The commercial killing of kangaroos provides multiple benefits to society, but also causes both deliberate and unintended harms to kangaroos. The ethics of the kangaroo industry is assessed in terms of whether the assumed benefits justify the welfare costs. An analysis of the stated benefits indicates that killing for damage mitigation is beneficial mainly during drought and not at current levels; that there is a commercial value, although considerably lower than previously estimated, and that demonstrable environmental benefits from commercial killing of kangaroos are lacking; and that the commercial kill may ameliorate the suffering of kangaroos during drought. Welfare practices are very difficult to assess and regulate due to the size and remote nature of the industry. A combination of empirical data on welfare outcomes and inferences drawn from behavioural and reproductive knowledge of the commercially killed species are utilised to assess harm. The welfare costs include deliberate and indirect harm to dependent young (a by-product of the commercial kill), and a number of unintended harms to adult kangaroos, including increased mortality during drought, inhumane killing of a portion of adult kangaroos, and a disruption of social stability and the evolutionary potential of individuals. Furthermore, a substantial gap exists between the intended welfare standards of the code of practice governing the kangaroo industry and the welfare outcomes for both dependent young and adult kangaroos. We found that, on balance, the benefits are lower than expected and the welfare costs are likely to be considerably higher than acceptable. More research, particularly at the point of kill, is necessary to verify and assess the extent of harms. A number of improvements are suggested to the code of practice to improve welfare outcomes.

Legal protection of the welfare of prenatal animals has not previously been addressed as a discrete subject within the academic literature on animal welfare, ethics and law. This paper aims to rectify this by reviewing the protections (or absence of protections) provided for fetuses by existing legislation in various jurisdictions, and considering the extent to which legal protection of animal fetuses can be justified on animal welfare grounds. Questions related to the need to protect the welfare of neurologically immature postnatal animals are also considered. We argue that there are reasons to protect animal fetuses, both in order to protect fetuses themselves against possible suffering, and in order to protect the animals which fetuses will become against negative welfare impacts that originate prenatally. We review the science on whether fetuses can suffer, and argue that extant regulations do not fully reflect current scientific understanding. Following the precautionary principle, we further argue that regulators should consider the possibility that fetuses and neurologically immature postnatal animals may suffer due to sub-cortically based ‘raw basic affects’ (ie relatively undifferentiated experiences of discomfort suggested to be generated by neural processing at levels below the cerebral cortex). Furthermore, we show that there are reasons for affording fetuses protection in order to safeguard the long-term welfare of future animals. However, it may be possible to provide such protection via rules or laws relating to the use of certain techniques and the management of pregnant animals, rather than via direct legal protection of fetuses themselves. In order to provide such protection effectively we need to know more about the relationship between maternal nutrition, stress, exercise, management and fetal health, and about the impact of the timing of a fetal insult on long-term postnatal welfare.

There is widespread transport of reptiles for the pet trade throughout the world and the ‘dead on arrival’ rates are high. The eastern blue tongued (EBT) lizard (Tiliqua scincoides; Order: Squamata; suborder: Lacertilia) is particularly popular due to its unusual blue tongue. Noise, vibration and thermal discomfort are known contributors to transport stress. We analysed the behaviour of EBT lizards (n = 9) when exposed to four of these stimuli in a changeover design. Lizards were exposed to Heat (35°C), Cold (15°C), high or low frequency noise or a Control treatment with no stimulus in a test chamber for a 5-s period. Heating blankets and ice packs were used to create the hot and cold temperature stimuli in the test chamber, and a speaker broadcast noise/vibration from a truck recording. The test chamber was connected to an escape chamber, accessible after exposure to the stimulus, and a small hiding chamber opposite the test chamber. Lizard behaviour was monitored during stimulus exposure and then for a further 15 min, after which each lizard was removed. Lizards exposed to Cold spent less time in the test chamber (330 vs 434 s) and more time inactive in the escape chamber (148 vs 40 s). They also spent longer walking towards the hiding chamber (18.0 vs 10.5 s) and walking in the hiding chamber away from the stimulus (3.6 vs 2.3 s). We conclude that cold temperatures are potentially noxious for lizards in a simulated transport environment as they reduce activity and increase escape attempts.

Captive bears are prone to developing dental pathology for reasons including longevity in captivity, inappropriate diet, trauma, and stereotypical bar biting. If not detected, this can cause pain and suffering, with negative welfare consequences. As animals cannot verbally express feelings, objective methods are required to detect pain. Some methods of pain assessment can be invasive and impractical but behavioural observations offer a non-invasive alternative. Behavioural assessment for the detection of pain has been described in some domestic species but little published research has applied this to wild animal species. Eight Malayan sun bears (Helarctos malayanus) required dental extractions under anaesthesia. Their behaviour was observed, alongside a control cohort with no visible disease, pre-operatively and at one, two and four weeks post-operatively, when it was assumed the pain had resolved from the original pathology and surgery performed. Behavioural indices measured included general activity, social behaviours, stereotypies, eating-related behaviours and oro-facial behaviours hypothesised to be affected by dental pain. Bears that had received treatment took significantly longer to eat hard sugarcane pre-operatively compared to four weeks post-operatively, and took longer to eat soft porridge one week post-operatively compared to four weeks post-operatively. Untreated bears tended to be more active outdoors one week postoperatively compared to the treatment cohort. Results suggest that using hard foods and assessing the duration of eating behaviours could be useful to indicate dental pain in sun bears. General behavioural assessment of dental pain in sun bears is unlikely to be effective as a single diagnostic tool, but may be combined with other methods of assessment, and further research into this area is warranted.

It is sometimes necessary to restrain kangaroos (Macropus spp) for veterinary treatment or in the course of scientific research, but the associated stresses may induce capture myopathy in wild kangaroos. Judicious use of injectable sedatives can reduce the risk of capture myopathy. Zoletil®, a proprietary mixture of tiletamine and zolazepam, is reported to have a wide safety margin, a small dose volume, and be quick acting for a range of animals. We investigated the dose-response relationship of Zoletil® in 26 western grey kangaroos (Macropus fuliginosus ocydromus). All kangaroos were recumbent within 5-10 min of intramuscular injection with mean (± SD) Zoletil® of 4.55 (± 0.98) mg kg−1. Mean (± SD) time to recovery varied between individuals, 2.07 (± 0.41) h over all occasions, and was independent of dose rate. For animals that were assessed on multiple occasions, mean (± SEM) time to recover was reduced from 2.25 (± 0.09) h on the first occasion to 2.15 (± 0.10) h on the second occasion and 1.81 (± 0.11) h on the third. Since kangaroos sedated with Zoletil® are vulnerable to predation and injury during recovery, we believe they should be supervised until they are able to fend for themselves.

Legislation governing non-stun slaughter of sheep in England requires that they are individually and mechanically restrained for slaughter and not moved for at least 20 s post neck cut, until unconsciousness or insensibility occurs. Complying with the need for individual handling, in what is a flock animal, has the potential to adversely affect welfare, in turn contravening the general legislative requirement to reduce any avoidable distress at slaughter. This study investigated the effects of individually loading and restraining lambs compared with the normal practice of group loading and restraint of lambs prior to slaughter when using a V-shaped restrainer. Rotating and static design loading pens were also compared to represent the range of conditions and facilities found across English abattoirs. Plasma cortisol and lactate concentrations were significantly lower in group-loaded animals and significant reductions were observed in the time duration of a range of components of handling as well as the average total time to load each lamb. Loading pen type had a less marked impact upon results, however, individual loading and restraint of lambs within a V-shaped restrainer appears particularly stressful for sheep in comparison with group loading. The loading pen type had a mixed effect although the rotating crowding pen is likely to have minimised physical exertion in lambs during loading and restraint. Based on these findings, group loading in a V-shaped restrainer, whilst complying with the 20-s standstill, is likely to be preferable in religious, non-stun slaughter of sheep.

Managing and assessing well-being in laboratory mice (Mus musculus) is both challenging and necessary. Assessments intended to detect negative welfare states in mice are usually performed via observation of animals in the home cage, but a substantial amount of time and skill may be required to detect subtle behavioural changes. The Time to Integrate to Nest Test (TINT) is a simple, cageside assessment tool that identifies the presence or absence of a highly motivated normal behaviour in mice. The test is conducted by adding a small amount of new nesting material to a mouse cage. A positive outcome is achieved when this new material is integrated into the home nest within 10 min. This study examined whether housing condition or nesting experience affects TINT outcome. Single or group housing did not influence the TINT outcome, but a significant difference in latency to integration was found; singly housed mice took longer than group-housed mice to integrate TINT substrate. Mice which were raised naïve to nesting material had no significant delays when tested. However, experience with the TINT procedure showed increased speed to incorporate the testing substrate, indicating that previous experience to the paradigm prior to experimental testing may be necessary. These findings help to define the expected outcomes of the TINT, better positioning it for use as an assessment tool in varied research settings.

Accurate identification of key welfare issues for captive elephants could improve standards and help in the development of a welfare index. In the absence of adequate scientific information on the relative importance of key issues, the views of a range of stakeholders were sought using adaptive conjoint analysis. Fifteen key welfare issues were identified by experts, and three to six Levels of each, representing common husbandry practices. In order of declining importance, 224 stakeholders rated the issues as enclosure substrate > group size > healthcare > enrichment > chaining > enclosure type > exercise provision > enclosure size > interaction with keeper > enclosure environment > keeper knowledge/experience > diet > contact method with keeper > display duration > enclosure security. Enclosure size was considered more important by scientists and keepers than zoo directors/managers and animal welfare organisation representatives. Animal welfare organisation representatives rated enclosure security higher than scientists. Keeper husbandry methods and ability of elephants to be active were two principal components in responses. Three principal groups of respondents were identified: scientists/veterinarians focusing more on conditions for the elephants and less on interaction with the public; keepers, focusing on keeper contact method, feeding and knowledge of elephants; and a group with mainly animal welfare organisation representatives/zoo directors focusing on enclosure security. It is concluded that there are some differences between stakeholders in their recognition of the most important welfare issues for elephants in zoos. However, recognising that a diversity of informed opinion is necessary to adequately devise welfare standards, an index of elephant welfare in zoos is proposed, based on the relative merits of different husbandry practices and the importance of the different issues.

The welfare of laboratory rats and mice is sought to be optimised through adjustment of a variety of environmental factors, including light intensity and photoperiodicity. However, the fact that rodents are able to perceive ultraviolet (UV) light tends to be ignored. The importance of being able — as a rodent — to utilise this part of the visual spectrum has not been studied in great detail, but suggestions, based on the evolutionary success of this trait, indicate that the deprivation of ultraviolet light in mice and rats could perhaps impact negatively on the welfare of these animals. Further research into the importance of having a UV light source available to rats and mice should be encouraged.

A welfare assessment was conducted during 475 observations of 75 long-line tethered horses and 587 observations of 112 freerange horses kept on public grazing land in South Wales over a six-month period from March to August 2010. The observations included quantitative and qualitative behavioural assessments, assessments of physical welfare and assessments of the environment of the horse. Multi-level modelling was used to identify the significant factors affecting each measure. Tethered horses had similar behavioural repertoires to free-range horses but there were differences related to tethering, such as fewer observations of walking, trotting and cantering, increased vocalisations occurring during the observation and poorer qualitative ‘mood’ scores. There were few observations of severe physical welfare problems in either tethered or free-range horses, however tethered horses were observed more often to have eye abnormalities, hoof cracks, lameness and signs of limb pain but less often with mane and tail tangles, as thin or as dirty. Shelter from wind, rain or sun was available to almost all free-range horses (99.8% of observations) but was only found during 16.5% or fewer observations of tethered horses, giving them a greater risk of poor welfare during inclement weather. Similarly, tethered horses were infrequently observed to have access to clean water, and their willingness to drink when offered water, suggests the provision of water was inadequate and tethered horses may have been thirsty. There were significant confounding effects of the observer or climatic factors for some behavioural and physical measures that should be considered when conducting future studies.

Refinement of social housing practices is paramount to improving animal welfare in laboratory environments, especially with regard to non-human primates. Even though social housing of the same species should be considered the optimal paradigm, cynomolgus (Macaca fascicularis) and rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) share similar communication styles making inter-species, opposite sex socialisation a viable approach to providing social enrichment. This paper describes social housing a male cynomolgus macaque, which underwent a routine orchiectomy prior to pairing, with a female rhesus macaque for the purpose of providing social interaction for animals that otherwise would have been single housed. Once paired, the primates exhibited behaviours indicative of compatibility, including mounting, lip smacking, grooming, co-threatening and choosing to remain in close proximity. Social housing also ameliorated abnormal behaviour (eg pacing, self-directed fur-plucking) in the female macaque. Neutering male macaques, mixed-species pairing and opposite sex socialisation are all valid options for reducing the number of individually housed primates in research facilities.

Severely depressed pigs exhibit differences in a number of important parameters that may affect gas euthanasia, including decreased respiration rate and tidal volume. Hence, the objectives of this study were to assess the efficacy and animal welfare implications of gas euthanasia of suckling pigs with varied disease severity (severely depressed [DP] vs other [OT]). A 2 × 2 factorial design was utilised with two gas types (carbon dioxide [CO2]; argon [Ar]) and two flow rates (G = gradual, 35% box volume exchange per min [BVE min−1]; P = prefill + 20% BVE min−1). Sixty-two pigs were enrolled and tested as DP/OT pairs in each gas treatment combination. Pigs identified for euthanasia were assigned a subjective depression score (0 = normal to 3 = severely depressed). Pigs scored 3 and ≤ 1 were categorised as DP and OT, respectively. Significantly lower respiration, rectal temperature, pulse and weight were observed for the DP pigs relative to OT. Pigs were assessed for behavioural indicators of efficacy and welfare. No differences were observed between DP and OT when using P-CO2 or G-CO2. However in P-Ar, DP had greater latency to loss of consciousness relative to OT (212 [± 22] vs 77 [± 22] s), decreased latency to last limb movement (511 [± 72] vs 816 [± 72] s), greater duration of open-mouth breathing (151 [± 21] vs 69 [± 21] s), decreased duration ataxia (101 [± 42] vs 188 [± 42] s) and decreased righting response (27 [± 11] vs 63 [± 11] s). The G-Ar treatment was removed due to ethical concerns associated with prolonged induction. In conclusion, depression score did not affect pig responses to euthanasia with CO2 gas, but did affect responses to Ar. Furthermore, Ar was associated with a prolonged euthanasia process, including frequencies and durations of distress behaviours.

Humane slaughter implies that an animal experiences minimal pain and distress before it is killed. Stunning is commonly used to induce insensibility but can lead to variable results or be considered unsatisfactory by some religious groups. Microwave energy can induce insensibility in rats, and high power equipment has recently been developed for sheep and cattle. We examined the effectiveness of different settings for microwave energy delivery, power and duration, to induce insensibility based on electroencephalography (EEG) of anaesthetised cows, using the minimal anaesthesia model. All applications resulted in the appearance of seizure-like complexes in the EEG, a pattern considered incompatible with awareness. Shorter duration of application resulted in more rapid EEG changes, as quickly as 3 s. Higher power resulted in a longer duration of EEG suppression, at least 37 s and up to 162 s. Microwave energy can induce insensibility in cattle based on seizure-like complexes in the EEG.

Separation anxiety (SA) is one of the most common canine behaviour problems and can have serious negative effects on dog welfare. Treatment of SA may include changing the environment around the dog, pharmacological treatment and behavioural therapy. The latter is considered the most important part of the treatment and is intended to habituate the dog to being alone and to reduce its dependence on the owner. The objective of this paper is to discuss two aspects of the treatment of SA that may be in contradiction with our current understanding of the stress response. Advice commonly given to owners of dogs with SA includes giving false departure cues to prevent the dog from anticipating the actual departure. Instead, we recommend increasing the predictability of the owner's departure by maintaining the cues that signal it. Animals suffering from anxiety disorders are likely to develop contextual fear, ie to be frightened by merely being exposed to the same location where they have experienced an aversive event. As a consequence, we suggest that whenever possible, fake departures done as part of the habituation exercises to being left are done in a place different from that where the dog is actually left alone.

Interventions aimed at improving animal welfare on farms may be more successful if greater attention is paid to the points of view of farmers. For example, understanding how different dairy farmers detect lame cows, decide to treat them, get them to the point of treatment, and how practical considerations that impact on this process may be important for reducing lameness on dairy farms. In-depth interviews with twelve dairy farmers were carried out to explore how this occurred on their farms. This in-depth approach allowed a number of factors influencing lameness treatment to be uncovered. The language used by farmers to describe lameness gave important insight into their perceptions of lameness and into the value they placed on prompt treatment. Farmers’ perceptions of lameness were found to affect the speed of treatment, with treatment of cows perceived to have impaired mobility or to be less severely lame sometimes delayed. Other priorities on the farm, skilled labour availability, farm infrastructure and farmers’ emotional responses to lameness treatment were all found to impact on whether or when a lame cow was treated. In order to encourage farmers to promptly treat all lame cows their perceptions of lameness and the benefits of prompt treatment must be addressed. The language used when communicating with farmers about lameness may be key to achieving this. The practical barriers, such as time and labour constraints, associated with the treatment process, must also be understood, taken into account and seen in the context of the farm management as a whole.

Resources for tackling animal welfare issues are often limited. Obtaining a consensus of expert opinion on the most pressing issues to address is a valuable approach to try to ensure that resources are wisely spent. In this study, seven independent experts in a range of disciplines (including veterinary medicine, animal behaviour and welfare science and ethics) were consulted on the relative prioritisation of welfare issues impacting companion dogs in Great Britain. Experts first anonymously ranked the priority of 37 welfare issues, pre-defined from a literature review and an earlier published survey. In a subsequent two-day panel workshop, experts refined these issues into 25 composite groups and used specific criteria to agree their relative priorities as a Welfare Problem (WP; incorporating numbers of dogs affected, severity, duration and counter-balancing benefits) and a Strategic Priority (SP; a combination of WP and tractability). Other criteria — anthropogenicity, ethical significance and confidence in the issue-relevant evidence — were also discussed by the panel. Issues that scored highly for both WP and SP were: inappropriate husbandry, lack of owner knowledge, undesirable behaviours, inherited disease, inappropriate socialisation and habituation and conformation-related disorders. Other welfare issues, such as obese and overweight dogs, were judged as being important for welfare (WP) but not strategic priorities (SP), due to the expert-perceived difficulties in their management and resolution. This information can inform decisions on where future resources can most cost-effectively be targeted, to bring about the greatest improvement in companion dog welfare in Great Britain.

Given the increased interest in animal emotional reactions for assessing welfare, indicators for such reactions are sought. Ear postures and movements have been found to be promising indicators of emotional states in sheep and other animals. The manual recording of ear postures, however, is very time consuming and possibly prone to a degree of inaccuracy due to the subtle and fast nature of ear movements that have to be identified. Therefore, a number of previous studies have analysed the frequency of certain ear postures relative to all ear posture changes rather than measuring the relative duration spent with different ear postures. Here, we present an automated, continuous tracking system that keeps track of small and lightweight marker balls attached to the head and ears of sheep. We measured ear postures and movements when the animals were confronted with three physical stimuli thought to differ in valence (from negative to intermediate to positive). We then compared new ear-posture definitions reflecting the real time spent with certain ear postures during stimulation with previous definitions used for video-based analyses that assessed ear-posture changes in relation to the total number of observed ear postures. In the analysis, we correlated new and previous measures both between and within experimental stimuli using residuals from mixed-effects models. We found that the new and previous definitions of ear postures and movements correlated highly. Given these high correlations and the discussed theoretical and practical advantages of the automated tracking, the new recording system can be recommended highly for assessing reactions in animals that may indicate emotional states.

Identifying farmers’ attitudes to farm animal welfare (FAW) is an important step in determining farmers’ efforts to improve FAW, knowledge of which is of particular importance for understanding how the living conditions of production animals are determined. This study developed a hypothetical model of farmers’ attitudes to FAW, including the antecedents of these attitudes and possible influences on FAW-related behaviour. Two models for empirical measurement of attitudes, namely formative and reflective models, were also evaluated and compared. The results suggested that choice of measurement model considerably influences conceptualisation of attitudes and that there may be considerable model misspecifications in previous literature relating to farmers’ FAW attitudes. Existing literature on farmers’ FAW attitudes was reviewed with the aim of providing a preliminary indication of the coverage of farmers’ FAW attitudes. A need for future research related to farmers’ attitudes to FAW was identified.

The aim of this study was to map farm animal welfare university education in an enlarged Europe with emphasis on identifying existing differences and gaps. Information on 210 courses dealing with farm animal welfare from 98 universities in 26 European countries were obtained. Statistical analysis was carried out on 155 of these courses within animal science or veterinary programmes, at Bachelor and Master level and with the countries grouped into five regions (North West Europe, Mediterranean, West Central Europe, East Central Europe and Balkans). There were significantly more hours of teaching in animal welfare in the North West region of Europe. This region also had more ‘interactive’ education methods, eg group discussion and farm visits, whereas West Central Europe had most ‘transmissive’ methods, eg lecturing. A course was more likely to be given in English in North West Europe (even when the UK and the Republic of Ireland were excluded from the analysis) and East Central Europe compared to West Central Europe and the Balkans. There appeared to be no regional differences in the content of the courses although the focus was significantly more ‘applied’, ie towards welfare assessment and legislation in the veterinary education and more ‘fundamental’, ie oriented towards ethology, physiology and ethics, in the animal science education. In summary, the main differences in farm animal welfare education across Europe seem to be in the reduced number of hours of education, less interactive teaching and fewer courses in English available to students outside the North West region.

The influence of several factors on abnormal behaviour was investigated in 46 singly housed sooty mangabeys (Cercocebus atys) (eight nursery-reared, 38 mother-reared), including self-injurious, self-directed, stereotypic locomotion, and faeces/urine-related behaviours (SIB, SDB, SL, FUR, respectively). An analysis of behavioural assessments spanning a mean of four years per subject showed that 83% displayed at least one form of AB during that time, with SL being the most common (mean of 3.06% of observation sessions and displayed by 59% of subjects) and SIB the least common (mean of 0.09% of all observation sessions and displayed by 20% of subjects). Like other primate species, displaying AB was influenced by the percent of life spent singly housed and by nursery-rearing during infancy. However, unlike some other primates, there was no influence of the number of yearly sedations or room relocations on AB; also, females were more likely to display AB than male mangabeys. To investigate the effects of nursery-rearing further, we compared the eight nursery-reared, singly housed subjects with eight nursery-reared subjects that were socially housed since the age of three years. While nursery-reared subjects in single housing displayed SL and FUR in higher proportions than those in social housing, subjects from both environments displayed SIB and SDB in equal proportions, suggesting that they are persistent forms of AB for nursery-reared mangabeys even after long-term social housing. To reduce future incidence of AB in captive mangabeys, we recommend minimising nursery-rearing and the duration of single-housing whenever feasible or avoiding them altogether.