of this study was to explore the effects of the Italian COVID-19 lockdown on the cat-owner relationship and on cat behaviour. The findings suggest that the lockdown had a positive effect on the owner's perception of their relationship with their cat and improved the welfare of many cats. The study highlights the need to reconsider some cat management practices commonly implemented in non-exceptional circumstances.
VETERINARY SCIENCES
(2022)
Review
Veterinary Sciences
Bethany L. L. Krebs, Karli R. R. Chudeau, Caitlin L. L. Eschmann, Celina W. W. Tu, Eridia Pacheco, Jason V. V. Watters
Summary: Anticipatory behavior serves as a critical animal-based measure for assessing animal welfare under human care, as it is theorized to relate to animals' reward sensitivity. Animals living under human care often exhibit anticipation in locations related to anticipated events, and failure to identify anticipation may lead to misleading conclusions regarding animal behavior or welfare.
FRONTIERS IN VETERINARY SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Megan E. Hayes, Lauren M. Hemsworth, Rebecca S. Morrison, Kym L. Butler, Maxine Rice, Jean-Loup Rault, Paul H. Hemsworth
Summary: Positive human interaction can reduce sows' fear of stockpeople, but does not always increase stress resilience.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Danielle Free, Sarah Wolfensohn
Summary: This study adapts the Animal Welfare Assessment Grid (AWAG) for group-level assessments of invertebrate welfare and successfully applies it to a captive group of male Gromphadorhina oblongonota. The modified AWAG evaluates welfare based on 12 factors tracked over time, revealing the impact of environmental and social factors on the welfare of G. oblongonota. These findings offer practical improvements in care and provide an efficient method to assess invertebrate welfare at the group level.
Review
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Laura Torres Borda, Ulrike Auer, Florien Jenner
Summary: Horses are highly social animals that form stable social groups and long-term affiliative bonds. However, domestication has led to a lack of social interaction for domestic horses, either by being housed individually or experiencing regular changes in group composition. This review provides an overview of social ethograms to include social behavior in equine welfare assessment and highlights the need for a refined ethogram that reflects the importance of affiliative interactions for equine welfare.
Review
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Michelle Campbell-Ward
Summary: Zoos should strive to provide a good quality of life for all animals. There is a need to develop and implement formalized tools to assess the quality of life of zoo animals, especially for non-mammalian species and animals at different life stages. This review discusses the concept of quality of life, the importance of assessing it in zoo animals, and the challenges involved. It also suggests applying learnings from quality-of-life assessments in humans and domestic species to improve animal welfare in zoos.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Peta S. Taylor, Paul H. Hemsworth, Jean-Loup Rault
Summary: Increased environmental complexity can improve chicken welfare, depending on the resources provided and use by the animals. Providing physical items or additional visual human contact can reduce fear of humans in chickens. However, the effects of additional human contact on general fearfulness are not significant. The provision of physical items did not show clear improvement in the chickens' behavioral time budget, fear, physiological stress, or production.
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Kimberly Sanders, Eduardo J. Fernandez
Summary: This study evaluated the effects of puzzle feeders suspended and baited with different items on the foraging and general activity of golden lion tamarins in a zoo setting. The results showed that the feeder baited with insects increased climbing time, and the subjects interacted more frequently with the baited puzzle feeder device.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ANIMAL WELFARE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Veterinary Sciences
E. J. Fernandez
Summary: This paper examines the concept of training as enrichment and explores how training can facilitate enrichment usage, modify interactions, and expand behavioral repertoires. Previous studies support the claim that training is enriching, but further research is needed to understand its prevalence and conditions.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Emily J. Northey, Baine B. Craft, Eduardo J. Fernandez
Summary: Modern zoos and aquariums have multiple goals, including improving animal welfare, conservation efforts, public education, research, and visitor enjoyment. Animal-Visitor Interactions (AVIs) are a means to study the outcomes of these goals. The study observed the effects of new animal introductions on animal and visitor activity in two exhibits. The findings suggest that new animal introductions have neutral to positive impacts on both animals and visitors, highlighting the potential benefits of such introductions on AVIs.
Review
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
James Edward Brereton, Eduardo J. Fernandez
Summary: Behavioral diversity is a commonly used tool to understand and compare animal behaviors. This paper investigates the methods and species studied in behavioral diversity research. The study finds that behavioral richness and the Shannon-Wiener index are the most frequently used methods, while the Behavioral Variability index is rarely used. Mammals are the most frequently studied animal group, while amphibians are not mentioned in any papers. The study also identifies other diversity indices that could be used to better understand animal behavior.
Article
Substance Abuse
James M. Clay, Barbara D. Fontana, Cristina Proserpio, Eduardo J. Fernandez, Ella Pagliarini, Fernando Lopes, Jose Antonio Lopez-Moreno, Juan J. Canales, Louise Loyant, Ravid Doron, Lorenzo D. Stafford, Matthew O. Parker
Summary: This study aimed to assess the relationship between stress, boredom, drinking motives, inhibitory control, and alcohol use during a period of social isolation. The findings from the analysis of questionnaire data collected during the COVID-19 pandemic showed that while most people reduced their drinking, there were complex interactions between impulsivity and boredom that may influence alcohol use.
ADDICTION RESEARCH & THEORY
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Clinical
Eduardo J. Fernandez, Allison L. Martin
Summary: The field of applied behavior analysis has made significant progress in both research and applications for improving the lives of captive zoo animals. This paper revisits and updates the original points made by Forthman and Ogden (1992) in five areas, and outlines three current and future directions for behavior analytic endeavors in zoo research. The goal is to provide a framework for guiding future behavioral research and applications based on empirical evaluations in zoos.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Clinical
Einar T. Ingvarsson, Eduardo J. Fernandez
Summary: This paper examines the behavior under response-independent schedules and analyzes the evidence for adventitious reinforcement. The study suggests that antecedent, nonoperant functions play a crucial role in understanding the effects of response-independent schedules.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Biological
Eduardo J. Fernandez, Wes Anderson, Amanda Kowalski
Summary: This study examined the effects of an automated response-independent food schedule on the behaviors and sound levels of shelter dogs. The results showed that the fixed-time schedule increased overall activity and decreased inactivity, as well as reducing the overall sound intensity measured. However, session and hour-to-hour sound-intensity data were less clear, suggesting a potential contextual conditioning effect and a need for adjusted methods to study shelter sound.
JOURNAL OF THE EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF BEHAVIOR
(2023)
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Claudia Tay, Todd J. McWhorter, Shangzhe Xie, Tiara Sophia Binte Mohd Nasir, Borja Reh, Eduardo J. Fernandez
Summary: Many zoos use signage to discourage negative visitor behaviors, but current literature shows limited impact. This study compared the effectiveness of signage and uniformed staff in reducing negative behaviors. Results showed that staff presence and staff + signage conditions significantly reduced negative behaviors compared to baseline and signage alone. The study suggests that methods other than signage may be more effective in managing visitor behaviors.
Review
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Sonya McDowall, Susan J. Hazel, Catherine Chittleborough, Anne Hamilton-Bruce, Rwth Stuckey, Tiffani J. Howell
Summary: The social determinants of health (SDH) focus on the social, physical, and economic factors that impact human health. This paper explores how these human health determinants may impact animal welfare and the possible challenges that may arise for the guardian when attempting to meet their companion animal's welfare needs. By integrating the SDH with other key frameworks, including the five domains model of animal welfare, through multidisciplinary collaboration, this framework can be used to inform future programs aiming to improve animal welfare.
Review
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Lauren I. Novack, Lauren Schnell-Peskin, Erica Feuerbacher, Eduardo J. Fernandez
Summary: Pet dogs are displaying more challenging behaviors, requiring trainers to not only teach good manners but also address behavior issues. Effective interventions must be evidence-based and consider the intervention's impact on the dog's well-being. This paper reviews literature from various disciplines and showcases how applied behavior analysis and animal welfare sciences can be combined to ensure the animal's welfare during training. It introduces tools for objectively measuring social validity from the learner's perspective.
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Alejandra Arbe I. Montoya, Susan M. Matthew, Aaron Jarden, Susan J. Hazel, Michelle L. McArthur
Summary: Veterinarians often face ethical decisions and potential moral conflicts in clinical practice. The process of ethical decision-making can lead to a satisfying resolution, but when there is a perceived inability to act according to personal values, it can result in psychological distress known as moral distress. This qualitative study explores veterinary clinicians' experiences with moral distress and aims to explain the moral deliberation pathway in these professionals.