Special Issue "Animal Welfare Assessment: Novel Approaches and Technologies"

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Melissa Hempstead
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
AgResearch Limited, Grasslands Research Centre, Palmerston North, New Zealand
Interests: behavior; welfare; pain; small ruminants; goats; welfare assessment
Dr. Danila Marini
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Canberra, Australia
Interests: behavior; animal welfare; welfare indicators; physiology; pain assessment; affective state; wearable technologies

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the last decade, public interest in how animals are raised and managed has grown substantially, and, as a result, there is an increased need for valid and reliable methods of assessing animal welfare. Welfare assessment is an important aspect in the continual improvement of animal welfare, with effective assessment leading to better welfare outcomes. There are, however, many challenges associated with animal welfare assessment, such as the validity and consistency of measures over time and across individuals and the utilization of multiple welfare indicators associated with different species and management styles. Research in this developing field is vital for improving the lives of animals in natural or managed environments.

This Special Issue will be focused on recent research or reviews that investigate novel approaches and/or technologies used to evaluate the welfare of farmed, captive, or wild animals. Key approaches may include welfare assessment protocols, assessment during routine husbandry, assessment of affective state (including pain), non-invasive measures, the use of sensors or wearable technologies, and other aspects that are part of raising animals.

Dr. Melissa Hempstead
Dr. Danila Marini
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 papers will be 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 monthly 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 1800 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

  • welfare assessment
  • non-invasive measures
  • behavior
  • physiology
  • wearable technologies
  • affective state

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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Article
Use of Remote Camera Traps to Evaluate Animal-Based Welfare Indicators in Individual Free-Roaming Wild Horses
Animals 2021, 11(7), 2101; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11072101 - 15 Jul 2021
Viewed by 6439
Abstract
We previously developed a Ten-Stage Protocol for scientifically assessing the welfare of individual free-roaming wild animals using the Five Domains Model. The protocol includes developing methods for measuring or observing welfare indices. In this study, we assessed the use of remote camera traps [...] Read more.
We previously developed a Ten-Stage Protocol for scientifically assessing the welfare of individual free-roaming wild animals using the Five Domains Model. The protocol includes developing methods for measuring or observing welfare indices. In this study, we assessed the use of remote camera traps to evaluate an extensive range of welfare indicators in individual free-roaming wild horses. Still images and videos were collected and analysed to assess whether horses could be detected and identified individually, which welfare indicators could be reliably evaluated, and whether behaviour could be quantitatively assessed. Remote camera trapping was successful in detecting and identifying horses (75% on still images and 72% on video observation events), across a range of habitats including woodlands where horses could not be directly observed. Twelve indicators of welfare across the Five Domains were assessed with equal frequency on both still images and video, with those most frequently assessable being body condition score (73% and 79% of observation events, respectively), body posture (76% for both), coat condition (42% and 52%, respectively), and whether or not the horse was sweating excessively (42% and 45%, respectively). An additional five indicators could only be assessed on video; those most frequently observable being presence or absence of weakness (66%), qualitative behavioural assessment (60%), presence or absence of shivering (51%), and gait at walk (50%). Specific behaviours were identified in 93% of still images and 84% of video events, and proportions of time different behaviours were captured could be calculated. Most social behaviours were rarely observed, but close spatial proximity to other horses, as an indicator of social bonds, was recorded in 36% of still images, and 29% of video observation events. This is the first study that describes detailed methodology for these purposes. The results of this study can also form the basis of application to other species, which could contribute significantly to advancing the field of wild animal welfare. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Animal Welfare Assessment: Novel Approaches and Technologies)
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Article
Heart Rate and Heart Rate Variability Change with Sleep Stage in Dairy Cows
Animals 2021, 11(7), 2095; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11072095 - 14 Jul 2021
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Abstract
Changes to the amount and patterns of sleep stages could be a useful tool to assess the effects of stress or changes to the environment in animal welfare research. However, the gold standard method, polysomnography PSG, is difficult to use with large animals [...] Read more.
Changes to the amount and patterns of sleep stages could be a useful tool to assess the effects of stress or changes to the environment in animal welfare research. However, the gold standard method, polysomnography PSG, is difficult to use with large animals such as dairy cows. Heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) can be used to predict sleep stages in humans and could be useful as an easier method to identify sleep stages in cows. We compared the mean HR and HRV and lying posture of dairy cows at pasture and when housed, with sleep stages identified through PSG. HR and HRV were higher when cows were moving their heads or when lying flat on their side. Overall, mean HR decreased with depth of sleep. There was more variability in time between successive heart beats during REM sleep, and more variability in time between heart beats when cows were awake and in REM sleep. These shifts in HR measures between sleep stages followed similar patterns despite differences in mean HR between the groups. Our results show that HR and HRV measures could be a promising alternative method to PSG for assessing sleep in dairy cows. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Animal Welfare Assessment: Novel Approaches and Technologies)
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Article
Health and Welfare Survey of 30 Dairy Goat Farms in the Midwestern United States
Animals 2021, 11(7), 2007; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11072007 - 05 Jul 2021
Viewed by 1044
Abstract
Dairy goat production in the Midwestern United States is increasing at a rapid rate and information on dairy goat husbandry practices applicable for producers in this region is limited. The objective of this study was to survey 30 dairy goat farms in the [...] Read more.
Dairy goat production in the Midwestern United States is increasing at a rapid rate and information on dairy goat husbandry practices applicable for producers in this region is limited. The objective of this study was to survey 30 dairy goat farms in the Midwestern US to provide insight into husbandry practices pertaining to health, welfare, and production, and to identify areas of future research. A questionnaire was developed and comprised 163 questions that were organized into categories including information on the producer (e.g., farming experience), staff, and goats (e.g., herd size, breed), housing, feeding and nutrition, milking practices and production, kid management, husbandry practices (e.g., disbudding, castration, hoof trimming), and health. Areas of future research that can improve goat health, production and welfare include pain relief for husbandry practices such as disbudding and castration, early kid management during birth to prevent illness/disease or mortality (e.g., warm and dry areas for kid rearing), eradication programs for common contagious diseases, training programs and education for claw trimming, disbudding, and udder health. In conclusion, this study provided insight into the husbandry practices carried out on 30 dairy goat farms in the Midwestern US and areas of research to improve health and welfare. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Animal Welfare Assessment: Novel Approaches and Technologies)
Article
Genetic Parameters of Effort and Recovery in Sport Horses Assessed with Infrared Thermography
Animals 2021, 11(3), 832; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11030832 - 16 Mar 2021
Viewed by 518
Abstract
The way a horse activates (effort phase-EP) and recovers (recovery phase-RP) during a sport event can affect its sport performance. The aim of this manuscript was to test horses’ adaptation to sport performance and its genetic basis, using eye temperature assessed with infrared [...] Read more.
The way a horse activates (effort phase-EP) and recovers (recovery phase-RP) during a sport event can affect its sport performance. The aim of this manuscript was to test horses’ adaptation to sport performance and its genetic basis, using eye temperature assessed with infrared thermography. EP and RP were measured in 495 Spanish Sport Horses, during a performance test, considering sex (2) and genetic lines (5) as fixed effects. The ranking position obtained on an official sport competition was also collected. Differences in variables due to genetic line and sex effects were found, showing that, regardless of the genetic line, stallions tended to recover better than mares after the sport test developed. High positive intra-class correlations (p < 0.001) were found between EP and RP for both fixed effects, so that the higher the EP, the higher the RP. However, for the ranking position, a low negative correlation (p < 0.01) was found, so that the higher the eye temperature increase, the better the position. Heritabilities showed medium–high values with a medium positive genetic correlation between them. Thus, breed origins and sex influence horses’ effort and recovery during sport performance, showing a genetic basis adequate for selection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Animal Welfare Assessment: Novel Approaches and Technologies)
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Article
Farm Animals Are Long Away from Natural Behavior: Open Questions and Operative Consequences on Animal Welfare
Animals 2021, 11(3), 724; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11030724 - 06 Mar 2021
Viewed by 747
Abstract
The concept of welfare applied to farm animals has undergone a remarkable evolution. The growing awareness of citizens pushes farmers to guarantee the highest possible level of welfare to their animals. New perspectives could be opened for animal welfare reasoning around the concept [...] Read more.
The concept of welfare applied to farm animals has undergone a remarkable evolution. The growing awareness of citizens pushes farmers to guarantee the highest possible level of welfare to their animals. New perspectives could be opened for animal welfare reasoning around the concept of domestic, especially farm, animals as partial human artifacts. Therefore, it is important to understand how much a particular behavior of a farm animal is far from the natural one of its ancestors. This paper is a contribution to better understand the role of genetics of the farm animals on their behavior. This means that the naïve approach to animal welfare regarding returning animals to their natural state should be challenged and that welfare assessment should be considered. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Animal Welfare Assessment: Novel Approaches and Technologies)
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Review

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Review
Welfare Health and Productivity in Commercial Pig Herds
Animals 2021, 11(4), 1176; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11041176 - 20 Apr 2021
Viewed by 818
Abstract
In recent years, there have been very dynamic changes in both pork production and pig breeding technology around the world. The general trend of increasing the efficiency of pig production, with reduced employment, requires optimisation and a comprehensive approach to herd management. One [...] Read more.
In recent years, there have been very dynamic changes in both pork production and pig breeding technology around the world. The general trend of increasing the efficiency of pig production, with reduced employment, requires optimisation and a comprehensive approach to herd management. One of the most important elements on the way to achieving this goal is to maintain animal welfare and health. The health of the pigs on the farm is also a key aspect in production economics. The need to maintain a high health status of pig herds by eliminating the frequency of different disease units and reducing the need for antimicrobial substances is part of a broadly understood high potential herd management strategy. Thanks to the use of sensors (cameras, microphones, accelerometers, or radio-frequency identification transponders), the images, sounds, movements, and vital signs of animals are combined through algorithms and analysed for non-invasive monitoring of animals, which allows for early detection of diseases, improves their welfare, and increases the productivity of breeding. Automated, innovative early warning systems based on continuous monitoring of specific physiological (e.g., body temperature) and behavioural parameters can provide an alternative to direct diagnosis and visual assessment by the veterinarian or the herd keeper. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Animal Welfare Assessment: Novel Approaches and Technologies)
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