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Animals
Special Issues
Animals’ Good Life—Positive Animal Welfare
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Animals’ Good Life—Positive Animal Welfare

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Welfare".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 July 2023) | Viewed by 8524

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Randall Lockwood

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Forensic Sciences Department, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, New York, NY 10128, USA
Interests: animal welfare; animal protection; animal behavior animal cruelty; human–animal bond
Dr. Maya Gupta

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, New York, NY, USA
Interests: animal cruelty; link; domestic violence; animal welfare; interpersonal violence

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

At a time of increasing concern regarding many factors potentially having a negative impact on animals and people, we feel it is important to look at changes that are actually helping to create a better life for many animals. This volume will focus on advances in our understanding and treatment of animals that have led to significant, or at least incremental improvements in the quality of life for animals. We are most interested in submissions that provide objective, quantitative documentation to define and evaluate policies, procedures, and/or activities that have demonstrably improved animal welfare. This issue is open to submissions concerning any species of non-human animal.

Topics of interest include but are not limited to:

  • Measures of the state of animal welfare;
  • Social, economic, and political drivers of positive change in animal welfare;
  • Improvements in the legislative landscape for animal welfare;
  • How barriers to responsible pet-keeping are being overcome;
  • How negative attitudes to certain species or types of animals are overcome;
  • How needs of animals at risk are being addressed;
  • Improvements in animal sheltering and animal care and control.

Dr. Randall Lockwood
Dr. Maya Gupta
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

 

Keywords

  • animal welfare
  • human-animal bond
  • animal protection
  • pets
  • animal care

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

Jump to: Review, Other

19 pages, 2505 KiB  
Article
Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, Kynurenine Pathway, and Lipid-Profiling Alterations as Potential Animal Welfare Indicators in Dairy Cattle
by Alessandra Favole, Camilla Testori, Stefania Bergagna, Maria Silvia Gennero, Francesco Ingravalle, Barbara Costa, Sara Barresi, Piercarlo Curti, Francesco Barberis, Sandra Ganio, Riccardo Orusa, Elena Vallino Costassa, Elena Berrone, Marco Vernè, Massimo Scaglia, Claudia Palmitessa, Marina Gallo, Carlotta Tessarolo, Sabina Pederiva, Alessio Ferrari, Valentina Lorenzi, Francesca Fusi, Laura Brunelli, Roberta Pastorelli, Giulia Cagnotti, Cristina Casalone, Maria Caramelli and Cristiano Coronaadd Show full author list remove Hide full author list
Animals 2023, 13(7), 1167; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13071167 - 25 Mar 2023
Viewed by 1712
Abstract
Complete animal welfare evaluation in intensive farming is challenging. With this study, we investigate new biomarkers for animal physical and mental health by comparing plasma expression of biochemical indicators in dairy cows reared in three different systems: (A) semi-intensive free-stall, (B) non-intensive tie-stall, [...] Read more.
Complete animal welfare evaluation in intensive farming is challenging. With this study, we investigate new biomarkers for animal physical and mental health by comparing plasma expression of biochemical indicators in dairy cows reared in three different systems: (A) semi-intensive free-stall, (B) non-intensive tie-stall, and (C) intensive free-stall. Additionally, protein levels of mature brain-derived neurotrophic factor (mBDNF) and its precursor form (proBDNF) and indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO1) specific activity were evaluated in brain samples collected from 12 cattle culled between 73 and 138 months of age. Alterations in plasma lipid composition and in the kynurenine pathway of tryptophan metabolism were observed in the tie-stall-reared animals. The total plasma BDNF concentration was higher in tie-stall group compared to the two free-housing groups. Brain analysis of the tie-stall animals revealed a different mBDNF/proBDNF ratio, with a higher level of proBDNF (p < 0.001). Our data are similar to previous studies on animal models of depression, which reported that inhibition of the conversion of proBDNF in its mature form and/or elevated peripheral kynurenine pathway activation may underlie cerebral biochemical changes and induce depressive-like state behavior in animals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Animals’ Good Life—Positive Animal Welfare)
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Review

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14 pages, 3826 KiB  
Review
Olfactory Stimulation as Environmental Enrichment for Domestic Horses—A Review
by Ana Caroline Bini de Lima, Vanessa Cristini Sebastião da Fé, Maria Simara Palermo Hernandes and Viviane Maria Oliveira dos Santos
Animals 2023, 13(20), 3180; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13203180 - 12 Oct 2023
Viewed by 3727
Abstract
Horses constantly face several challenges inherent to the domestic environment, and it is common for the expression of their natural behavior to be drastically limited. Environmental enrichment has been suggested as an alternative to improve the captive situation of domestic horses. Among the [...] Read more.
Horses constantly face several challenges inherent to the domestic environment, and it is common for the expression of their natural behavior to be drastically limited. Environmental enrichment has been suggested as an alternative to improve the captive situation of domestic horses. Among the recently proposed enrichment strategies, olfactory stimulation has emerged as a method for improving several aspects related to animal behavior. Olfaction is a sensory modality that plays a significant role in the expression of equine behavior, and in recent years, studies have shown that olfactory stimulation can influence the physiological and behavioral parameters of horses. This review provides current information on the anatomical particularities of the equine olfactory system, presents the physiological mechanisms involved in the odor detection process, and demonstrates how stress can interfere with this process. Finally, the use of olfactory stimulation as an environmental enrichment for domestic horses (Equus ferus caballus) is explored. The need for new studies that answer pertinent questions related to this topic is discussed throughout the manuscript. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Animals’ Good Life—Positive Animal Welfare)
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Other

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15 pages, 356 KiB  
Commentary
Looking beyond the Shoal: Fish Welfare as an Individual Attribute
by Lauri Torgerson-White and Walter Sánchez-Suárez
Animals 2022, 12(19), 2592; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12192592 - 28 Sep 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2280
Abstract
Welfare is an individual attribute. In general, providing captive nonhuman animals with conditions conducive to good welfare is an idea more easily applied when dealing with few individuals. However, this becomes much harder—if not impossible—under farming conditions that may imply high numbers of [...] Read more.
Welfare is an individual attribute. In general, providing captive nonhuman animals with conditions conducive to good welfare is an idea more easily applied when dealing with few individuals. However, this becomes much harder—if not impossible—under farming conditions that may imply high numbers of animals living in large group sizes. Although this is a problem inherent to intensive animal farming, it is possibly best exemplified in fish farming, for these practices often rely on extremely high numbers. In this paper we review evidence supporting the notion that fishes are individuals and fish welfare should thus also be considered at the individual level, examine the current state of welfare assessment in the aquaculture industry, evaluate these practices in light of individualized terrestrial animal welfare assessment methods, and make recommendations regarding research that could lead to a better understanding of how to provide each individual fish with good welfare in captivity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Animals’ Good Life—Positive Animal Welfare)
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