University of Colorado, Boulder
University of Southern Mississippi
Explaining China’S Wildlife Crisis: Cultural Tradition Or Politics Of Development,
2018
University of Houston
Explaining China’S Wildlife Crisis: Cultural Tradition Or Politics Of Development, Peter J. Li
Peter J. Li, Ph.D.
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?
Critical Animal And Media Studies: Expanding The Understanding Of Oppression In Communication Research,
2018
Selected Works
Critical Animal And Media Studies: Expanding The Understanding Of Oppression In Communication Research, Nuria Almiron, Matthew Cole, Carrie P. Freeman
Carrie P. Freeman
Contextual Fear Learning And Memory In Alternative Stress Coping Styles,
2018
University of Nebraska at Omaha
Contextual Fear Learning And Memory In Alternative Stress Coping Styles, Matthew R. Baker, Ryan Y. Wong
Student Research and Creative Activity Fair
Animals frequently must overcome stressors, and the ability to encode and recall these salient experiences is essential to an individual’s survival. Across many taxa, studies have documented two alternative stress coping styles (proactive and reactive) that differ in behavior, cognition, stress physiology, and underlying neuromolecular mechanisms. The role of stress in cognitive traits (e.g. learning and memory) has been well documented, however, the influence of an animal’s stress coping style on learning and memory capabilities is only beginning to be understood. Here, we developed a contextual fear learning paradigm to characterize learning and memory differences between proactive ...
Eating Animals: The Influence Of Food-Based Narratives,
2018
College of Charleston
Eating Animals: The Influence Of Food-Based Narratives, Gillian Spolarich, Amanda Ruth-Mcswain, Lisa K. Lundy
Journal of Applied Communications
This study examines the prevalence and persuasiveness of popular food-based narratives. Specifically, the book Eating Animals, a detailed critique of the U.S. meat industry, provided the foundation for exploring the influence of food-based narratives. Guided by the theory of narrative persuasion, a qualitative research design was employed to investigate the influence of this contemporary text on reader perceptions and behaviors. The present study incorporated in-depth interviews with individuals that read all or some of the acclaimed food-based narrative Eating Animals. Findings indicate that the popular narrative motivated a range of attitudinal and behavioral changes. Additional themes that emerged relate ...
Turning Science Into Policy: The Case Of Farm Animal Welfare In Canada,
2018
University of British Columbia
Turning Science Into Policy: The Case Of Farm Animal Welfare In Canada, David Fraser
David Fraser, Ph.D.
Implications
- Development of farm animal welfare standards in Canada has evolved significantly over 35 yr in terms of process, leadership, and the role of science.
- Key elements of the current process include: 1) influential producers and producer organizations that see the benefit of having science-informed standards, 2) a credible coordinating body to ensure that a well-defined process is followed in developing standards, and 3) trusted scientists who are engaged in relevant research and willing to participate.
- The process benefits from having a distinct and defined role for the scientists, specifically to analyze relevant science and identify conclusions that are scientifically ...
Hunting A Home: The Abandonment And Neglect Of Hunting Dogs,
2018
Germanna Community College
Hunting A Home: The Abandonment And Neglect Of Hunting Dogs, Jamie B. Walker
Exigence
Each year, an immeasurable number of hunting dogs are found in emaciated, malnourished or even abusive conditions due to neglect and abandonment by their owners. These dogs, primarily hounds, have increasingly become a burden on animal shelters and have cast a negative light on hunting with dogs, particularly in Virginia. The difficulty in identifying the owners of these dogs has stymied law enforcement and animal welfare authorities for years. Mandatory microchipping, now compulsory in England, may be the key to protecting talented working dogs from neglect, cruelty and abandonment by uncaring owners. These microchips can allow abandoned animals to lead ...
Addressing The Challenges Of Conducting Observational Studies In Sheep Abattoirs,
2018
University of Sydney
Addressing The Challenges Of Conducting Observational Studies In Sheep Abattoirs, Elyssa Payne, Melissa Starling, Paul Mcgreevy
Paul McGreevy, Ph.D.
The competing needs of maintaining productivity within abattoirs, and maintaining high standards of animal welfare, provide fertile grounds for applied research in animal behavior. However, there are challenges involved in capturing useful behavioral data from the supply chain (from paddock to processing plant). The challenges identified in this report are based on a review of the scientific literature as well as field study observations. This article describes those challenges as they relate to collecting behavioral data on livestock-herding dogs, humans and livestock as they interact in abattoirs, and provides insights and recommendations for others embarking on animal studies in confined ...
Valuable Behavioural Phenotypes In Australian Farm Dogs,
2018
University of Sydney
Valuable Behavioural Phenotypes In Australian Farm Dogs, P. D. Mcgreevy, C. M. Wade, E. R. Arnott, J. B. Early
Paul McGreevy, Ph.D.
This report presents findings regarding the ways to optimise the performance of livestock working dogs in Australia. The methods available to optimise dog performance include both environmental and genetic factors. The objectives of this study were to identify objective measures of desirable behavioural phenotypes in Australian livestock working dogs and explore genetic parameters of these 'quality of working life' traits within the Kelpie breed. The document reports on genotyping that reveals gene-behaviour associations and describes heritability estimates that underpin a database for potential estimated breeding value (EBV) calculations.
Environmental Factors Associated With Success Rates Of Australian Stock Herding Dogs,
2018
University of Sydney
Environmental Factors Associated With Success Rates Of Australian Stock Herding Dogs, Elizabeth R. Arnott, Jonathan B. Early, Claire M. Wade, Paul D. Mcgreevy
Paul McGreevy, Ph.D.
This study investigated the current management practices associated with stock herding dogs on Australian farms. A parallel goal was to determine whether these practices and the characteristics of the dog handlers were associated with success rates. Success rate refers to the proportion of dogs acquired by the farmer that were retained as working dogs. Data on a total of 4,027 dogs were obtained through The Farm Dog Survey which gathered information from 812 herding dog owners around Australia. Using logistic regression, significant associations were identified between success rate and seven variables: dog breed, housing method, trial participation, age of ...
The Effect Of Noseband Tightening On Horses’ Behavior, Eye Temperature, And Cardiac Responses,
2018
Kandoo Equine
The Effect Of Noseband Tightening On Horses’ Behavior, Eye Temperature, And Cardiac Responses, Kate Fenner, Samuel Yoon, Peter White, Melissa Starling, Paul Mcgreevy
Paul McGreevy, Ph.D.
Restrictive nosebands are common in equestrian sport. This is concerning, as recent evidence suggests that very tight nosebands can cause a physiological stress response, and may compromise welfare. The objective of the current study was to investigate relationships that noseband tightness has with oral behavior and with physiological changes that indicate a stress response, such as increases in eye temperature (measured with infrared thermography) and heart rate and decreases in heart rate variability (HRV). Horses (n = 12) wearing a double bridle and crank noseband, as is common in dressage at elite levels, were randomly assigned to four treatments: unfastened noseband ...
Human Induced Rotation And Reorganization Of The Brain Of Domestic Dogs,
2018
University of Sydney
Human Induced Rotation And Reorganization Of The Brain Of Domestic Dogs, Taryn Roberts, Paul Mcgreevy, Michael Valenzuela
Paul McGreevy, Ph.D.
Domestic dogs exhibit an extraordinary degree of morphological diversity. Such breed-to-breed variability applies equally to the canine skull, however little is known about whether this translates to systematic differences in cerebral organization. By looking at the paramedian sagittal magnetic resonance image slice of canine brains across a range of animals with different skull shapes (N = 13), we found that the relative reduction in skull length compared to width (measured by Cephalic Index) was significantly correlated to a progressive ventral pitching of the primary longitudinal brain axis (r = 0.83), as well as with a ventral shift in the position of ...
Strong Selection For Behavioural Resilience In Australian Stock Working Dogs Identified By Selective Sweep Analysis,
2018
University of Sydney
Strong Selection For Behavioural Resilience In Australian Stock Working Dogs Identified By Selective Sweep Analysis, Elizabeth R. Arnott, Lincoln Peek, Jonathan B. Early, Annie Y. H. Pan, Bianca Haase, Tracy Chew, Paul D. Mcgreevy, Claire M. Wade
Paul McGreevy, Ph.D.
Background: Working dog handlers and breeders have strong opinions on characteristics that are desirable in the breeds that they use to handle stock. Most of these characteristics are related to conformation or behaviour. This study explored whether the genetics underlying desirable working behaviour traits might be identified by selective sweep analysis; a method that identifies long regions of strong homozygosity combined with allelic divergence from a comparison group. For this analysis, we compared genomic haplotype architecture in two breeds derived from common founder stock but subjected to divergent selective pressures. The breeds studied were the Australian Kelpie, which is registered ...
Dog Behavior Co-Varies With Height, Bodyweight And Skull Shape,
2018
University of Sydney
Dog Behavior Co-Varies With Height, Bodyweight And Skull Shape, Paul D. Mcgreevy, Dana Georgevsky, Johanna Carrasco, Michael Valenzuela, Deborah L. Duffy, James A. Serpell
Paul McGreevy, Ph.D.
Dogs offer unique opportunities to study correlations between morphology and behavior because skull shapes and body shape are so diverse among breeds. Several studies have shown relationships between canine cephalic index (CI: the ratio of skull width to skull length) and neural architecture. Data on the CI of adult, show-quality dogs (six males and six females) were sourced in Australia along with existing data on the breeds’ height, bodyweight and related to data on 36 behavioral traits of companion dogs (n = 8,301) of various common breeds (n = 49) collected internationally using the Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ ...
Estimating The Economic Value Of Australian Stock Herding Dogs,
2018
University of Sydney
Estimating The Economic Value Of Australian Stock Herding Dogs, E. R. Arnott, J. B. Early, C. M. Wade, P. D. Mcgreevy
Paul McGreevy, Ph.D.
This study aimed to estimate the value of the typical Australian herding dog in terms of predicted return on investment. This required an assessment of the costs associated with owning herding dogs and estimation of the work they typically perform. Data on a total of 4,027 dogs were acquired through The Farm Dog Survey which gathered information from 812 herding dog owners around Australia. The median cost involved in owning a herding dog was estimated to be a total of AU$7,763 over the period of its working life. The work performed by the dog throughout this time ...
The Wolf Is Back By Robert Priest,
2018
Northern Alberta Institute of Technology
The Wolf Is Back By Robert Priest, Kelly Shepherd
The Goose
Review of Robert Priest's The Wolf is Back.
Individual Personality Differences In Goats Predict Their Performance In Visual Learning And Non-Associative Cognitive Tasks,
2018
Queen Mary University of London
Individual Personality Differences In Goats Predict Their Performance In Visual Learning And Non-Associative Cognitive Tasks, Christian Nawroth, Pamela M. Prentice, Alan G. Mcelligott
Christian Nawroth, Ph.D.
Variation in common personality traits, such as boldness or exploration, is often associated with risk–reward trade–offs and behavioural flexibility. To date, only a few studies have examined the effects of consistent behavioural traits on both learning and cognition. We investigated whether certain personality traits (‘exploration’ and ‘sociability’) of individuals were related to cognitive performance, learning flexibility and learning style in a social ungulate species, the goat (Capra hircus). We also investigated whether a preference for feature cues rather than impaired learning abilities can explain performance variation in a visual discrimination task. We found that personality scores were consistent ...
A Note On Pigs’ Knowledge Of Hidden Objects,
2018
Martin Luther University
A Note On Pigs’ Knowledge Of Hidden Objects, Christian Nawroth, Mirjam Ebersbach, Eberhard Von Borell
Christian Nawroth, Ph.D.
Object permanence is the notion that objects continue to exist even when they are out of observer’s sight. This ability is adaptive for free ranging animals who have to cope with a dangerous and highly changeable environment and allows them to be aware of predators sneaking in their proximity or to keep track of conspecifics or food sources, even when out of sight. Farm animals might also benefit from object permanence because the ability to follow the trajectory of hidden food or objects may lead to a higher predictability of subjects’ environment, which in turn might affect the level ...
Individual Personality Differences In Goats Predict Their Performance In Visual Learning And Non-Associative Cognitive Tasks,
2018
Queen Mary University of London
Individual Personality Differences In Goats Predict Their Performance In Visual Learning And Non-Associative Cognitive Tasks, Christian Nawroth, Pamela M. Prentice, Alan G. Mcelligott
Alan G. McElligott, Ph.D.
Variation in common personality traits, such as boldness or exploration, is often associated with risk–reward trade–offs and behavioural flexibility. To date, only a few studies have examined the effects of consistent behavioural traits on both learning and cognition. We investigated whether certain personality traits (‘exploration’ and ‘sociability’) of individuals were related to cognitive performance, learning flexibility and learning style in a social ungulate species, the goat (Capra hircus). We also investigated whether a preference for feature cues rather than impaired learning abilities can explain performance variation in a visual discrimination task. We found that personality scores were consistent ...
Sentience In Fishes: More On The Evidence,
2018
East Tennessee State University
Sentience In Fishes: More On The Evidence, Michael L. Woodruff
Animal Sentience: An Interdisciplinary Journal on Animal Feeling
In my target article, I argued that the brains of ray-finned fishes of the teleost subclass (Actinopterygii) are sufficiently complex to support sentience — that these fishes have subjective awareness of interoceptive and exteroceptive sense experience. Extending previous theories centered on the tectum, I focused on the organization of the fish pallium. In this Response to the commentaries, I clarify that I do not propose that the fish pallium is, or must be, homologous to the mammalian neocortex to play a role in sentience. Some form of a functionalist approach to explaining the neural basis of sentience across taxa is probably ...
Chickens Play To The Crowd,
2018
University of Trieste, Department of Life Sciences
Chickens Play To The Crowd, Cinzia Chiandetti
Animal Sentience: An Interdisciplinary Journal on Animal Feeling
The time was ripe for Marino’s review of chickens’ cognitive capacities. The research community, apart from expressing gratitude for Marino’s work, should now use it to increase public awareness of chickens’ abilities. People’s views on many animals are ill-informed. Scientists need to communicate and engage with the public about the relevance and societal implications of their findings.
