Search Results (4,617)

This study evaluated a non-invasive nose-mounted accelerometer for automated detection of chewing strokes in dairy cows. Data were collected from 15 Holstein Friesians and validated against manual video annotations. Chewing strokes were identified using a peak detection algorithm applied to smoothed acceleration data. Two algorithm versions were analyzed: a raw version and a cleaned version that excluded a five-second interval during regurgitation, where no physiological chewing occurs. The cleaned version showed higher agreement with the reference method (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient [ICC] = 0.91; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 0.77–0.96) and lower error metrics (Mean Absolute Error [MAE]: 3.67; Root Mean Square Error [RMSE]: 4.72; Mean Absolute Percentage Error [MAPE]: 5.64%) compared to the raw version (ICC = 0.67; MAE: 10.00; RMSE: 11.48; MAPE: 15.27%). Both methods demonstrated that reliable detection of chewing activity is feasible using this sensor system. Automated chewing stroke detection may contribute to the assessment of rumen function, feeding behaviour, and animal welfare and may support future precision livestock farming applications by providing objective information on chewing activity. Full article

Monitoring sow and piglet behaviors during farrowing is important for reducing piglet mortality and improving animal welfare in commercial swine production systems. However, accurate behavioral monitoring remains challenging because neonatal piglets are small, frequently occluded by the sow, and difficult to detect under low-light conditions, particularly for black-coated piglets during nighttime observation. In this study, thermal imaging combined with RGB imaging from a conventional visible-light video camera and deep learning-based object detection was applied for automated livestock monitoring under practical farrowing conditions. The dataset contained diverse sow postures and piglet-related activities acquired in a commercial farrowing-house environment. In addition, the dataset exhibited substantial class imbalance, with piglet-related behaviors representing only a small proportion of the total annotations. Three lightweight YOLO-based detection models were evaluated for livestock monitoring performance under commercial farm conditions. Results showed that lightweight detectors provided stable overall detection performance for general sow behavior monitoring, while anchor-free detection models demonstrated improved sensitivity for small piglet detection under highly imbalanced conditions. The findings demonstrate the feasibility of thermal imaging for continuous farrowing monitoring under variable lighting and occlusion conditions and highlight the importance of evaluating detection systems based on their ability to identify small neonatal targets relevant to practical farm management. This study provides useful insights for the development of automated precision livestock monitoring systems for commercial farrowing operations. Full article

Mastitis is a major and costly dairy disease that reduces milk yield and quality and harms animal welfare. This study evaluated infrared thermography (IRT) combined with machine learning (ML) for non-invasive mastitis screening in dairy cows and explored links with biological and feeding-system variables in Egyptian farms. A total of 976 thermal udder images obtained from 488 Holstein cows were used, including 708 healthy and 268 mastitic images. Images were captured before milking, processed with CLAHE, resized to 224 × 224 pixels, and split using cow-level grouping before augmentation to prevent animal-level data leakage. The training set contained 780 original images and was augmented to a balanced 4708-image set (2354 per class), while the held-out test set remained unaugmented, with 196 original images (142 healthy and 54 mastitic). EfficientNetB3 with global average and max pooling extracted 3072 thermal features, and ten ML classifiers were evaluated. In the image-level hold-out evaluation, MLP achieved the best performance (accuracy = 86.22%, AUC = 0.9184, sensitivity = 74.07%, specificity = 90.85%), followed by SVM (accuracy = 83.67%, AUC = 0.8963). A separate group-based five-fold cross-validation yielded a more conservative AUC of 0.6812 ± 0.1323 and accuracy of 0.6244 ± 0.0642. Logistic regression analyses did not identify statistically significant associations between model predictions and somatic cell count (SCC), California Mastitis Test (CMT), blood biomarkers, or nutritional variables at p < 0.05. Ration A (Delta Misr) showed a higher observed mastitis incidence (20/40; 50.0%) than Ration B (Copenhagen; 16/45; 35.6%), but nutritional predictors were not statistically significant, indicating that farm-level confounding should be considered. Overall, IRT with ML remains a promising non-invasive screening approach, but broader multicenter datasets and independent external validation are needed before routine farm deployment. Full article

Vector-borne pathogens (VBPs) can affect equine health, welfare, and productivity, with potential implications for animal management and trade. However, data on their occurrence in North Africa remain limited. The present study aimed to estimate the molecular occurrence of selected equine VBPs in clinically healthy horses from Algeria. Specifically, a cross-sectional molecular survey was conducted between May and November 2024 on 241 clinically healthy horses selected using convenience sampling from three ecologically distinct regions of Algeria (Tiaret, Laghouat, and Tlemcen). Demographic and management data were collected at sampling, and blood samples were spotted onto filter paper for DNA preservation. Genomic DNA was extracted using a modified Chelex/InstaGene Matrix protocol, followed by conventional and nested PCR assays targeting piroplasms, Anaplasmataceae, filarioid helminths, Rickettsia spp., Trypanosomatidae, haemotropic Mycoplasma spp., and Bartonella spp. Positive amplicons were subjected to sequence and phylogenetic analysis. Theileria equi (T. equi) DNA was detected in 4.98% (12/241) of examined horses, and one animal (0.41%; 1/241) tested positive for Theileria capreoli (T. capreoli). T. equi genotypes A and B were identified via molecular characterisation, but no amplification was obtained for Anaplasmataceae, Babesia caballi, Rickettsia spp., haemotropic Mycoplasma spp., Bartonella spp., Trypanosomatidae, or filarioid helminths. These findings should be interpreted cautiously, given the convenience sampling design, the clinically healthy status of the sampled animals, and the known limitations of PCR-based detection in low-parasitaemia infections. Nevertheless, this study provides preliminary molecular data on equine VBPs in Algeria and supports the need for broader epidemiological investigations using complementary molecular and serological approaches. Full article

Managing tigers (Panthera tigris) under human care poses significant risks, particularly with individuals exhibiting aggressive behaviors. Although operant conditioning is widely recommended, structured protocols for reducing aggression in large carnivores remain scarce in the literature. This study investigated the efficacy of a constructional approach, using negative reinforcement as a methodological bridge to positive reinforcement in three adult tigers with a history of generalized aggression. The intervention was based on functional distance applied through negative reinforcement by the trainer’s withdrawal as a consequence of the desired behavior, where the researcher’s presence acted as a functional stimulus and strategic retreat was contingent upon micro-behaviors of calmness. This methodology allowed the animals to exert control over the social interaction, facilitating a systematic transition to positive reinforcement and strengthening voluntary approximation. The results indicated a significant reduction in agonistic responses and a rapid transition toward cooperative behaviors. This work provides detailed evidence on how the constructional approach can overcome food refusal and establish a secure training foundation. We conclude that the protocol offers a replicable methodological framework for managing aggression in wild animals initially resistant to traditional methods, promoting safety and welfare through structured behavioral interactions. Full article

With the development of the pet industry, public attention to pet food safety and nutritional health has been continuously increasing. Postbiotics were initially defined as inactivated microorganisms or microbial cellular components that confer health benefits to the host. Compared with probiotics, postbiotics possess superior safety and stability. They can effectively eliminate the potential risk of horizontal transfer of drug-resistant genes carried by live bacteria, and also feature better manufacturability and storage performance. At present, most research on postbiotics has focused on humans and large domestic animals, with relatively few applications in dogs and cats. This indicates that further research on postbiotics in canines and felines is still needed to better promote their practical application in promoting pet food health. This article provides a comprehensive review of the current research status of postbiotics, focusing on their potential benefits and mechanisms for pet health. It proposes that future studies should concentrate on in vivo experimental validation to clarify the safety, optimal dosage, and specific functions of postbiotics in companion animals. Such research will offer a scientific basis for the application of postbiotics in pet food formulations, ultimately promoting the health and welfare of pets. Full article

Canines exhibit various behavioral abnormalities, such as excessive barking, destructive behaviors, and indoor defecation when left at home alone. Identifying these abnormal behaviors and implementing scientific and reasonable interventions can help improve canine welfare and promote harmonious coexistence between humans and companion animals. However, existing canine behavior recognition methods struggle to adapt to the characteristics of strong temporal continuity and uneven motion amplitude of abnormal behaviors exhibited by lonely dogs, resulting in inadequate temporal feature representation and low recognition accuracy. Therefore, this study developed a TP-CanineNet model based on a Weakly Supervised Video Anomaly Detection (WS-VAD) framework to address this issue. The model integrated a Temporal Context Aggregation (TCA) module to efficiently capture local–global temporal dependencies and suppress temporal noise, and further enhances the representation of temporal features in dog behaviors. Meanwhile, a Pseudo-Instance Discriminative Enhancement (PIDE) module is adopted to strengthen the feature distinction between abnormal and normal behaviors. We constructed an Alone-Dog dataset comprising 430 video samples and 60 ground-truth labeled samples to validate the model’s effectiveness. Experimental results showed that the proposed model achieved a frame-level AUC of 85.19% and an AP of 72.55%, representing improvements of 2.20% and 8.33%, respectively, over the baseline model. The method can provide intelligent detection of domestic dog behaviors when left alone at home. Full article

This study validated immunoassays for measuring circulating DHEA and DHEA-S in broiler plasma and compared the two biomarkers. A commercially available RIA kit for DHEA and a species-independent ELISA kit for DHEA-S were tested against each other and available literature data. Blood samples were collected from 68 female broilers at slaughter. Most sample concentrations were close to the lower calibration range. DHEA concentrations ranged from 52 to 354 pg/mL, whereas DHEA-S values ranged from 76 to 7320 pg/mL. Both assays showed satisfactory validation results, including good precision (intra- and inter-assay CV ≤ 15%), accuracy (recovery ≥ 99%), linearity (R² > 0.9; run test p > 0.1), and parallelism between calibrator curves and sample dilutions (ANCOVA p > 0.1). However, the DHEA-S assay showed high cross-reactivity with DHEA (160%), making quantitative DHEA-S determination unreliable; therefore, values should be interpreted as an estimate of combined DHEA/DHEA-S concentrations. Consequently, the higher concentrations measured with the DHEA-S ELISA compared with the DHEA RIA (Bland–Altman bias: −525.8 pg/mL) do not indicate a true predominance of DHEA-S. Nevertheless, both assays may represent useful tools for comparative evaluations among samples, although they do not provide reliable information on the physiological interconversion between the two steroids. Full article

Preparing horses for hippotherapy programs requires management approaches that prioritize animal welfare and facilitate adaptation to novel stimuli. This study monitored physiological responses during the implementation of a progressive taming protocol for Quarter Horses intended for hippotherapy. Seven animals were monitored over a five-month period, including an acclimation phase and three taming stages. Continuous heart rate, plasma cortisol concentration, and ocular infrared thermography were assessed before and after exercise. Baseline (p = 0.0466) and minimum (p = 0.0095) heart rate values decreased over time, suggesting progressive physiological adaptation. Maximum heart rate (HR_Max) was higher during the initial phases, coinciding with the introduction of novel stimuli, and decreased in subsequent months (p = 0.0272). Lacrimal caruncle temperature increased at the beginning of taming (p = 0.002), followed by stabilization throughout the experimental period. Plasma cortisol concentrations did not differ between sampling times or among months (p ≥ 0.05). Taken together, the physiological indicators evaluated suggest that the progressive taming protocol supported gradual physiological adaptation throughout the taming period. These findings indicate that a progressive approach may be useful for preparing horses intended for hippotherapy, although additional studies incorporating behavioral and welfare assessments are warranted. Full article

This review examines the relationship between climate-driven heat stress (HS) and bovine mastitis in the Po Valley, a key European dairy region characterized by intensive production systems and increasing climatic vulnerability. It aims to contextualize how rising temperature–humidity index (THI) levels influence animal health and productivity. This study synthesizes the current literature on biometeorological conditions, epidemiological trends, and physiological mechanisms linking HS to mastitis. Evidence indicates that prolonged exposure to elevated THI impairs thermoregulation, disrupts endocrine and metabolic balance, and weakens immune function, thereby increasing susceptibility to intramammary infections. Epidemiological data reveal a clear seasonal pattern, with mastitis incidence peaking during summer months and a growing predominance of environmental pathogens. Additionally, HS negatively affects milk yield and quality, amplifying economic losses in dairy systems. The findings highlight that mastitis in this context is not merely an infectious disease but a multifactorial condition shaped by environmental, physiological, and management factors. Overall, this review underscores the need for integrated mitigation strategies, including improved housing, nutrition, genetic selection, and precision monitoring, to enhance resilience. In the face of ongoing climate change, adapting dairy production systems will be essential to safeguard animal welfare, maintain productivity, and ensure the long-term sustainability of the Po Valley dairy sector. Full article

Veterinary medicine fundamentally revolves around working with people to positively influence how they care for their animals. Veterinarians have traditionally used directive advice-giving when providing clients with recommendations, which can inadvertently push clients further away from change despite good intentions by evoking resistance and leaving the underlying motivational and contextual barriers to change unaddressed. Motivational interviewing (MI), a collaborative communication approach originally developed for addiction counselling, has been widely adapted across many fields because of its proven effectiveness in strengthening intrinsic motivation to change. MI was first applied in veterinary medicine approximately a decade ago with a small but growing evidence base. This review introduces the theoretical foundations of MI, how it can be applied within different types of clinical consultations, as well as the challenges of developing and sustaining competency in practice and ethical implications specific to the veterinarian–client–animal relationship, including the proxy motivation problem where clients bear the costs of behaviour change for benefits experienced primarily by their animal. This review then critically appraises the veterinary MI literature, which has largely focused on communication training outcomes with limited research on the downstream effects on client behaviour or animal welfare, highlighting important research gaps to promote an increased uptake of MI in clinical practice. Full article

Swine Inflammation and Necrosis Syndrome (SINS) is a widespread condition in pigs and has been proposed as an early-life animal-based measure (ABM) for assessing health and welfare. However, its prognostic value for later-life outcomes under commercial conditions remains poorly understood. This study investigated the prevalence, progression, and predictive relevance of SINS in two organic pig farms in the Netherlands. Clinical SINS signs were assessed in suckling and weaned piglets and related to hematological parameters at weaning (35 weaned piglets) as well as tail integrity at slaughter. SINS lesions were highly prevalent in suckling piglets (approximately 80%) but markedly decreased after weaning. Lesion prevalence and severity differed substantially between farms and showed clear age-dependent patterns, peaking between days 3 and 5 of life. Higher SINS scores in suckling piglets were associated with systemic hematological alterations at weaning, including increased monocyte proportions, reduced platelet counts, and altered red blood cell indices. Importantly, early-life SINS was significantly associated with later tail integrity. Pigs with higher SINS scores showed a lower probability of intact tails at slaughter and subsequently a higher prevalence of tail lesions. These findings suggest that SINS may have potential as an early-life indicator of later tail outcomes; however, this hypothesis requires validation in larger studies involving a greater number of farms and production systems. Full article

This review analyses and logically structures modern intelligent sensor technologies in the context of animal husbandry, feed production, and veterinary medicine. The main research discussed in the article focuses on machine learning based on modern neural network models, computer vision, and sensor systems that are transforming the methods for assessing the health, behavior, and nutrition of farm animals. The first part examines modern approaches to quality control and optimization of mineral and vitamin premixes, including visual inspection using visual sensors and neural networks. Key roles are played by precise dosing, component stability (minerals, vitamins), and the transition to more bioefficient organic forms of micronutrients to reduce environmental impact. Improvements in feed and premix production are analyzed, including automation, energy management, and the use of machine learning for non-destructive quality control, defect detection, mixing homogeneity assessment, and vitamin stability prediction. The second part analyzes methods for animal location and behavior detection. This article presents computer vision-based systems, including modifications of YOLO, for automatically tracking and classifying key behavioral patterns (lying down, standing, feeding, and aggression) in cattle and pigs, even in crowded conditions. It also discusses the use of ultra-wideband (UWB) systems and accelerometers combined with machine learning for high-precision positioning and detection of specific behavioral anomalies, such as lameness and playfulness. The third section focuses on the application of machine learning in veterinary diagnostics, including the automated interpretation of medical images (X-ray, ultrasound, and MRI) as sensor data streams for the diagnosis of cardiovascular, oncological, and orthopedic diseases in farm and small animals. Furthermore, the article examines the use of machine learning models for proactive disease diagnosis in farm animals and poultry based on multimodal data and image analysis. Considerable attention is given to methods and tools for radiometric diagnosis of animal diseases at an early stage using microwave sensors, as well as laser therapy and surgery in veterinary medicine. The review concludes that the integration of intelligent systems enables a transition to data-driven livestock management, significantly improving animal welfare and, consequently, the efficiency and sustainability of agricultural production. Full article

Background and Objectives: Seroma formation is the most common postoperative complication following mastectomy and axillary dissection, negatively affecting wound healing and delaying adjuvant therapy. Despite numerous surgical and pharmacological approaches, no universally effective strategies have been established. This study aimed to comparatively evaluate the effects of porcine dermal collagen (PDC), tranexamic acid (TXA), and thymoquinone (TQ) on seroma formation and tissue repair. Materials and Methods: A randomized controlled experimental study was conducted using 40 female Wistar albino rats that underwent modified radical mastectomy and axillary dissection. All surgical and postoperative procedures were performed in accordance with the institutional animal welfare and ethical guidelines, including postoperative analgesic administration. The animals were divided into four groups: control, PDC, TXA, and TQ (n = 10 each). Seroma volume was measured on postoperative day 14. Histopathological evaluation, immunohistochemical analysis (FGF2, VEGF, TGF-β1, p53), and quantitative real-time PCR were performed to assess tissue remodeling and molecular responses. Results: All treatment groups demonstrated a significant reduction in seroma volume compared to the control group, with the most pronounced decrease observed in the TQ and TXA groups (p < 0.0001), while PDC showed a moderate effect (p < 0.01). Histopathological analysis revealed increased collagen deposition and fibrin formation in the PDC and TQ groups, whereas TXA exhibited a more limited remodeling profile than the others. Immunohistochemical and molecular analyses showed significant upregulation of VEGF across all groups, with broader and more consistent increases in the PDC and TQ groups. TGF-β1 and FGF2 expression demonstrated region-specific increases, particularly in the thoracic tissue. p53 expression remained relatively stable in the TXA group but was elevated in specific regions in the PDC and TQ groups. Importantly, the increased inflammatory infiltration, edema, vascular proliferation, and fibrin deposition observed in the TQ group may reflect not only active tissue remodeling processes but also prolonged inflammatory activation and enhanced fibrotic responses and should therefore be interpreted cautiously. Conclusions: PDC, TXA, and TQ differentially modulate postoperative seroma formation via distinct biological mechanisms. While TXA primarily exerts a targeted anti-seroma effect and PDC enhances extracellular matrix stabilization, TQ is associated with broader angiogenic, inflammatory, and tissue remodeling responses within this preclinical rat model. These findings should be considered exploratory and hypothesis-generating, and additional mechanistic studies and clinical investigations are necessary before definitive therapeutic conclusions can be established regarding the use of TQ in human breast surgery settings. Full article

Whale watching is frequently presented as a benign form of wildlife interaction, yet its ethical and ecological acceptability depends on two conditions: vessel practices must minimize disturbance to free-ranging cetaceans, and tours must provide meaningful conservation-oriented education. This study assessed whale-watching operations in the New York City Metropolitan Area using three complementary frameworks: the Whale SENSE “On the Water” evaluation, the World Cetacean Alliance (WCA) Best Practice Guidance, and a Higher-Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) framework for interpretation. Eight trips representing the active full-time commercial sector in the study area were observed between May and November 2022. The results have revealed that certified operators generally performed better than uncertified operators, but the difference was not large enough to demonstrate that certification alone ensured welfare-protective practice. Educational content was often present but shallow, with limited discussion of cetacean threats, conservation measures, and legal protections, while higher-order engagement and multilingual accessibility were notably weak. Vessel behavior showed a similar pattern: certified operators achieved higher average scores, yet close approaches, inconsistent adherence to conservative speed and maneuvering guidance, and occasional unacceptable practices were still recorded. Overall, some operations still expose whales to avoidable disturbance and fail to meet the educational standards that give ecotourism its conservation value. Responsible whale watching should therefore be evaluated not only by whether vessels find whales and satisfy tourists, but also by whether operators demonstrably protect animal welfare and cultivate informed conservation attitudes. As such, this study offers a regionally novel benchmark for future comparative research, management evaluation, and the development of more responsible cetacean ecotourism. Full article