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WellBeing International

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2013

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Articles 31 - 55 of 55

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Inter-Observer Reliability Of Qualitative Behavioural Assessments Of Sheep, Clare Phythian, Eleni Michalopoulou, Jennifer Duncan, Françoise Wemelsfelder Feb 2013

Inter-Observer Reliability Of Qualitative Behavioural Assessments Of Sheep, Clare Phythian, Eleni Michalopoulou, Jennifer Duncan, Françoise Wemelsfelder

Sentience Collection

Qualitative Behaviour Assessment (QBA) is whole-animal methodology that assesses the expressive qualities of animal demeanour using descriptors such as ‘relaxed’, ‘anxious’ or ‘content’. This study aimed to examine the inter-observer reliability of 12 fixed-list QBA descriptors for sheep that had been generated in a previous Free-Choice Profiling study by experienced animal welfare inspectors, based on the same video footage used in the current study. The 12 QBA terms were scored by two different assessor groups consisting of two veterinary science students and four veterinary surgeons (Group 1), and seven farm assurance inspectors (Group 2). The two assessor groups met and …


Application Of Qualitative Behavioural Assessment To Horses During An Endurance Ride, Patricia A. Fleming, Cheree L. Paisley, Anne L. Barnes, Françoise Wemelsfelder Feb 2013

Application Of Qualitative Behavioural Assessment To Horses During An Endurance Ride, Patricia A. Fleming, Cheree L. Paisley, Anne L. Barnes, Françoise Wemelsfelder

Sentience Collection

Endurance horses are considered subject to a unique set of training and competing pressures due to the long distances travelled. The health and welfare of these horses could be compromised if they have not been adequately trained or are pushed beyond their limits, and there are increasing concerns regarding the capacity of horses to cope with the exercise demands placed on them, with high elimination rates for lameness and metabolic reasons. Veterinary inspections during these rides are important for assessing physiological measures, but the inclusion of behavioural assessments is also warranted. We investigated the application of Qualitative Behavioural Assessment (QBA) …


Neutering Dogs: Effects On Joint Disorders And Cancers In Golden Retrievers, Gretel Torres De La Riva, Benjamin L. Hart, Thomas B. Farver, Anita M. Oberbauer, Locksley L. Mcv Messam, Neil H. Willits, Lynette A. Hart Feb 2013

Neutering Dogs: Effects On Joint Disorders And Cancers In Golden Retrievers, Gretel Torres De La Riva, Benjamin L. Hart, Thomas B. Farver, Anita M. Oberbauer, Locksley L. Mcv Messam, Neil H. Willits, Lynette A. Hart

Endocrinology Collection

In contrast to European countries, the overwhelming majority of dogs in the U.S. are neutered (including spaying), usually done before one year of age. Given the importance of gonadal hormones in growth and development, this cultural contrast invites an analysis of the multiple organ systems that may be adversely affected by neutering. Using a single breed-specific dataset, the objective was to examine the variables of gender and age at the time of neutering versus leaving dogs gonadally intact, on all diseases occurring with sufficient frequency for statistical analyses. Given its popularity and vulnerability to various cancers and joint disorders, the …


Pattern Of Social Interactions After Group Integration: A Possibility To Keep Stallions In Group, Sabrina Briefer Freymond, Elodie F. Briefer, Rudolf Von Niederhäusern, Iris Bachmann Jan 2013

Pattern Of Social Interactions After Group Integration: A Possibility To Keep Stallions In Group, Sabrina Briefer Freymond, Elodie F. Briefer, Rudolf Von Niederhäusern, Iris Bachmann

Ethology Collection

Horses are often kept in individual stables, rather than in outdoor groups, despite such housing system fulfilling many of their welfare needs, such as the access to social partners. Keeping domestic stallions in outdoor groups would mimic bachelor bands that are found in the wild. Unfortunately, the high level of aggression that unfamiliar stallions display when they first encounter each other discourages owners from keeping them in groups. However, this level of aggression is likely to be particularly important only during group integration, when the dominance hierarchy is being established, whereas relatively low aggression rates have been observed among stable …


Evolutionary Responses To Invasion: Cane Toad Sympatric Fish Show Enhanced Avoidance Learning, Georgina Caller, Culum Brown Jan 2013

Evolutionary Responses To Invasion: Cane Toad Sympatric Fish Show Enhanced Avoidance Learning, Georgina Caller, Culum Brown

Aquaculture Collection

The introduced cane toad (Bufo marinus) poses a major threat to biodiversity due to its lifelong toxicity. Several terrestrial native Australian vertebrates are adapting to the cane toad’s presence and lab trials have demonstrated that repeated exposure to B. marinus can result in learnt avoidance behaviour. Here we investigated whether aversion learning is occurring in aquatic ecosystems by comparing cane toad naı¨ve and sympatric populations of crimson spotted rainbow fish (Melanotaenia duboulayi). The first experiment indicated that fish from the sympatric population had pre-existing aversion to attacking cane toad tadpoles but also showed reduced attacks on native tadpoles. The second …


Rating Harms To Wildlife: A Survey Showing Convergence Between Conservation And Animal Welfare Views, S. Dubois, D. Fraser Jan 2013

Rating Harms To Wildlife: A Survey Showing Convergence Between Conservation And Animal Welfare Views, S. Dubois, D. Fraser

Environment and Nature Conservation Collection

Human activities may cause conservation concerns when animal populations or ecosystems are harmed and animal welfare concerns when individuals are harmed. In general, people are concerned with one or the other, as the concepts may be regarded as separate or even at odds. An online purposive survey of 339 British Columbians explored differences between groups that varied by gender, residency, wildlife engagement level and value orientation (conservation-oriented or animal welfare-oriented), to see how they rated the level of harm to wildlife caused by different human activities. Women, urban residents, those with low wildlife engagement, and welfare-orientated participants generally scored activities …


Do Painful Sensations And Fear Exist In Fish?, Lynne U. Sneddon Jan 2013

Do Painful Sensations And Fear Exist In Fish?, Lynne U. Sneddon

Distress Collection

The detection of pain and fear in fi sh has been subject to much debate and, since fi sh are a popular experimental model and commercially important in both angling and aquaculture, many procedures that fi sh are subjected to cause injury, fear and stress. These injuries would give rise to the sensation of pain in humans but whether fi sh have the capacity for pain is relatively under explored. Recent evidence has shown that fi sh have the same neural apparatus to detect pain that mammals and humans do, that their brain is active during a potentially painful experience, …


Food For Thought … Mechanistic Validation, Thomas Hartung, Sebastian Hoffman, Martin Stephens Jan 2013

Food For Thought … Mechanistic Validation, Thomas Hartung, Sebastian Hoffman, Martin Stephens

Experimentation Collection

Validation of new approaches in regulatory toxicology is commonly defined as the independent assessment of the reproducibility and relevance (the scientific basis and predictive capacity) of a test for a particular purpose. In large ring trials, the emphasis to date has been mainly on reproducibility and predictive capacity (comparison to the traditional test) with less attention given to the scientific or mechanistic basis. Assessing predictive capacity is difficult for novel approaches (which are based on mechanism), such as pathways of toxicity or the complex networks within the organism (systems toxicology). This is highly relevant for implementing Toxicology for the 21st …


Social Learning In Juvenile Lemon Sharks, Negaprion Brevirostris, Tristan L. Guttridge, Sander Van Dijk, Eize Stamhuis, Jens Krause, Samuel Gruber, Culum Brown Jan 2013

Social Learning In Juvenile Lemon Sharks, Negaprion Brevirostris, Tristan L. Guttridge, Sander Van Dijk, Eize Stamhuis, Jens Krause, Samuel Gruber, Culum Brown

Sentience Collection

Social learning is taxonomically widespread and can provide distinct behavioural advantages, such as in finding food or avoiding predators more efficiently. Although extensively studied in bony fishes, no such empirical evidence exists for cartilaginous fishes. Our aim in this study was to experimentally investigate the social learning capabilities of juvenile lemon sharks, Negaprion brevirostris. We designed a novel food task, where sharks were required to enter a start zone and subsequently make physical contact with a target in order to receive a food reward. Naive sharks were then able to interact with and observe (a) pre-trained sharks, that is, ‘demonstrators’, …


Does True Syntax Or Simple Auditory Object Support The Role Of Skylark Song Dialect?, Elodie F. Briefer, Fanny Rybak, Thierry Aubin Jan 2013

Does True Syntax Or Simple Auditory Object Support The Role Of Skylark Song Dialect?, Elodie F. Briefer, Fanny Rybak, Thierry Aubin

Sentience Collection

Parallels between birdsong and human language are numerous and include particular temporal arrangements of acoustic units and the existence of dialects. In animal communication, modifications of the temporal ordering of existing acoustic units have rarely been clearly linked with changes in information content, particularly in a natural environment. Here, we show that the organization of birdsong units (‘syllables’) in sequences supports interindividual relationships within skylark communities. We manipulated the temporal arrangement of song dialect variants (‘shared phrases’) in the skylark, Alauda arvensis, a songbird with a very large repertoire of syllables and complex song. When tested with playback experiments performed …


Ape Autonomy? Social Norms And Moral Agency In Other Species, Kristin Andrews Jan 2013

Ape Autonomy? Social Norms And Moral Agency In Other Species, Kristin Andrews

Autonomy Collection

No abstract provided.


A Vision Becoming Reality, Gill Langley Jan 2013

A Vision Becoming Reality, Gill Langley

Laboratory Experiments Collection

Non-animal science in toxicology and health research has been progressing for decades, but only now is it being seen widely as advanced science. The emergence of novel human biology-based tools and models, combined with legislative and regulatory change, a 21st century concept for toxicology, continuing failures in the drug pipeline, and systematic critiques of animal models, have created a pivotal moment of change. The leading edge is starting to become the norm. Humans and other animals are likely to benefit as a result.


Assumptions In Animal Cognition Research, Kristin Andrews, Brian Huss Jan 2013

Assumptions In Animal Cognition Research, Kristin Andrews, Brian Huss

Psychology Collection

No abstract provided.


Canine Chronic Kidney Disease In Uk Veterinary Practices: Prevalence, Risk Factors And Survival, D. G. O'Neill, J. Elliott, D. B. Church, P. D. Mcgreevy, P. C. Thomson, D. C. Brodbelt Jan 2013

Canine Chronic Kidney Disease In Uk Veterinary Practices: Prevalence, Risk Factors And Survival, D. G. O'Neill, J. Elliott, D. B. Church, P. D. Mcgreevy, P. C. Thomson, D. C. Brodbelt

Epidemiology Collection

Analyses covering 107,214 dogs attending 89 UK practices aimed to estimate the prevalence and identify risk factors associated with canine chronic kidney disease (CKD) diagnosis and survival. The apparent prevalence (AP) was estimated using a cross-sectional approach while the true prevalence (TP) was estimated using Bayesian analysis. A nested case-control study design was used to evaluate risk factors. Survival analysis was conducted using the Kaplan-Meier survival curve method and multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression modelling. CKD AP was estimated at 0.21% and TP at 0.37%. CKD risk factors included increasing age, being insured and certain breeds. The median survival time …


Explaining China’S Wildlife Crisis: Cultural Tradition Or Politics Of Development, Peter J. Li Jan 2013

Explaining China’S Wildlife Crisis: Cultural Tradition Or Politics Of Development, Peter J. Li

Threatened and Endangered Animal Populations Collection

This chapter is about China’s wildlife crisis. As the following sections attempt to demonstrate, abuse of and assault on wildlife in captivity and in the wild have reached an unprecedented level on the Chinese mainland in the reform era (1978–present). Shocking brutality against wildlife animals has been frequently exposed by Chinese and international media. To readers outside East Asia, they ask if the Chinese are culturally indifferent to animal suffering. Indeed, does the Chinese culture sanction cruelty to animals? Or is it the contemporary politics of economic development that is more directly responsible for the crisis?


History Of The 3rs In Toxicity Testing: From Russell And Burch To 21st Century Toxicology, Martin L. Stephens, Nina S. Mak Jan 2013

History Of The 3rs In Toxicity Testing: From Russell And Burch To 21st Century Toxicology, Martin L. Stephens, Nina S. Mak

Humane Science Movement Collection

Toxicity testing is a key part of the process of assessing the hazards, safety, or risk that chemicals and other substances pose to humans, animals, or the environment. Standardized methods for such testing, typically involving animals, began to emerge during the first half of the 20th century. In 1959, British scientists William Russell and Rex Burch proposed a framework for reducing, refining, or replacing animal use in toxicology and other forms of biomedical experimentation. This “3Rs” or “alternatives” approach emerged at a time of growing sensitivity to the use of animals in experimentation, and progress in its implementation has been …


Environmental Impacts Of Puppy Mills, The Humane Society Of The United States Jan 2013

Environmental Impacts Of Puppy Mills, The Humane Society Of The United States

PUPPY MILL REPORTS

A puppy mill is “a dog breeding operation in which the health of the dogs is disregarded in order to maintain a low overhead and maximize profits.” Avenson v. Zegart, 577 F. Supp. 958, Dist. Court, Minnesota (1984). State and federal inspection reports reveal that a common method employed to maximize profits includes irresponsible waste management practices that are harmful to the environment. Impacts may be caused by improper disposal of feces, urine and carcasses.


Associations Of Housing, Management, Milking Activity, And Standing And Lying Behavior Of Dairy Cows Milked In Automatic Systems, Justine A. Deming, Renée Bergeron, Kenneth E. Leslie, Trevor J. Devries Jan 2013

Associations Of Housing, Management, Milking Activity, And Standing And Lying Behavior Of Dairy Cows Milked In Automatic Systems, Justine A. Deming, Renée Bergeron, Kenneth E. Leslie, Trevor J. Devries

Farm Animal Husbandry Collection

The objective of this cross-sectional study was to describe the housing, feeding management, and characteristics (parity and stage of lactation) of cows on commercial automatic milking system (AMS) dairies and their associations with the standing and lying behavior patterns and milking activity (frequency and yield) of lactating dairy cows. Thirteen AMS herds were enrolled in the study, with an average herd size of 71 ± 30 (mean ± SD; range: 34 to 131) lactating cows. All of the herds used freestall barns, each set up for free cow traffic to the AMS. On-farm measurements were taken to determine stocking density …


Evidence-Based Toxicology For The 21st Century: Opportunities And Challenges, Martin L. Stephens, Melvin E. Andersen, Richard A. Becker, Kellyn Betts, Kim Boekelheide, Ed Carney, Robert Chapin, Dennis Devlin, Suzanne C. Fitzpatrick, John R. Fowle Iii, Patricia Harlow, Thomas Hartung, Sebastian Hoffman, Michael P. Holsapple, Abigail Jacobs, Richard Judson, Olga Naidenko, Tim Pastoor, Grace Patlewicz, Andrew Rowan, Roberta Scherer, Rashid Shaikh, Ted Simon, Douglas Wolf, Joanne Zurlo Jan 2013

Evidence-Based Toxicology For The 21st Century: Opportunities And Challenges, Martin L. Stephens, Melvin E. Andersen, Richard A. Becker, Kellyn Betts, Kim Boekelheide, Ed Carney, Robert Chapin, Dennis Devlin, Suzanne C. Fitzpatrick, John R. Fowle Iii, Patricia Harlow, Thomas Hartung, Sebastian Hoffman, Michael P. Holsapple, Abigail Jacobs, Richard Judson, Olga Naidenko, Tim Pastoor, Grace Patlewicz, Andrew Rowan, Roberta Scherer, Rashid Shaikh, Ted Simon, Douglas Wolf, Joanne Zurlo

Toxicology and Animal Models in Research Collection

The Evidence-based Toxicology Collaboration (EBTC) was established recently to translate evidence-based approaches from medicine and health care to toxicology in an organized and sustained effort. The EBTC held a workshop on “Evidence-based Toxicology for the 21st Century: Opportunities and Challenges” in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA on January 24-25, 2012. The presentations largely reflected two EBTC priorities: to apply evidence-based methods to assessing the performance of emerging pathwaybased testing methods consistent with the 2007 National Research Council report on “Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century” as well as to adopt a governance structure and work processes to move that …


Humane Society International’S Global Campaign To End Animal Testing, Troy Seidle Jan 2013

Humane Society International’S Global Campaign To End Animal Testing, Troy Seidle

Experimentation Collection

The Research & Toxicology Department of Humane Society International (HSI) operates a multifaceted and science-driven global programme aimed at ending the use of animals in toxicity testing and research. The key strategic objectives include: a) ending cosmetics animal testing worldwide, via the multinational Be Cruelty-Free campaign; b) achieving near-term reductions in animal testing requirements through revision of product sector regulations; and c) advancing humane science by exposing failing animal models of human disease and shifting science funding toward human biology-based research and testing tools fit for the 21st century. HSI was instrumental in ensuring the implementation of the March 2013 …


The Applicability Of The Self-Fulfillment Account Of Welfare To Nonhuman Animals, Babies, And Mentally Disabled Humans, Tatjana Visak, Jonathan Balcombe Jan 2013

The Applicability Of The Self-Fulfillment Account Of Welfare To Nonhuman Animals, Babies, And Mentally Disabled Humans, Tatjana Visak, Jonathan Balcombe

Sentience Collection

In this paper we will argue that generality is a virtue of Haybron’s account of welfare. Indeed, reflecting on the applicability of his theory to nonhuman animals will give us a better understanding of its applicability to humans. We will first focus on self-fulfillment and suggest an interpretation of Haybron’s account according to which the self-fulfillment of an individual consists in the fulfillment of the aspects of the self that are applicable to that particular individual. This makes Haybron’s account of welfare applicable to all sentient beings. Then we will focus on sub-personal nature-fulfillment and argue that the same interpretation …


Are Apes’ Responses To Pointing Gestures Intentional?, Olivia Sultanescu, Kristin Andrews Jan 2013

Are Apes’ Responses To Pointing Gestures Intentional?, Olivia Sultanescu, Kristin Andrews

Sentience Collection

This paper examines the meaningfulness of pointing in great apes. We appeal to Hannah Ginsborg’s conception of primitive normativity, which provides an adequate criterion for establishing whether a response is meaningful, and we attempt to make room for a conception according to which there is no fundamental difference between the responses of human infants and those of other great apes to pointing gestures. This conception is an alternative to Tomasello’s view that pointing gestures and reactions to them reveal a fundamental difference between humans and other apes.


Great Ape Mindreading: What’S At Stake?, Kristin Andrews Jan 2013

Great Ape Mindreading: What’S At Stake?, Kristin Andrews

Ethology Collection

Humans and other great apes are similar in so many ways. We share an extended immaturity and intense infant-caregiver relationships, group living situations, cultural transmission of technology, and many emotions and cognitive capacities. Yet the communities of nonhuman apes are also very different from human communities. Humans build lasting tools, and store them to use later. We build permanent sleeping and living structures. We cook our food. We have courts of law and prisons and ethics books. There are vast technological differences between humans and nonhuman great apes. What is it that accounts for such a difference? On one account, …


Identification Of The Rainbowfish In Lake Eacham Using Dna Sequencing, Culum Brown, Yagiz Aksoy, Hilal Varinli, Michael Gillings Jan 2013

Identification Of The Rainbowfish In Lake Eacham Using Dna Sequencing, Culum Brown, Yagiz Aksoy, Hilal Varinli, Michael Gillings

Veterinary Science and Medicine Collection

The Lake Eacham rainbowfish (Melanotaenia eachamensis) was once thought to be confined to its type locality within the Lake Eacham World Heritage National Park. M. eachamensis disappeared from the lake following the translocation of several species into the lake and the species was pronounced extinct in the wild in 1987. In a 2007 survey we noticed that rainbowfish were present in the lake once again. We used a molecular marker to identify these fish and the likely source population. Analysis of the D-loop region of mitochondrial DNA revealed that the species now present in the lake is Melanotaenia splendida, and …


Prolonged Pain Research In Mice: Trends In Reference To The 3rs, Jonathan Balcombe, Hope Ferdowsian, Lauren Briese Jan 2013

Prolonged Pain Research In Mice: Trends In Reference To The 3rs, Jonathan Balcombe, Hope Ferdowsian, Lauren Briese

Experimentation Collection

This literature review documents trends in the use of mice in prolonged pain research, defined herein as research that subjects mice to a source of pain for at least 14 days. The total amount of prolonged pain research on mice has increased dramatically in the past decade for the 3 pain categories examined: neuropathic, inflammatory, and chronic pain. There has also been a significant rise in the number of prolonged mouse pain studies as a proportion of all mouse studies and of all mouse pain studies. The use of transgenic mice has also risen significantly in prolonged pain research, though …