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3,789 Results Found

  • Commentary
  • Open Access
7 Citations
7,377 Views
13 Pages

The Welfare of Animals in Australian Filmed Media

  • Peta L. Hitchens,
  • Rachael H. Booth,
  • Kirsten Stevens,
  • Annabelle Murphy,
  • Bidda Jones and
  • Lauren M. Hemsworth

2 July 2021

Animals play a significant role in the production of film and television in Australia and globally. Given this, regulating and monitoring their welfare on- and off-set is imperative. We therefore aim to compare Australia’s state and territory-based l...

  • Commentary
  • Open Access
2 Citations
4,714 Views
18 Pages

24 October 2023

Animal hoarding is a complex issue that, when discovered, frequently necessitates opening shelter doors to many animals. This is due to hoarders’ inability to provide even the most basic welfare standards for their animals, resulting in poor we...

  • Article
  • Open Access
594 Views
22 Pages

Farm Animal Welfare: Consumers’ Perception Toward Different Breeds of Animals in Italy

  • Mariavittoria Perrone,
  • Chiara Mazzocchi,
  • Nicola Palladini,
  • Luciana Bava and
  • Giordano Ruggeri

25 November 2025

Farm animal welfare has become a key focus in contemporary discussions on ethical food production and sustainable agriculture. Public discourse and evolving consumer attitudes reflect a growing and increasingly sophisticated awareness of animal welfa...

  • Review
  • Open Access
158 Citations
33,028 Views
16 Pages

Assessment of Welfare in Zoo Animals: Towards Optimum Quality of Life

  • Sarah Wolfensohn,
  • Justine Shotton,
  • Hannah Bowley,
  • Siân Davies,
  • Sarah Thompson and
  • William S. M. Justice

4 July 2018

Zoos are required to maintain a high standard of animal welfare, and this can be assessed using a combination of resource-based and animal-based indices usually divided into behavioural indicators, physiological indicators and clinical/pathological s...

  • Feature Paper
  • Review
  • Open Access
214 Citations
75,261 Views
27 Pages

17 June 2019

Achieving and maintaining high standards of animal welfare is critical to the success of a modern zoo. Research has shown that an animal’s welfare is highly dependent on how various individual animal factors (e.g., species traits, genetics, tem...

  • Review
  • Open Access
48 Citations
18,916 Views
25 Pages

27 June 2018

Cognitive bias testing measures how emotional states can affect cognitive processes, often described using the “glass half-full/half-empty” paradigm. Classical or operant conditioning is used to measure responses to ambiguous cues, and it...

  • Article
  • Open Access
21 Citations
5,744 Views
9 Pages

Attitudes toward Animals and Their Welfare among Italian Veterinary Students

  • Federica Pirrone,
  • Chiara Mariti,
  • Angelo Gazzano,
  • Mariangela Albertini,
  • Claudio Sighieri and
  • Silvana Diverio

20 February 2019

As members of the public and the veterinary profession are increasingly concerned about animal welfare, there has been an increased scholarly interest in the attitudes of veterinarians and students toward animals, as these may impact human behavior,...

  • Feature Paper
  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
1,986 Views
14 Pages

How Happy Do These Animals Look? Exploring Factors Influencing Children’s Perceptions of Animal Welfare at the Zoo

  • María Ignacia Vera-Concha,
  • Manuel Rojas,
  • Daniel Cartes,
  • Maria Camila Ceballos,
  • Mari Carmen Villarroel,
  • Martín Pérez,
  • Vladimir Venegas,
  • Cristóbal Briceño,
  • Javiera Calderón-Amor and
  • Daniela Luna

29 May 2025

Understanding how children and adolescents perceive zoo animal welfare provides insights into public views on captive conditions. This study used a mixed-methods approach to investigate these perceptions. A total of 254 participants (aged 7–18)...

  • Article
  • Open Access
11 Citations
5,377 Views
12 Pages

Opinions towards Companion Animals and Their Welfare: A Survey of Croatian Veterinary Students

  • Tomislav Mikuš,
  • Mario Ostović,
  • Ivana Sabolek,
  • Kristina Matković,
  • Željko Pavičić,
  • Ornella Mikuš and
  • Željka Mesić

24 January 2020

This survey was the first one investigating opinions of veterinary students in Croatia towards companion animals and their welfare, with special reference to dogs and cats as the most popular companion animals in the European Union. The study include...

  • Review
  • Open Access
12 Citations
5,550 Views
16 Pages

5 March 2021

In recent years, efforts have been devoted to improving the welfare of laboratory animals. Scientific progress and growing concerns over animal harm have pushed institutions to strengthen their laws to make science more humane and responsible. Europe...

  • Review
  • Open Access
90 Citations
11,445 Views
14 Pages

31 December 2021

In the past few decades, farm animal health and welfare have been paid increasing concern worldwide. Farm animal health and welfare are generally assessed by the measurements of physical health, immune response, behavior, and physiological indicators...

  • Article
  • Open Access
11 Citations
5,752 Views
14 Pages

6 March 2021

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 wel...

  • Opinion
  • Open Access
47 Citations
15,660 Views
22 Pages

Mutilating Procedures, Management Practices, and Housing Conditions That May Affect the Welfare of Farm Animals: Implications for Welfare Research

  • Rebecca E. Nordquist,
  • Franz Josef Van der Staay,
  • Frank J. C. M. Van Eerdenburg,
  • Francisca C. Velkers,
  • Lisa Fijn and
  • Saskia S. Arndt

21 February 2017

A number of mutilating procedures, such as dehorning in cattle and goats and beak trimming in laying hens, are common in farm animal husbandry systems in an attempt to prevent or solve problems, such as injuries from horns or feather pecking. These p...

  • Article
  • Open Access
31 Citations
8,918 Views
15 Pages

Welfare Status of Working Horses and Owners′ Perceptions of Their Animals

  • Daniela Luna,
  • Rodrigo A. Vásquez,
  • Manuel Rojas and
  • Tamara A. Tadich

1 August 2017

Appropriate interventions to improve working equine welfare should be proposed according to scientific evidence that arises from different geo-cultural contexts. This study aims to assess and compare the welfare status of working horses in two admini...

  • Article
  • Open Access
119 Citations
36,746 Views
21 Pages

24 December 2019

Excessive human population growth, uncontrolled use of natural resources, including deforestation, mining, wasteful systems, biodiversity reduction by agriculture, and damaging climate change affect the existence of all animals, including humans. Thi...

  • Article
  • Open Access
3 Citations
5,046 Views
14 Pages

20 October 2020

Animal studies in the Islamic context have greatly increased in number in recent years. These studies mostly examine the subject of animal treatment through the two main sources of Islam, namely, the Qur’an and the traditions of the Prophet Muh...

  • Article
  • Open Access
20 Citations
7,888 Views
10 Pages

4 October 2018

Attitudes to animals are linked to beliefs about their ability to experience pain and suffering, their cognition, and their sentience. Education and awareness-raising play a pivotal role in increasing society’s consideration of non-human animal...

  • Discussion
  • Open Access
55 Citations
13,869 Views
18 Pages

Pain is a sensory and emotional experience that significantly affects animal welfare and has negative impacts on the economics of farming. Pain is often associated with common production diseases such as lameness and mastitis, as well as introduced t...

  • Article
  • Open Access
554 Views
13 Pages

26 September 2025

The aim of this project was to co-create an animal welfare monitoring system that incorporated both positive and negative welfare measures that would contribute to best practice husbandry standards of farm animals in a real animal research setting. R...

  • Review
  • Open Access
70 Citations
14,200 Views
16 Pages

Impact of Estrogens Present in Environment on Health and Welfare of Animals

  • Konrad Wojnarowski,
  • Paweł Podobiński,
  • Paulina Cholewińska,
  • Jakub Smoliński and
  • Karolina Dorobisz

20 July 2021

Nowadays, there is a growing interest in environmental pollution; however, knowledge about this aspect is growing at an insufficient pace. There are many potential sources of environmental contamination, including sex hormones—especially estrogens. T...

  • Communication
  • Open Access
25 Citations
4,282 Views
10 Pages

20 July 2023

The Directive 2010/63/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council has been in force for more than a decade and has brought about significant improvements and novel requirements for the welfare of animals used for scientific purposes, while safeg...

  • Article
  • Open Access
7 Citations
6,354 Views
16 Pages

8 April 2024

Laboratory animal facility managers must ensure that animal experiments can be carried out under optimal scientific conditions, that all legal requirements are met, and that animal welfare is maximized. Animal experimentation is stressful not only fo...

  • Article
  • Open Access
87 Citations
16,222 Views
22 Pages

Towards a ‘Good Life’ for Farm Animals: Development of a Resource Tier Framework to Achieve Positive Welfare for Laying Hens

  • Joanne L. Edgar,
  • Siobhan M. Mullan,
  • Joy C. Pritchard,
  • Una J. C. McFarlane and
  • David C. J. Main

5 July 2013

The concept of a ‘good life’ recognises the distinction that an animal’s quality of life is beyond that of a ‘life worth living’, representing a standard of welfare substantially higher than the legal minimum (FAWC, 2009). We propose that the opportu...

  • Review
  • Open Access
9 Citations
9,853 Views
32 Pages

Controversial Topics in Animal Welfare in Latin America: A Focus on the Legislation Surrounding the Human-Companion Animal Relationship and Animals Used for Recreational Practices

  • Daniel Mota-Rojas,
  • Ana Strappini,
  • Alexandra L. Whittaker,
  • Marcelo Ghezzi,
  • Cristiane Gonçalves Titto,
  • Néstor Calderón-Maldonado,
  • Patricia Mora-Medina,
  • Adriana Domínguez-Oliva,
  • Jocelyn Gómez-Prado and
  • Agustín Orihuela
  • + 3 authors

25 April 2023

Animal welfare is a societally relevant issue that is globally attracting increased attention. This is in addition to the importance placed on welfare for the animals themselves. However, the content and application of laws protecting animals’...

  • Article
  • Open Access
3 Citations
5,156 Views
16 Pages

17 March 2024

Zoos strive to provide excellent welfare for resident animals, including those belonging to endangered species involved in captive breeding programs while addressing visitors’ concerns regarding the ethics of captivity. Zoos also rely on income...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
3,094 Views
20 Pages

23 July 2024

This study introduces a co-design benchmarking framework to understand tourists’ perceptions of animal welfare, integrating diverse perspectives from tourists, researchers, and animals. By leveraging scientific theories to establish benchmark d...

  • Feature Paper
  • Article
  • Open Access
7 Citations
6,529 Views
14 Pages

Importance of Welfare and Ethics Competence Regarding Animals Kept for Scientific Purposes to Veterinary Students in Australia and New Zealand

  • Teresa Collins,
  • Amelia Cornish,
  • Jennifer Hood,
  • Chris Degeling,
  • Andrew D. Fisher,
  • Rafael Freire,
  • Susan J. Hazel,
  • Jane Johnson,
  • Janice K. F. Lloyd and
  • Paul D. McGreevy
  • + 2 authors

Veterinarians are in a strong position of social influence on animal-related issues. Hence, veterinary schools have an opportunity to raise animal health and welfare standards by improving veterinary students’ animal welfare and ethics (AWE) educatio...

  • Comment
  • Open Access
14 Citations
4,991 Views
5 Pages

19 August 2019

Lameness is the clinical manifestation of a range of painful locomotory conditions affecting many species of farmed animals. Although these conditions have serious consequences for animal welfare, productivity, and longevity, the prevention and treat...

  • Feature Paper
  • Article
  • Open Access
11 Citations
5,674 Views
14 Pages

18 May 2020

Animal welfare has emerged as a scientific discipline only in the past 30 years, but a significant body of scientists has developed worldwide in this time. Over the past quarter century, several aggregations of scientists, centres of animal welfare,...

  • Review
  • Open Access
16 Citations
8,196 Views
28 Pages

28 April 2023

The mental experiences of animals are what characterises their welfare status. The Five Domains Model for assessing welfare aligns with the understanding that physical and mental states are linked. Following measurement of indicators within each of t...

  • Article
  • Open Access
23 Citations
7,357 Views
11 Pages

22 August 2018

We investigated the attitudes of veterinary students towards animals and their welfare in Italy. Regression analyses revealed predictors that are significant in differentiating students’ scoring tendency based on their gender, familiarity, and...

  • Article
  • Open Access
4 Citations
3,990 Views
26 Pages

Husbandry Conditions and Welfare State of Pet Chinchillas (Chinchilla lanigera) and Caretakers’ Perceptions of Stress and Emotional Closeness to Their Animals

  • Elisabeth M. Gilhofer,
  • Denise V. Hebesberger,
  • Susanne Waiblinger,
  • Frank Künzel,
  • Cornelia Rouha-Mülleder,
  • Chiara Mariti and
  • Ines Windschnurer

3 November 2024

For pet chinchillas, limited data are available on husbandry and the human–animal relationship despite their impact on health, behavior, and welfare. We conducted an online survey with pet chinchilla caretakers (n = 336), targeting husbandry pr...

  • Review
  • Open Access
35 Citations
7,515 Views
17 Pages

Contribution of Precision Livestock Farming Systems to the Improvement of Welfare Status and Productivity of Dairy Animals

  • Panagiotis Simitzis,
  • Christos Tzanidakis,
  • Ouranios Tzamaloukas and
  • Evangelia Sossidou

29 December 2021

Although the effects of human–dairy cattle interaction have been extensively examined, data concerning small ruminants are scarce. The present review article aims at highlighting the effects of management practices on the productivity, physiolo...

  • Article
  • Open Access
19 Citations
5,273 Views
14 Pages

23 February 2022

There is increasing recognition that farm animal welfare standards should ensure positive welfare, as well as prevent negative welfare. Resources that are valued by an animal and that provide opportunities to engage in motivated behaviours can elicit...

  • Article
  • Open Access
15 Citations
6,451 Views
15 Pages

Physical and Physiological Indicators of Welfare in Guinea Pigs (Cavia porcellus) Serving as Ambassador Animals

  • David M. Powell,
  • Corinne P. Kozlowski,
  • John Clark,
  • Alice Seyfried,
  • Eli Baskir and
  • Ashley D. Franklin

8 May 2020

Special encounters that allow contact between animals and guests are common in zoos and aquariums. Visitors to the Saint Louis Zoo may touch guinea pigs serving as ambassador animals. We evaluated two welfare indicators in ambassador guinea pigs by c...

  • Concept Paper
  • Open Access
5 Citations
3,313 Views
15 Pages

15 May 2020

The use of animals in research requires careful ethical consideration of whether the burden on the animals is justified. As one important part of the project evaluation, a harm–benefit analysis (HBA) must be carried out in order to approve proj...

  • Review
  • Open Access
28 Citations
15,437 Views
20 Pages

Zoo Animal Welfare Assessment: Where Do We Stand?

  • Oriol Tallo-Parra,
  • Marina Salas and
  • Xavier Manteca

12 June 2023

Zoological institutions, such as zoos and aquariums, have made animal welfare a top priority, as it is not only a moral obligation but also crucial for fulfilling their roles in education and conservation. There is a need for science-based tools to a...

  • Article
  • Open Access
6 Citations
5,549 Views
13 Pages

Animal Welfare Science: Why and for Whom?

  • Alessandra Akemi Hashimoto Fragoso,
  • Karynn Capilé,
  • Cesar Augusto Taconeli,
  • Gabrielle Cristine de Almeida,
  • Paula Pimpão de Freitas and
  • Carla Forte Maiolino Molento

1 June 2023

There are, in the literature, distinct ways to approach animal welfare. The objective of this work was to study the value attributed to farm animals in the scientific papers published in animal welfare and animal production journals at three differen...

  • Article
  • Open Access
31 Citations
9,363 Views
22 Pages

The Effect of Steps to Promote Higher Levels of Farm Animal Welfare across the EU. Societal versus Animal Scientists’ Perceptions of Animal Welfare

  • Xavier Averós,
  • Miguel A. Aparicio,
  • Paolo Ferrari,
  • Jonathan H. Guy,
  • Carmen Hubbard,
  • Otto Schmid,
  • Vlatko Ilieski and
  • Hans A. M. Spoolder

14 August 2013

Information about animal welfare standards and initiatives from eight European countries was collected, grouped, and compared to EU welfare standards to detect those aspects beyond minimum welfare levels demanded by EU welfare legislation. Literature...

  • Article
  • Open Access
49 Citations
24,967 Views
20 Pages

Freedom and Animal Welfare

  • Heather Browning and
  • Walter Veit

17 April 2021

The keeping of captive animals in zoos and aquariums has long been controversial. Many take freedom to be a crucial part of animal welfare and, on these grounds, criticise all forms of animal captivity as harmful to animal welfare, regardless of thei...

  • Review
  • Open Access
116 Citations
14,686 Views
12 Pages

Animal Welfare Management in a Digital World

  • Henry Buller,
  • Harry Blokhuis,
  • Kees Lokhorst,
  • Mathieu Silberberg and
  • Isabelle Veissier

1 October 2020

Although there now exists a wide range of policies, instruments and regulations, in Europe and increasingly beyond, to improve and safeguard the welfare of farmed animals, there remain persistent and significant welfare issues in virtually all types...

  • Review
  • Open Access
3,430 Views
26 Pages

Enhanced Animal Welfare and Labeling in Cattle, Sheep, and Goats

  • Maria Papageorgiou,
  • Agori Karageorgou,
  • Ouranios Tzamaloukas and
  • Panagiotis Simitzis

In 2020, the European Union endorsed its “Farm-to-Fork” strategy, emphasizing the need for transparency in the food production chain and communication of the sustainability level and nutritional value of food products to the consumer thro...

  • Commentary
  • Open Access
13 Citations
6,457 Views
8 Pages

31 May 2023

The current manuscript highlights the aspects of an animal welfare program for a modern zoological facility. The program should be proactive to identify areas for continuous improvement as well as reactive to address any identified animal welfare con...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2 Citations
2,239 Views
17 Pages

Does the Implementation of an Animal Welfare Programme on a Farm Yield a Demonstrable Improvement in Fattening Pig Welfare?

  • Patrick Schale,
  • Armin O. Schmitt,
  • Sven Dänicke,
  • Jeannette Kluess,
  • Angelika Grümpel-Schlüter and
  • Engel F. Arkenau

29 November 2022

In the course of social criticism of fattening pig farming, an animal welfare programme called “Initiative Animal Welfare” (ITW) was founded to increase animal welfare in pig farming in Germany. Furthermore, there is a legal obligation to...

  • Systematic Review
  • Open Access
3,465 Views
23 Pages

Animal Welfare Protocols and Labelling Schemes for Broilers in Europe

  • Maria Papageorgiou,
  • Ouranios Tzamaloukas and
  • Panagiotis Simitzis

30 June 2025

Nowadays, consumers are becoming increasingly concerned about the husbandry conditions under which animals are raised, particularly broilers, since broilers are one of the species whose welfare is most impaired in intensive farming systems. One of th...

  • Article
  • Open Access
15 Citations
9,205 Views
21 Pages

6 March 2017

The views that food companies hold about their responsibilities for animal welfare can strongly influence the lives and welfare of farm animals. If a company’s commitment is translated into action, it can be a major driver of animal welfare. The Busi...

  • Article
  • Open Access
3 Citations
3,950 Views
15 Pages

15 January 2025

Recent discussions in animal welfare have emphasised the importance of animal agency—the ability of animals to make choices and exert control over their environment in a way that aligns with their needs and preferences. In this paper, we discus...

  • Article
  • Open Access
19 Citations
9,577 Views
19 Pages

14 August 2013

Supply chains are already incorporating citizen/consumer demands for improved animal welfare, especially through product differentiation and the associated segmentation of markets. Nonetheless, the ability of the chain to deliver high(er) levels and...

  • Article
  • Open Access
26 Citations
9,110 Views
24 Pages

9 April 2020

What should leading discourses and innovation regarding animal welfare look like for the veterinary profession in the 2020s? This essay considers four main challenges into which veterinarians are increasingly being drawn, as they respond to increasin...

  • Feature Paper
  • Review
  • Open Access
2 Citations
5,635 Views
39 Pages

A Review of Animal-Based Welfare Indicators for Calves and Cattle

  • Sierra Harris,
  • Michael Shallcrass and
  • Shari Cohen

6 December 2024

As the human population continues to rise, so does the consumption of animal proteins and products. To meet this demand, animal agriculture has intensified. Simultaneously, there are increased public concerns related to improving calf and cattle welf...

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