Animal Studies Commons^™

A Standardized G‐Banded Karyotype For The Raccoon (Procyon Lotor) Compared With The Domestic Cat, Roscoe Stanyon, Francesca Bigoni, Johannes Weinberg, John Hadidian

Genetics Collection

We propose a standardized karyotype for the raccoon (Procyon lotor; 2n = 38, FN 74) and compare it with that of the domestic cat (2n = 38, FN 72). Numerous chromosomes (12) have similar and sometimes identical G-banding and 14 chromosome pairs have remained intact. Other chromosomes apparently differ by Robertsonian translocations and inversions. The conservation of these karyotypes is remarkable considering that the divergence of procyonids and felids predates 50 million years B.P. However, the common diploid number of 38 is not a primitive retention, as sometimes hypothesized. Instead, cats and raccoons converged on this chromosome number by a …

Sow Preference For Farrowing-Crate Width, P. A. Phillips, David Fraser, B. K. Thompson

Housing and Confinement of Farm Animals Collection

A preference-testing apparatus was designed to provide sows with continuous access to three farrowing crates of different widths. The crates radiated from a central hub area sufficiently large for sows to enter or leave any crate freely. In exp. 1, nine sows were offered crates of 450-, 600- and 750-mm width at standing height. In exp. 2, 12 sows were offered widths of 450, 750 and 1200 mm, the largest being of sufficient width for the sow to turn around. Video recording was used to determine sow position from 3 d before to 6 d after farrowing. In exp. 1, …

Fight Fur Now!

Close Up Reports

No abstract provided.

Reversing The Count

Close Up Reports

No abstract provided.

Comprehension Of Role Reversal In Chimpanzees: Evidence Of Empathy?, Daniel J. Povinelli, Kurt E. Nelson, Sarah T. Boysen

Sentience Collection

Four chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes, were individually trained to cooperate with a human partner on a task that allowed both participants to obtain food rewards. In each chimpanzee-human dyad, one of the participants (the informant) could see which pair of food trays on a four-choice apparatus was baited, but had no means of obtaining it. The other participant (the operator) could pull one of four handles to bring a pair of the trays within reach of both participants, but could not see which choice was correct. Two of the chimpanzees were initially trained as informants and adopted spontaneous gestures to indicate …

Colostrum Intake By Newborn Piglets, David Fraser, Jeffrey Rushen

Feeding Behavior Collection

Colostrum intake by newborn piglets was studied by weighing piglets every 10 min for their first 1-4 h with the sow, and their cumulative weight increases were used as estimates of colostrum intake. In seven litters, four piglets were monitored for 4 h beginning about 2 h after the birth of the first piglet in order to determine if colostrum is available continuously or released in discrete ejections. There was little synchrony between litter-mates in their intake in the first hour, but by the second hour of monitoring (starting about 3 h after farrowing began), much of the colostrum was …

Vocal Recognition In Mexican Free-Tailed Bats: Do Pups Recognize Mothers?, Jonathan Balcombe, Gary F. Mccracken

Sentience Collection

Mother Mexican free-tailed bats, Tadarida brasiliensis mexicana, produce 'directive' calls while searching for pups inside cave maternity roosts. These calls consist of highly repetitive pulses of sound uttered in rapid sequence. Calls are sufficiently intense that they are perceptible above the substantial background noise within roosts at distances of at least 1m. Calls are stereotyped within individuals, and statistically discriminable between individuals. These characteristics are expected for vocalizations that function for mother-pup reunions, and are shared with directive calls described previously in other bats. Mother T. b. mexicana directive calls are statistically no less discriminable than are the isolation calls …

Animals, Archetypes, And Popular Culture: Tales From The Tabloid Press, Harold A. Herzog, Shelley L. Galvin

Entertainment Collection

This paper characterizes the portrayal of animals and human-animal relations in one genre of American popular culture—the “supermarket” tabloid press. A total of 789 animal-related stories and photographs in 82 issues of four tabloid magazines were analyzed according to theme. The items fell into nine categories in which animals were portrayed as objects of affection, saviors, threats, victims, things to be used, sex objects, imaginary and mythological beings, surrogate humans, and objects of wonder. It is argued that these themes represent archetypes reflecting the roles that animals have had in human cultural and psychological life since the historical origins of …

Ethical Ideology, Animal Rights Activism, And Attitudes Toward The Treatment Of Animals, Shelley L. Galvin, Harold A. Herzog

Attitudes Towards Animals Collection

In two studies, we used the Ethics Position Questionnaire (EPQ) to investigate the relationship between individual differences in moral philosophy, involvement in the animal rights movement, and attitudes toward the treatment of animals. In the first, 600 animal rights activists attending a national demonstration and 266 nonactivist college students were given the EPQ. Analysis of the returns from 157 activists and 198 students indicated that the activists were more likely than the students to hold an "absolutist" moral orientation (high idealism, low relativism). In the second study, 169 students were given the EPQ with a scale designed to measure attitudes …

The Ethical Judgment Of Animal Research, Shelley L. Galvin, Harold A. Herzog

Experimentation Collection

One hundred sixty subjects acted as members of a hypothetical Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee and evaluated five proposals in which animals were to be used for research or educational purposes. They were asked to approve or reject the proposals and to indicate what factors were important in reaching their ethical decisions. Gender and differences in personal moral philosophy were related to approval decisions. The reasons given for the decisions fell into three main categories: metacognitive statements, factors related to the animal, and factors related to the design of the experiment.

Counting As The Chimpanzee Views It, Sarah T. Boysen

Numeracy Collection

No abstract provided.

The Place Of Farm Animals In Humane Sustainable Agriculture, M. W. Fox

eBooks

It is not yet widely recognized that the livestock industry has become a major threat to the world's economy, the environment, consumer health, and the food security of nations and generations to come. Farm animals do have a place in ecologically sound agriculture, but, as will be shown, they have not been properly integrated either in the United States or in other developed and less-developed nations of the world.

The Creation Of Transgenic Animal “Models” For Human Genetic Disease, Bernard Rollin

Biomedicine and Animal Models in Research Collection

Transgenic animals will be created to study human genetic disease as soon as the technological capability exists to do so. Extant laws permit such animals to be created. The mindset of the research community makes it inevitable. It is also clear that such diseases can cause enormous amounts of pain and suffering. Responsible researchers need to explore all possible avenues for controlling such pain and suffering. Thus far the research community has not engaged this issue vis a vis animals. The development of methodologies for controlling pain and suffering is likely to be exportable to numerous areas of animal research, …

Social Deprivation Of Infant Rhesus Monkeys Alters The Chemoarchitecture Of The Brain: I. Subcortical Regions, Lee J. Martin, Dawn M. Spicer, Mark H. Lewis, John P. Gluck, Linda C. Cork

Veterinary Science and Medicine Collection

Rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) reared during the first year of life without social contact develop persistent stereotyped movements, self-directed behaviors, and psychosocial abnormalities, but neurobiological mechanisms underlying the behaviors of socially deprived (SD) monkeys are unknown. Monkeys were reared in total social deprivation for the first 9 months of life; control monkeys were reared socially (SR) with mothers and peers. Subjects were killed at 19-24 yr of age. Because the behaviors of SD monkeys are reminiscent of changes in striatal or amygdalar function, we used immunocytochemistry for substance P (SP), leutine-enkephalin (LENK), somatostatin, calbindin, and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) to evaluate …

Consumption Of Solid Food By Suckling Pigs: Individual Variation And Relation To Weight Gain, Edmond A. Pajor, David Fraser, Donald L. Kramer

Feeding Behavior Collection

Individual daily consumption of supplementary solid food ('creep feed') was measured from Day 10 to weaning at Day 28 for 39 piglets in four litters, and its relationship to body weight and weight gain up to Day 42 was investigated. Individual consumption was measured by combining the weight of the feed removed from the dispensers (monitored electronically) and a video image of piglet activity at the feeder. Creep feed consumption varied greatly, both between and within litters. On average, pigs began feeding on Day 12 (range Day 10-28), intake was relatively low (usually < 5 g day ^‒1) until Day 20 but increased …

Preference By Sows For A Partially Enclosed Farrowing Crate, P. A. Phillips, D. Fraser, B. K. Thompson

Housing and Confinement of Farm Animals Collection

A preference testing apparatus was designed to give sows continuous access to three farrowing crates with different degrees of visual enclosure. A ‘fully enclosed' crate had solid black panels on the sides and top of the crate, a ‘solid-sided’ crate had the side panels only and an ‘open crate’ had no solid panels over the crate's tubular framework. The crates radiated from a central area sufficient for sows to enter or leave any crate freely. Video recording was used to determine sow position from 3 days before to 6 days after farrowing. The results indicated that younger sows (second or …

Massachusetts Public Opinion Study On Spaying And Neutering Pets, Dorr Research Corporation

Demography and Statistics for Companion Animal Populations Collection

This report contains the findings from a study of pet owners in Massachusetts conducted for the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals during the period of October 21-27, 1991. The objectives of the research focused on the issue of spaying/neutering pets and focused on the following topics:

• Some background data on owners and pets
• Attitudes and behavior relating to spaying/neutering pets
• Motivators and deterrents in decisions of whether to spay/neuter

Enhanced Attraction To Blood By Pigs With Inadequate Dietary Protein Supplementation, David Fraser, D. E. Bernon, R. O. Ball

Nutrition Collection

In two experiments, 60 individually penned growing pigs were exposed daily to two sections of cotton cord, one of which had been soaked with pigs' blood and subsequently dried, while the other was plain. The animals' preference for chewing-on the blood-impregnated cord was quantified by direct observation. When fed a standard "control" diet of corn, barley, and soybean meal with mineral and vitamin supplements, the pigs had a clear but modest preference for chewing the blood-impregnated cord. Omission of the protein supplement (soybean meal) from the diet for 4 wk led to a major increase in attraction to blood and …

Use Morality As Basis For Animal Treatment, Kenneth J. Shapiro

Experimentation Collection

No abstract provided.

Kin Recognition In Vertebrates: What Do We Really Know About Adaptive Value?, Andrew R. Blaustein, Marc Bekoff, John A. Byers, Thomas J. Daniels

Sentience Collection

The ability of an animal to discriminate between kin and non-kin (kin recognition) has been the subject of numerous recent investigations. Grafen (Anim. Behav., 1990, 39, 42-54) recently reported that the evidence in support of kin recognition is weak and the data illustrating a preference for kin to associate in the laboratory may be more consistently explained as species recognition. It is suggested here, however, that in many cases it may be impossible to distinguish between species recognition and kin recognition, but in some cases, kin recognition seems apparent. It is also emphasized that very little is known about the …

The Hsus: Helping Animals

Close Up Reports

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Straw On The Behaviour Of Growing Pigs, David Fraser, P. A. Phillips, B. K. Thompson, T. Tennessen

Social Behavior Collection

The effects of straw on the behaviour of young growing pigs were studied in two experiments. In Experiment 1, group of three pigs, aged about 7 weeks, were housed in raised decks with or without straw bedding. Time-lapse video recording showed no major differences between treatments in the amount or daily pattern of overall activity and feeding. Detailed observations showed that bedding reduced the incidence of rooting and chewing on pen-mates, but had little effect on other social activities such as mounting and aggressive biting. Experiment 2 compared groups of eight growing pigs aged about 10 weeks, housed in floor …

Saving The Dolphins

Close Up Reports

Victories and a new threat

Discovery Of Selected Water Dispensers By Newborn Pigs, P. A. Phillips, D. Fraser

Housing and Confinement of Farm Animals Collection

Newborn pigs in 86 litters were offered drinking water from four types of dispenser to determine how quickly each design would be discovered. On average piglets discovered water within about 24 h from an exposed water surface (bowl or cup), whereas discovery time was delayed to more than 72 h with nipple or push-lever dispensers. A prototype dispenser with a wide bowl and continuous bubbling action reduced (P < 0.05) average discovery time to about 14 h.

Puppy Mills Exposed

Close Up Reports

Thousands of dogs, unloved, starving, ill-housed; thousands of puppies, shipped like so much merchandise at too young an age; thousands of consumers, unknowingly buying sick dogs: these are the grim truths of the puppy-mill trade.

Gender, Sex Role Orientation, And Attitudes Toward Animals, Harold A. Herzog Jr., Nancy S. Betchart, Robert B. Pittman

Attitudes Towards Animals Collection

To examine the relationship among gender, sex role orientation, and attitudes toward the treatment of animals, 144 male and 222 female college students were administered the Bem Sex Role Inventory, a Likert-scale questionnaire designed to assess attitudes toward animal welfare issues, and a measure of perceived comfort touching animals of a variety of species. There were significant gender differences on all of the animal-related measures with the exception of self-reported comfort touching positively perceived animals. Gender and the expressive (feminine) dimension of sex role orientation accounted for a significant proportion of the variation in attitudes toward animal welfare issues and …

Animals In Biomedical Research: The Undermining Effect Of The Rhetoric Of The Besieged, John P. Gluck, Steven R. Kubacki

Experimentation Collection

It is correctly asserted that the intensity of the current debate over the use of animals in biomedical research is unprecedented. The extent of expressed animosity and distrust has stunned many researchers. In response, researchers have tended to take a strategic defensive posture, which involves the assertation of several abstract positions that serve to obstruct resolution of the debate. Those abstractions include the notions that the animal protection movement is trivial and purely anti-intellectual in scope, that all science is good (and some especially so), and the belief that an ethical consensus can never really be reached between the parties.

Reflective Ethology, Applied Philosophy, And The Moral Status Of Animals, Marc Bekoff, Dale Jamieson

Experimental Research and Animal Welfare Collection

Currently there is an unprecedented interest in ethological studies of nonhuman animals. Much of this interest is motivated by a desire to learn more about animals themselves. For scientists assuming this stance, a secondary goal is to use this knowledge to assess the place of humans in the natural order of things, stressing continuity or discontinuity depending on one's views. Others, however, study animals primarily to apply this knowledge to human behavior. We argue that behavioral research demands the rigorous application of methods that are minimally harmful to the animals being studied. We argue for a moderate, but rigorous and …

Inferences About Guessing And Knowing By Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes), Daniel J. Povinelli, Kurt E. Nelson, Sarah T. Boysen

Sentience Collection

The visual perspective-taking ability of 4 chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) was investigated. The subjects chose between information about the location of hidden food provided by 2 experimenters who randomly alternated between two roles (the guesser and the knower). The knower baited 1 of 4 obscured cups so that the subjects could watch the process but could not see which of the cups contained the reward. The guesser waited outside the room until the food was hidden. Finally, the knower pointed to the correct cup while the guesser pointed to an incorrect one. The chimpanzees quickly learned to respond to the knower. …

National Wildlife Refuges - A Cruel Hoax

Close Up Reports

No abstract provided.