Standard techniques for assessing plumage damage to hens from feather pecking typically require capture and handling. Handling of individual birds for plumage assessment is relatively easy in experimental studies; however, close inspection of individual birds in commercial flocks is less feasible because catching birds is difficult, may compromise bird welfare and affect egg production. The aim of this study was to assess a non-intrusive method for scoring plumage damage in a commercial free-ranging flock of laying hens. Plumage damage was scored within a 2 m distance of the birds, without capture or handling, using a 5-point scale for 5 body regions. The feather scores, recorded at a distance, by two independent scorers were compared (distance scores), and were then compared with feather scores recorded by a scorer who caught and handled the birds to examine the plumage damage closely (capture scores). There was a significant and positive correlation between the distance scores and the capture scores, and the mean correlation coefficient for all plumage score traits was 0.89. There was also a significant and positive correlation between scorers, and the mean correlation coefficient for all plumage score traits was 0.84. The standard deviation of the residual mean difference between scorers and between methods was less than 1 point for individual body regions and less than 1.5 points for the total body score. Large variation in feather damage within a flock and small sample size increased the standard error of the mean total feather score. When feather damage variation within flocks is low (ie little observed feather damage), the current industry standard of scoring a sample of 100 birds is likely to provide a reliable estimate of flock feather damage; however, when there is large variation within birds of a flock (ie considerable observed feather damage) ≥200 birds should be inspected to accurately monitor changes in plumage condition. The non-intrusive method of feather scoring described in this paper may be useful for commercial-scale feather pecking studies or for farmers who need to assess the plumage damage of their flocks reliably, quickly and with minimal disturbance or stress to the birds.

A study was conducted over 24 days to evaluate the effects of three environmental enrichment techniques (frozen balls of ice containing fish, various scents, hanging logs) on four captive African lions (Panthera leo). Behavioural data on activity level and behavioural diversity were collected daily during a baseline and an enriched session. All enrichments produced positive changes in behaviour. Enrichment was also associated with increased use of space by the lions. The enrichment techniques evaluated in this study each produced distinct and positive changes in behaviour thus reinforcing the need for variety to be exercised in captive enrichment programmes. Providing different enrichments allows animals to perform a greater range of behaviours, become more active in captivity, and will decrease the likelihood of habituation to certain enrichment items. Environmental enrichment should be a part of any management protocol for animal welfare and health.

In some parts of the world, the laboratory pig (Sus scrofa) is often housed in individual, sterile housing which may impose stress. Our objectives were to determine the effects of isolation and enrichment on pigs housed within the PigTurn® — a novel penning system with automated blood sampling — and to investigate tear staining as a novel welfare indicator. Twenty Yorkshire × Landrace weaner pigs were randomly assigned to one of four treatments in a 2 × 2 factorial combination of enrichment (non-enriched [NE] or enriched [E]) and isolation (visually isolated [I] or able to see another pig [NI]). Pigs were catheterised and placed into the PigTurns® 48 h post recovery. Blood was collected automatically twice daily to determine white blood cell (WBC) differential counts and assayed for cortisol. Photographs of the eyes were taken daily and tear staining was quantified using a 0-5 scoring scale and Image-J software to measure stain area and perimeter. Behaviour was video recorded and scan sampled to determine time budgets. Data were analysed as an REML using the MIXED procedure of SAS. Enrichment tended to increase proportion of time standing and lying laterally and decrease plasma cortisol, tear-stain area and perimeter. There was a significant isolation by enrichment interaction. Enrichment given to pigs housed in isolation had no effect on plasma cortisol, but greatly reduced it in non-isolated pigs. Tear-staining area and perimeter were highest in the NE-I treatment compared to the other three treatments. Eosinophil count was highest in the E-NI treatment and lowest in the NE-I treatment. The results suggest that in the absence of enrichment, being able to see another animal but not interact may be frustrating. The combination of no enrichment and isolation maximally impacted tear staining and eosinophil numbers. However, appropriate enrichment coupled with proximity of another pig would appear to improve welfare.

We examined the effects of two different methods of castration on the behaviour of lambs of two age groups. Rubber ring castration and combined rubber ring and Burdizzo clamp castration were compared in groups of one-week-old lambs and four-to six-week-old lambs. Behaviour was assessed by examining time-lapse video recordings made continuously over four days. Postures and behavioural states were instantaneously sampled and the mean daily frequencies of these behaviours calculated. Behaviours were assigned to different groups: standing still, moving, eating, lying, playing and abnormal postures. The times spent performing each group of behaviours on the days following castration (days 2, 3 and 4) were compared to those on the day preceding castration (day 1). Castration resulted in significant reductions in the times spent performing play behaviour in one-week-old lambs and lying behaviour in four-to six-week-old lambs. There was also a significant increase in abnormal postures following castration in four- to six-week-old lambs. There were no detectable differences between castration methods. The results show that lambs exhibit changes in behaviour over the three-day observation period that are suggestive of the presence of prolonged acute pain. These results have important implications regarding the sheep welfare recommendations of the Farm Animal Welfare Council, which propose to extend the maximum legal age for rubber ring castration from one week to six weeks of age.

This study explored the effect of auditory stimulation on the behaviour and welfare of four zoo-housed, female Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). All animals were exposed, in an ABA design, to two conditions of auditory stimulation: a ‘control’ (no auditory stimulation), and an ‘experimental’ condition, during which the animals were presented with a commercially-available CD of classical music. Each condition lasted for five days, with an interim period of two days between each condition (Study 1). The elephants’ behaviour was recorded every minute for four hours a day for the full five days of each condition using instantaneous scan-sampling. The procedure was repeated four months later (Study 2), for a shorter period of time (one day per condition, again using an ABA design) to assess whether the results are generalisable. Analysis of both studies revealed that the elephants spent significantly less of their time stereotyping during the experimental conditions than the control. None of the other behaviours recorded were influenced significantly by auditory stimulation. Overall, the findings from this study suggest that auditory stimulation, in the form of classical music, may be a useful method of reducing stereotypic behaviour in zoo-housed Asian elephants, although more long-term work with a larger number of animals is needed before firm conclusions can be drawn.

The distress experienced by animals during the induction of unconsciousness remains one of the most important and yet overlooked aspects of effective methods of anaesthesia and euthanasia. Here we show that considerable differences exist in the aversive responses elicited by 12 common methods of inhalational anaesthesia and euthanasia in laboratory rats and mice. Carbon dioxide, either alone or in combination with oxygen or argon, was found to be highly aversive to both species. The least aversive agents were halothane in rats and enflurane in mice. Exposing these animals to carbon dioxide in any form, either for anaesthesia or for euthanasia, is likely to cause considerable pain and distress and is therefore unacceptable when efficient and more humane alternatives are readily available.

Vast numbers of decapods are used in human food and currently subject to extreme treatments and there is concern that they might experience pain. If pain is indicated then a positive change in the care afforded to this group has the potential to produce a major advance in animal welfare. However, it is difficult to determine pain in animals. The vast majority of animal phyla have a nociceptive ability that enables them to detect potential or actual tissue damage and move away by a reflex response. In these cases there is no need to assume an unpleasant feeling that we call pain. However, various criteria have been proposed that might indicate pain rather than simple nociception. Here, with respect to decapod crustaceans, four such criteria are discussed: avoidance learning, physiological responses, protective motor reactions and motivational trade-offs. The evidence from various experiments indicates that all four criteria are fulfilled and the data are thus consistent with the idea of pain. The responses cannot be explained by nociception alone but, it is still difficult to state categorically that pain is experienced by decapods. However, the evidence is as strong for this group as it is for fish but the idea that fish experience pain has broader acceptance than does the idea of decapod pain. A taxonomic bias is evident in the evaluation of experimental data.

The relationship between public attitudes toward animals and human demographics has been well documented during the last few decades, but the influence of human ethical ideologies on public attitudes toward animals and animal welfare has been rarely investigated, especially in developing countries, such as China. The present study introduced two scales (Animal Issue Scale [AIS] and Animal Attitude Scale [AAS]) to investigate the Chinese people's attitudes toward animals and the manner in which their outlook related to ethical ideologies (idealism and relativism), which classified people into four ethical positions: situationists, subjectivists, absolutists and exceptionists. Moreover, it also showed how ethical ideologies and their interaction with human demographics influence respondents’ attitudes toward animals. The results of an online questionnaire (n = 504) distributed throughout China suggest that compared with middle-aged and old respondents, the young demonstrated significantly more positive attitudes toward animals. Absolutists showed the most positive attitudes toward animals, while subjectivists showed the least. People's attitudes toward animals were positively affected by idealism, which confirms previous findings in developed countries. However, people's attitudes toward animals were negatively affected by relativism, which is inconsistent with findings in developed countries, showing that ethical relativism failed to influence attitudes toward animals. Our results indicate that the same mechanisms underlying the effect of ethical idealism on attitudes toward animals might work in different countries to increase awareness on animal welfare. However, the manner in which ethical relativism influences attitudes toward animals may differ between developed and developing countries.

The effect of an environmental enrichment — straw bales — on the behaviour of growing broiler chicks was investigated by comparing the behaviour of broilers kept in matched pairs of houses on commercial farms with and without bales. The birds provided with bales perched on them and clustered around them. The most striking result, however, was that, even away from the bales, birds in the enriched houses were more active (showing more walking and running and less sitting) than birds in unenriched houses. The study provides support for the ‘Freedom Food’ recommendation that activity in commercially kept indoor chickens can be increased by providing environmental enrichment in the form of straw bales.

Many captive giraffes perform oral stereotypies, in particular tongue-playing, licking of objects (including conspecifics) and vacuum chewing. Typically, the diet of these large ruminants in captivity consists mostly of food concentrates, which are consumed rapidly and do not provide stimulation for their long, prehensile tongues. In the wild, browsing requires extensive use of this organ but in captivity material upon which to browse is limited. Consequently, vacuum activities, such as mock leaf-feeding behaviour, and stereotypies may develop. Rumination is also a major component of a giraffe's behavioural repertoire. It is essential for proper digestion, but may also be connected with non-REM sleep. Inadequate opportunities for rumination may also contribute to the development of oral stereotypies. In this study of captive giraffes, we examined the effect of increasing dietary fibre on the time spent ruminating and feeding and the extent to which oral stereotypies were performed. Two giraffes of different age, sex and sub-species were studied at Paignton Zoo Environmental Park. Dietary fibre was increased by the addition of coarse meadow hay to their existing diet. Following the addition of hay, time spent feeding did not change significantly but there was a significant increase in the time spent ruminating and a significant reduction in time spent performing oral stereotypies by both giraffes, suggesting that oral stereotypies may be connected with rumination rather than feeding. Stereotypic behaviour is generally accepted to be an indicator of sub-optimal welfare. Thus, the reduction in this behaviour by the simple addition of coarse fibre to the diet can be interpreted as enhancing the welfare of these animals.

Catching of broilers is the first stage in the transfer of birds to the slaughterhouse. The catching process entails a high risk not only of stress but also of injury and death to the birds. Associated injury and mortality rates have important implications not only for animal welfare but also for the economics of the procedure. Catching machines are advantageous with regard to labour costs and standards, and they may also reduce damage to the birds. In the present investigation the use of a sweeper-type catching machine was compared with manual catching under commercial conditions, data being collected during 43 mechanical and 40 manual catching events evenly distributed over one year. Dead-on-arrival rates were recorded, and 108 068 mechanically caught and 87 916 manually caught birds were examined for injuries on the shackles at the processing plant. Injury rates of all types were significantly reduced after mechanical catching. This improvement was highest with respect to leg injuries. There was no significant difference in the number of dead-on-arrivals except during the spring period, when there were higher losses of birds caught mechanically; this was thought to be attributable to climatic conditions. The loading of the transport containers with equal numbers of birds and the initial familiarisation period of the catching team with the machine are potentially problematic factors with potential for improvement. The catching machine investigated here, with its lower risk of injury to broilers than commercial manual catching, has the potential to limit impairment of bird welfare during catching.

It is believed that environmental enrichment techniques can play an important part in creating suitable captive environments for horses. There has, however, been little scientific investigation into the effectiveness of ‘stable-toys’ which claim to reduce the performance of equine stereotypies. This study investigated the effect of a foraging device known as ‘The Equiball™’ on equine stereotypies. Six horses were given their evening feed in an Equiball, and the occurence of stereotypic behaviour recorded using scan sampling of video observations. Pre-enrichment, horses spent a mean (± SD) of 5.27 ± 8.17 per cent of their time in the stable performing stereotypies; and significant individual variation in mean time performing stereotypic behaviour was found (P < 0.05). Several peaks in stereotypy over the day were found, the two main ones corresponding to the times before feeding. A reduction in stereotypic behaviour in five horses, and a small increase in stereotypic behaviour in one horse was observed during enrichment. During enrichment, there was an overall trend for stereotypic behaviour to decrease (P < 0.1). When used in conjunction with other measures such as behaviour therapy, companionship, increased exercise, and so on, the Equiball may help to create an environment less likely to lead to the development of stereotypic behaviours.

In farm animal breeding, behavioural traits are rarely included in selection programmes despite their potential to improve animal production and welfare. Breeding goals have been broadened beyond production traits in most farm animal species to include health and functional traits, and opportunities exist to increase the inclusion of behaviour in breeding indices. On a technical level, breeding for behaviour presents a number of particular challenges compared to physical traits. It is much more difficult and time-consuming to directly measure behaviour in a consistent and reliable manner in order to evaluate the large numbers of animals necessary for a breeding programme. For this reason, the development and validation of proxy measures of key behavioural traits is often required. Despite these difficulties, behavioural traits have been introduced by certain breeders. For example, ease of handling is now included in some beef cattle breeding programmes. While breeding for behaviour is potentially beneficial, ethical concerns have been raised. Since animals are adapted to the environment rather than the other way around, there may be a loss of ‘naturalness’ and/or animal integrity. Some examples, such as breeding for good maternal behaviour, could enhance welfare, production and naturalness, although dilemmas emerge where improved welfare could result from breeding away from natural behaviour. Selection against certain behaviours may carry a risk of creating animals which are generally unreactive (‘zombies’), although such broad effects could be measured and controlled. Finally, breeding against behavioural measures of welfare could inadvertently result in resilient animals (‘stoics’) that do not show behavioural signs of low welfare yet may still be suffering. To prevent this, other measures of the underlying problem should be used, although cases where this is not possible remain troubling.

The return to consciousness of 24 electrically stunned lambs was assessed by measurement of physiological reflexes and electroencephalography (EEG) recordings. The physical activity of the lambs after head-only electrical stunning included one tonic phase and two clonic phases. The tonic phase began immediately after the stun and ended 10 s after the stun; the first clonic phase started immediately after the tonic phase and ended 36 s after the stun, and the second clonic phase started immediately after the first clonic phase and ended 70 s after the stun. During the tonic phase and the first clonic phase, electrical activity recordings of the brain showed a dramatic increase in the relative power spectra of alpha and beta frequencies. Both frequencies returned to pre-stun levels with the end of the first clonic phase. During the second clonic phase, the relative power spectrum of theta frequency was higher than that before stunning. These results suggest that during the tonic phase and the first clonic phase, the animal was unconscious, whereas during the second clonic phase the return of some conscious function began. Spontaneous breathing returned at about 29 s post-stun, whereas the corneal reflex returned at about 38 s. It is therefore suggested that the return of spontaneous breathing is the safest indicator that the animal is close to recovering consciousness.

The welfare of animals in extensive systems has received little attention despite significant welfare challenges in these environments. Additionally, recent reform of Common Agricultural Policy payments in the EU have put increasing financial emphasis on farmers to attain improved levels of animal welfare, although suitable methodologies for assessing animal welfare are lacking. Assessment of welfare in intensive systems frequently involves assessing compliance with buildings and space requirements, as well as behavioural observations of animals in their home pens and monitoring of health records. In extensive systems, however, many of these measures are inappropriate or impossible. Environments are often heterogeneous, animals may be difficult to observe, individuals may not be identifiable and health records may be limited or completely lacking. The expression of fear by extensive animals, which rarely come into close contact with humans, often limits the value and practicality of behavioural observations as welfare indicators. Currently, welfare audits of extensive farms rely greatly on mortality and morbidity records to determine welfare status. Whilst these measures are important, the strong health monitoring bias does not adequately allow an interpretation of the emotional experiences of extensive animals. We suggest that developing methodologies based on assessing key features of the environment, such as handling facilities, assessment of the skills, knowledge and planning of the stockperson, and assessing the animal at key points in the production cycle when they are gathered may allow a workable methodology for assessing animal welfare to be developed for extensive systems.

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 as more harmful than their counterparts, but all groups were very similar in their rankings. Activities that destroy or alter habitat (urban development, pollution, resource development and agriculture) were rated consistently as most harmful by all groups, including the most conservation-oriented and the most welfare-oriented. Where such a high level of agreement exists, wildlife managers should be able to design management actions that will address both conservation and animal welfare concerns. However, the higher level of concern expressed by female, low engagement and welfare-oriented participants for activities that involve direct killing indicates a need for wildlife managers to consult beyond traditional stakeholders.

This paper proposes a system that uses intrinsic study data to provide a clear visualisation of the stresses involved during the animal's life history that can be applied to all types of studies, even those not requiring invasive techniques. Thus, it provides an opportunity for researchers to identify and refine key events which impact on the welfare of an animal, and to explain clearly the totality of any necessary harms when justifying the research. Assessment of animal welfare depends on measurement of a number of parameters which will vary according to species, the animal's environment and the scientific procedure, all of which are inter-related. Currently, there are few tools to assess the effects of lifetime events on welfare or even, in some cases, to recognise that they have an impact on the level of suffering. A matrix to assess the combined effects of environment, experimental and contingent events on welfare has been applied, retrospectively, to programmes of work involving macaques (Macaca mulatta and M. fascicularis). Lifetime records, available for animals from their birth in the breeding colony through to experimental use in vaccine efficacy evaluation studies, were analysed as a robust validation test for the assessment matrix and refinement of the way in which information on these events is captured. A meaningful assessment method is required prospectively for project licence applications and retrospectively for licence review or decisions on re-use. The analysis will provide information that would support the application of refinements that would optimally enhance the lives of experimental animals.

The objective of the present study was to investigate the relationship between rooting behaviour and foraging in growing pigs. In study 1, forty-eight 11-week-old pigs were housed in eight groups of six with access to a rooting substrate in the form of spent mushroom compost. In half of the groups the rooting substrate contained food rewards, and in the other half of the groups it did not. All pigs had ad libitum access to feed. In study 2, one hundred and ninety-two 11-week-old pigs were housed in thirty-two groups of six, all with access to spent mushroom compost, and eight groups were each fed to 70, 80, 90 or 100% appetite. Treatments were applied over a two-week period in both studies. The number of pigs involved in active rooting (rooting in substrate while standing), inactive rooting (rooting in substrate while sitting or lying) or non-rooting activity (standing in substrate area and involved in any activity except rooting) was recorded by scan sampling. These behaviours tended to reach a peak in the morning and again in the afternoon. Inactive rooting was not significantly affected by treatments in study 1 or study 2. Food rewards in the rooting substrate led to a significant reduction in active rooting behaviour and in non-rooting activity during peak periods of the day (P < 0.05). It is suggested that learned associations between rooting behaviour and acquisition of food caused the pigs to stop rooting when all the food rewards had been consumed. The fact that rooting was performed in the absence of nutritive feedback suggests that this behaviour is performed independently of its appetitive foraging function. Restricting feed levels to 70 or 80% of appetite led to a significant increase in active rooting and in non-rooting activity during peak periods (P < 0.05). The relationship between feed restriction and active rooting behaviour tended to be linear (P < 0.08). This suggests that levels of rooting behaviour are flexible in response to nutritional needs.

The ability to evaluate the welfare of non-human animals accurately and objectively is influenced by a variety of factors including the nature of our relationships with them. Subjective biases in the perception of an animal's quality of life can have either positive or negative consequences for its welfare and are likely to be particularly exaggerated in the case of companion animals, such as dogs, cats and other pet species, with which people tend to form strong anthropomorphic, attachment-based relationships. The consequences of these subjective biases are likely to be further exacerbated by the fact that many of the physical and behavioural attributes that humans find appealing, and have selected for, in companion animals, are inherently detrimental to their welfare. Using a range of examples, this paper explores some of the complex ways in which anthropomorphism and subjectivity can cloud our ability to make reliable judgements concerning the welfare of companion animals, even in the face of seemingly obvious and overt indicators of pain and suffering.

In southwestern England, red deer, Cervus elaphus, are culled by rifle (‘stalking’) or by hunting with hounds (‘hunting’). We compare the welfare costs of the two culling methods. Observations of hunts revealed that likely stressors such as close proximity to humans and hounds, active pursuit, noise, obstruction and physical restraint prior to despatch were very common. Other stressors, such as wounding, were rare. The blood profiles of hunted deer were compared both with injured deer, which were put down because they were thought to be suffering, and with stags stalked in the rutting season, when mature males rapidly lose weight and may be damaged in fights. Extensively hunted deer did not differ from severely injured deer in measures of muscle disruption: in hunted deer measures of red blood cell damage and psychological stress were higher. Hunted stags killed during the rut showed markedly higher levels of measures of blood and muscle cell disruption, psychological stress and fat reserve mobilization than stalked stags killed during this season. Estimates of wounding rates by stalkers showed that 11 per cent of deer required two or more shots to kill, 7 per cent took 2—15 min to die and 2 per cent escaped wounded. Overall, we judged that the welfare costs associated with hunting red deer were higher than those associated with stalking, and reducing the welfare costs associated with hunting was much less feasible than reducing those associated with stalking.