Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: 1. The purpose of the first chapter was to give a short introduction to the study. Philosophy is the search for wisdom; to know what a virtuous life is and to know what the morally correct thing to do is. Our lifelong relationship with animals, our attitudes towards them and the ways we treat them are some of the issues that beg philosophers to think. An important question in this regard is if it is morally correct to eat meat or should humans become vegetarian. To answer this question the „Animal Liberation‟ argument, as presented by Peter Singer, was critically analyzed. Does this argument balance our concern for animals with human interests? 2. To understand our attitude towards animals, reviews of the Judeo-Christian and philosophical traditions were done in Chapter 2. The different views related to these traditions were also discussed. The Judeo-Christian view is based on the interpretation of Genesis and the idea of human dominion. Philosophical views on the moral status of animals and moral consideration of animals can be classified in three categories namely indirect theories, direct-but-unequal theories and equal moral status theories. 3. The nature and extent of the current beef production debate was discussed in Chapter 3. The most important issues were the environmental impact of beef production, socio-economic and human health concerns as well as ethical issues related to the inhumane treatment of animals. It was then concluded that most attacks on beef production were biased and did not take context into account. 4. The „Animal Liberation‟ argument was critically analyzed from a logical perspective in Chapter 4, 5 and 6 by using the so called FRISCO approach – with emphasis on the Focus of the argument, Reasons given for the conclusion, the quality of Inferences, the Situation or context of the argument as well as the Clarity of the argument. This argument lacks objectivity and rationality. It includes a number of fallacies, false statements and emotional language. Ideas, concepts and principles were not applied consistently. The argument was therefore found to be unsound. 5. In Chapter 7 the conclusion was stated namely that the “animal liberation” approach could not formulate a sound argument for a vegetarian diet. The „Animal Liberation‟ argument was also unable to balance our concern for animals with human interests, in the process compromising human dignity and freedom. However, human attitudes towards animals and the treatment of animals need to be improved. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: 1. Die doel van die eerste hoofstuk was om ʼn kort inleiding tot die studie te gee. Filosofie is die strewe en soeke na wysheid; om te weet wat ʼn deugsame lewe is, en om te weet wat moreel korrek en aanvaarbaar is. Ons verhouding met diere, ons ingesteldheid teenoor diere, asook die manier hoe ons diere behandel, is slegs enkele van die kwessies wat filosowe dwing om daaroor na te dink. ʼn Belangrike vraag in die verband is die volgende: Is dit moreel aanvaarbaar om vleis te eet, of moet die mens ʼn vegetariese dieet volg? Om hierdie vraag te beantwoord word die “Animal Liberation”-argument, soos aangebied deur Peter Singer, krities ontleed. Is hierdie argument in staat om ons kommer oor die behandeling van diere met menslike belange te balanseer? 2. Om die mens se houding en ingesteldheid teenoor diere beter te verstaan, word ʼn oorsig van die Joods-Christelike en filosofiese tradisies in Hoofstuk 2 gedoen. Die verskillende sienings, wat verband hou met hierdie tradisies, word ook kortliks bespreek. Die Joods-Christelike siening is gebaseer op ʼn spesifieke vertolking van Genesis en die idee van menslike heerskappy. Die filosofiese sienings van die morele status, en gevolglik ook die morele inagneming van diere, kan in drie kategorieë, naamlik indirekte teorieë, direk-maar-ongelyke teorieë en die gelyke-morele-status teorieë, opgedeel word. 3. Die aard en omvang van die beesvleisproduksie-debat word in Hoofstuk 3 bespreek. Die belangrikste kwessies, onderliggend aan hierdie debat, het betrekking op die omgewingsimpak van vleisproduksie, sosio-ekonomiese en menslike gesondheidskwessies, asook etiese kwessies wat verband hou met die onaanvaarbare behandeling van diere. Die gevolgtrekking is dat die meeste aanvalle op vleisproduksie eensydig is en ook nie konteks in ag neem nie. 4. Die “Animal Liberation”-argument word in Hoofstuk 4, 5 en 6 krities ontleed vanuit „n logiese perspektief met behulp van die sogenaamde FRISCO-metode – waarin die klem val op die Fokus van die argument, Redes wat aangevoer word vir die konklusie, die gehalte van die afleidings, die Situasie of konteks van die argument, en die helderheid van die argument. Die gevolgtrekking is dat die argument nie objektief en rasioneel is nie, en gebuk gaan onder denkfoute, vals stellings en emosionele taal. Idees, konsepte en beginsel word ook nie konsekwent toegepas nie. Die argument is dus nie betroubaar nie. 5. In Hoofstuk 7 word die bevinding van die tesis gestel, naamlik dat die “animal liberation” benadering nie „n betroubare argument vir ʼn vegetariese dieet kon formuleer nie. Die argument was ook nie in staat om ons kommer oor diere met menslike belange te balanseer nie, en het in die proses menslike waardigheid en vryheid gekompromitteer. Die mens se houding en behandeling van diere, moet egter verander.

Uppsatsens syfte är att undersöka aktuella mediedebatter om köttkonsumtion ur ett djuretiskt perspektiv. Studien bygger på teorin om karnism och kritisk diskursanalys. Artikelsökningen gjordes genom Mediearkivet Retriever och avgränsades till de fyra största tidningarna i Sverige, Aftonbladet, Dagens Nyheter, Expressen och Svenska Dagbladet, från 2014 fram till idag. Det empiriska materialet bestod av 25 artiklar och ur dessa framkom fem diskurser: köttnormsdiskursen, djurrättsdiskursen, hälsodiskursen, marknadsdiskursen och miljödiskursen. Diskurserna gick ofta in i varandra och hade ofta fler än ett perspektiv. Studiens resultat visade att köttnormsdiskursen är den hegemoniska diskursen. Även om flera av artiklarna förespråkade konsumtion av enbart svenskt och ekologiskt kött, var köttkonsumtion ändå normen. Trots att köttkonsumtionen idag är rekordhög, var de flesta artiklarna oväntat eniga om att köttkonsumtionen måste minska drastiskt för hälsan, miljön och djurens skull. / The essay examines the recent media coverage of meat consumption from an animal ethical perspective. The study is based on the theory of carnism and critical discourse analysis. For the article search Mediearkivet Retriever was used and the search was limited to four main newspapers in Sweden, Aftonbladet, Dagens Nyheter, Expressen and Svenska Dagbladet. The time span was from the beginning of 2014 until today. The essays material consisted of 25 articles and from them five discourses were identified: The meat norm discourse, the animal rights discourse, the health discourse, the market economy discourse and the environmental discourse. The discourses often related to one another and often included more than one perspective. The study showed that the hegemonic discourse is the meat norm discourse. Although many of the articles were in favor of a drastic cut down of meat consumption, and suggested consumption of only Swedish and organic meat, the norm was still to consume meat. Although statistics show very high meat consumption, there seem to be a surprising consensus in the articles that meat consumption must decrease drastically, for health reasons, the environment and for the wellbeing of animals.

Nikola Šubrtová - Legal regulation of veterinary care Abstract My thesis is meant to be a humble attempt to describe rules or law governing animal care and animal protection in Czech Republic and in European Union as well. I tried to look closer at the concept on animal welfare as it reflects in czech legal order. This paper consists of nine chapters and the main laws analyzed in it are Act No. 166/1999 Coll., on veterinary care and Act No 246/1992 Coll., on the protection of animals against cruelty. My special focus was on animal protection during scientific procedures on animals and related regulations.

Resumé v anglickém jazyce The aim of this thesis is to describe and analyze veterinary care legislation in the Czech Republic, in the European Union and international law. The content of the thesis consists of five chapters. The first chapter is brief and describes the historical development of veterinary care. The second chapter covers animal welfare. The third chapter deals with international law and veterinary care, which is dominated by agreements concluded by the Council of Europe, the intergovernmental organization. One of the parts of the third chapter focuses on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The fourth chapter tries to map the sources of law and the institutions of veterinary care in the European Union. One of the parts of this chapter deals with bird flu. The fifth chapter is comprehensive and provides veterinary care description in the Czech Republic. This chapter tries to approach a more detailed explanation of the Veterinary Act, the implementing rules and regulations related to veterinary care. Another section of the thesis consist of an introduction, conclusion, abstract and key words, list of abbreviations, list of sources and supplements.

Legal protection of farm animals against cruelty The thesis deals with the protection of farm animals against cruelty and its main goal is to evaluate the current state of legislation in this field, with respect to both theory and praxis. The thesis comprises of five chapters excluding introduction and summary. The summary sums ups all the findings introduced in the thesis and presents de lege ferenda ideas. The first two chapters define basic terms crucial for the topic and also introduce the historical basis of farm animal legal protection. The current legislation is dealt with at first at the international and European level in chapter three. More attention is naturally given to legal protection of farm animals in the Czech Republic, especially to enforcement of the farm animal protection laws. This enables the thesis to eventually evaluate how effectively farm animals are protected by law in our country. Chapter number five tries to answer the fundamental question behind this thesis; is the current legislation at such a level that would ensure that farm animals are indeed protected against cruelty and that would ensure their good welfare? The thesis uses knowledge from scientific fields such as ethology to be able to answer this question and evaluate the practical impact of the legislation on animal...

Research report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Commerce in Development Theory and Policy at The University of the Witwatersrand 2016 / This study investigates the nature of labelling and regulation in South African free-range dairy production. It aims to reveal the complexities of designing and implementing regulation on process characteristics and policy’s failure to address the heterogeneous needs of consumers and producers. In parallel, the tensions that arise in the policy-production interaction are considered. This research addresses a gap in the theoretical and industry literature regarding understanding and explaining labelling, certification and regulation of credence attributes, such as animal welfare, within food systems. It provides interesting and important insight into regulation’s role in developing alternative production structures and niche markets as a response to variety in consumers’ needs and tastes. It is therefore relevant more broadly for understanding drivers for and governance of other niche production structures such as organic, fair-trade and religious or cultural influences. / MT2017

The history of the human-canine relationship and the human-canine bond is longstanding and has grown and developed throughout the years. Today, dogs are considered part of the family and are beneficial in impacting people across the United States. Introducing the community to dog safety education may strengthen the awareness and confidence of dog lovers across the state of Florida and hopefully reduce the number of preventable dog emergencies. This research suggested the reasons for dog ownership and the importance of protecting our beloved canines by presenting a literature review covering the evolution of the human-canine relationship, human-canine bond, positive effects of canines on humans, history of humane education to demonstrate the importance of dogs in the lives of American citizens and an overview of community education and the importance dog safety community education. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to understand the current state of dog safety community education in Florida and to introduce the need for policies and procedures for dog safety training for adults, if needed based on the research. This topic was analyzed through a needs assessment administered through a Parks & Recreation department in south Florida and online through social media. Ten key informants were selected to interview for an in-depth understanding of their perspective on this topic. Document analysis was conducted to see if results of the needs assessment were addressed in brochures and other media locally. The participants were community members of Florida who were also dog owners. Participants were adults over the age of 18. The participants’ anonymity was protected, as no names were collected from the survey. After carefully examining data collected from 10 interviews, document analysis, and surveys of 150 participants who are dog owners in Florida, the researcher of this study revealed factors that show substantial value that dog owners place on their dogs and interest in educational opportunities to protect their safety. The significance of this study presented additional research dispelling a misconception that dog safety education as easily accessible and available in Florida based communities. This study was also significant because it contributes to the literature by identifying the value dog owners place on their dogs, as demonstrated in both survey and document analysis. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

A manutenção do bem-estar animal no setor da suinocultura é um dos maiores desafios para os modernos sistemas de produção devido principalmente à intensificação, que acarreta aumento do estresse dos animais confinados. O objetivo do presente estudo foi avaliar a preferência de suínos por objetos suspensos como enriquecimento ambiental, desuso, comportamento social e parâmetros fisiológicos, submetidos a diferentes ambientes enriquecidos em Câmara de Preferência Ambiental (CPA). Foram utilizados 60 leitões com idade média de setenta dias (dez semanas), divididos em dois grupos contemporâneos. Na fase 1 foi realizada uma classificação hierárquica de 30 leitões, mantidos na baia da granja, de acordo com os comportamentos de bater, sem o revide da ação inicial, por três dias consecutivos, totalizando dezoito horas de observação, das 07h00 às 10h00 e das 15h00 às 18h00. Em seguida, após determinada a hierarquia, os leitões foram para a CPA, onde foram alojados 2 leitões (subordinados) em cada baia \"companhia\" e nas baias \"teste\" foram alojados 5 leitões (2 dominantes e 3 intermediários), por cinco dias (D-1, D0, D1, D2 e D3), e a cada semana um novo grupo de leitões \"teste\" foi introduzido na CPA. Esta metodologia foi repetida por quatro semanas com o primeiro grupo (fase 1). A fase 2 repetiu as observações de hierarquia e preferência com um novo grupo de 30 leitões. O delineamento experimental foi inteiramente casualizado. Os tratamentos foram os diferentes objetos suspensos para enriquecer o ambiente, inseridos a partir do dia 1 e retirados ao final da tarde: garrafa pet (politereftalado de etila) (objeto 1), corda de sisal (objeto 2), corrente (objeto 3) e ambiente controle (sem enriquecimento), cada qual em um dos compartimentos da CPA aleatoriamente. Durante todo o período experimental foram anotados a cada dez minutos os comportamentos individuais dos leitões, totalizando seis horas de observação comportamental diária, das 08h00 às 11h00 e das 13h00 às 16h00. Para avaliação destes comportamentos foi utilizado um etograma de trabalho com os parâmetros: agonístico, ócio, comendo, bebendo, vocalizando, estereotipia, positivos (lúdico, explorar, brincando com o enriquecimento) e outros. Foi caracterizado o ambiente térmico dentro de cada compartimento da CPA durante todo o período experimental por data logger (modelo U12-012) a cada quinze minutos e realizadas avaliações fisiológicas como: frequência respiratória, temperatura superficial da nuca por meio de câmera termográfica Termovisor (Alemanha) e colheita do fluído oral em dias alternados, no D0 e D2 de apenas um suíno companhia aleatório por compartimento e um suíno teste, duas vezes ao dia, às 07h00 e 13h00. Para a análise estatística dos dados comportamentais foi utilizado o procedimento GLIMMIX do SAS utilizando animal como medida repetida. Os tratamentos foram comparados pelo teste-t a 5%. O objeto que mais foi procurado e interagido pelos suínos foi a corda de sisal, com um total de 70,8 minutos e 36,5 eventos durante os três dias de exposição ao enriquecimento, seguido da garrafa pet e da corrente. Nas categorias dominante e intermediária o comportamento que apresentou maior frequência em relação aos outros comportamentos foi o ócio (P<0,05). Para os suínos subordinados, o comportamento mais frequente foi o ócio, seguido por comer e positivos (P<0,05). A temperatura ambiente dentro da CPA não diferiu (P>0,05) entre os compartimentos. A temperatura superficial da nuca foi maior (P<0,05) no período das 13h00 em relação ao das 7h00, porém, sem diferença para a concentração de cortisol (P>0,05). Com isso, conclui-se a preferência dos suínos foi pela corda de sisal, com desuso gradual de três dias, alterando a frequência comportamental, porém, a mesma não interferiu nos parâmetros fisiológicos estudados, demonstrando que não houve estresse nos animais. / The welfare maintenance in swine production is one of the main challenges in modern systems mainly due to intensification of animal production, which leads to increase in stress of confined animals. The aim of the present trial was to evaluate preference of piglets for suspended objects such as environmental enrichment, disuse, social behavior and physiological parameters, submitted to different environments enriched in Environmental Preference Chamber (EPC). Sixty piglets with 70 days of average age (10 weeks) were used; they were divided into two contemporary groups. On phase 1, a hierarchical classification of 30 piglets was realized, kept at farm\'s barn, according to the agonistic standards of fighting, beating and mounting other piglets in the same pen, when did not have retaliate from the initial action, for three consecutive days, totaling 18 hours of observation, from 7 to 10 am and from 3 to 6 pm. Then, after reaching the hierarchy organization, piglets were placed in the EPC, where two piglets (subordinates) were housed in each \"company\" pen and in the \"test\" pens five piglets (2 dominants and 3 intermediates) were housed for 5 days (D-1, D0, D1, D2 and D3), and each following week a new group of piglets \"test\" was introduced in the EPC. This methodology was repeated for 4 weeks with the first group (phase 1). Phase 2 repeated the hierarchy and preference observations with a new group of 30 piglets. The experimental design was a completely randomized. The treatments were the different objects suspended to enrich the environment, inserted on day 1 and removed in the afternoon: sisal rope; chain; PET bottle (polyethylene terephthalate) and control environment (without enrichment), each one placed at a EPC compartment, randomly. Throughout the experimental period, individual behaviors of the piglets were registered every 10 minutes, totaling 6 hours of daily behavioral observation, from 8 to 11 am and from 1 to 4 pm. In order to evaluate these behaviors, we used a ethogram with the parameters: agonistic, playful, idleness, eating, drinking, exploring, vocalizing, stereotyping, playing with the object and others. The thermal environment was characterized within each EPC compartment throughout the experimental period by HOBO (model U12-012) data logger every 15 minutes and physiological evaluations were performed, such as: respiratory rate, neck surface temperature by thermographic camera Thermovisor Testo® (Germany) and oral fluid harvest on alternate days, at D0 and D2 from only one random company pig per compartment and one swine test, twice daily, at 7 am and 1 pm. For the statistical analysis of the behavioral data GLIMMIX SAS procedure, using animal as a repeated measurement was used. Treatments were compared through PDIFF and t test at 5%. The sisal rope was the most used object, with a total interaction of 70.8 minutes and 36.475 events during the three days of enrichment exposure, followed by the pet bottle and the chain. The behavior that presented the highest frequency was idleness (P<0.05) for dominant and intermediate pigs. For subordinate pigs, the most frequent behavior was idleness, followed by eating, exploring and playing with the object (P<0.05). The ambient temperature within the EPC did not differ (P>0.05) between the compartments. The superficial temperature of the neck differed (P<0.05) in the period of 1 pm compared to 7 am, however, cortisol concentration did not differ (P>0.05). Therefore, we concluded that the most sought and interacted object was the sisal rope, with a gradual disuse of three days, altering the behavioral frequency, however, it did not interfere in the studied physiological parameters, showing no signs of animal stress.

Objetivou-se caracterizar os aspectos gerais de criação e de pré-abate de frangos de corte criados em galpões de pressão negativa; identificar, quantificar e qualificar por meio de escores de severidade lesões decorrentes dessas duas etapas e caracterizar por meio de análises físico-químicas a qualidade da carne de frangos de corte de diferentes linhagens. As variáveis ambientais da criação, transporte e espera, umidade de cama e das análises físicas não apresentaram distribuição normal, sendo assim, as médias foram analisadas estatisticamente pelo teste de Kruskal-Wallis. No caso das variáveis-resposta das análises físico-químicas de qualidade de carne, apresentaram normalidade apenas as variáveis de perda de peso por cocção e alguns parâmetros da análise de cor, onde as médias foram analisadas estatisticamente pelo teste de Tukey, enquanto as demais foram analisadas pelo teste de Kruskal-Wallis. Os resultados evidenciaram que os galpões de pressão negativa foram eficientes em reduzir o calor da instalação, de modo que os animais não sofreram estresse térmico, entretanto, durante o transporte e espera as condições relativas ao microclima das caixas proporcionaram condições de estresse térmico. Foi constatado que, embora nas avaliações de pododermatite e lesão de jarrete a maioria das lesões tenha sido classificada no escore de severidade leve, o que não foi considerado um excelente resultado, pois um grande número de animais apresentou também lesões severas e o ideal seria que a maioria dos animais não apresentasse lesões de nenhum grau. Na avaliação de limpeza de plumagem, por sua vez, a maioria dos frangos avaliados recebeu a pior classificação, apresentando-se com a plumagem muito suja. Foi observado maior incidência de arranhões e fraturas de asa originadas durante a criação do que quando comparados com as mesmas lesões oriundas durante o período pré-abate, sendo que os arranhões da criação receberam a pior classificação, enquanto que a melhor classificação foi observada para os arranhões do pré-abate. Conclui-se para os resultados da caracterização da qualidade da carne que em sistemas de produção com pressão negativa pode haver diferença significativa entre os parâmetros de qualidade de carne para diferentes linhagens. / The objective of this research was to characterize the general aspects of breeding and pre-slaughter of broiler chickens reared in commercial negative pressure aviaries; identify, quantify and qualify injuries resulting from these two stages and characterize by means of physical-chemical analyzes the meat quality of broilers of different strains. The environmental variables of breeding, transport and waiting for slaughter, bedding moisture and physical analyzes were not normally distributed so the mean were analyzed statistically by the Kruskal-Wallis test. Only the variables of cooking loss and some parameters of the color analysis follow a normality (the means were statistically analyzed by the Tukey\'s test), while the others were analyzed by the Kruskal-Wallis test. The results evidenced that in climatic terms the commercial negative pressure aviaries were efficient in reducing the heat of the barns, so that the animals did not suffer thermal stress, however, during the transport and lairage time the conditions related to the microclimate of the boxes provided conditions of thermal stress. It was observed that, although in the evaluations of footpad dermatitis and hock burns most of the lesions were classified in the score of mild severity, which was not considered an excellent result, since a large number of animals also presented severe lesions and what is considered ideal would be that most of the animals did not present lesions of any degree. In the evaluation of plumage cleanliness, in turn, the majority of broilers evaluated received the worst classification, presenting with very dirty plumage.The animals in this study had more scratches and wing fractures originated during the breeding than when compared to the same lesions during the pre-slaughter period. Breeding scratches received the worst classification, while the best classification was observed for the pre-slaughter scratches. It can be concluded that in comercial negative pressure aviaries there may be a significant difference between the meat quality parameters for different strains, and it is up to the producer and the industry to choose the ones that best meet their requirements.

Os conceitos de bem-estar animal são uma realidade dentro da avicultura mundial. Sabe-se que aves estressadas apresentam diminuição no crescimento e na conversão alimentar, desajustes fisiológicos e hormonais, bem como aumento da suscetibilidade a doenças em decorrência de modificações induzidas pelo estresse na resposta imune. Além disso, eventos estressantes vêm sendo relacionados com distúrbios na integridade da microbiota intestinal. Nesse sentido, buscamos neste trabalho estudar os efeitos do estresse térmico por calor nas temperaturas de 26±1ºC, 31±1ºC e 36±1ºC sobre os índices zootécnicos, a integridade intestinal e a imunidade inata de frangos de corte, correlacionado e discutindo os achados experimentais dentro de uma perspectiva neuroimune. Nossos resultados mostraram que o estresse por calor (31±1ºC e 36±1ºC) em frangos de corte: (1) diminuiu o ganho de peso e o consumo de ração, porém só observamos diminuição da conversão alimentar e da mortalidade nas aves submetidas ao estresse de 36±1ºC; (2) diminuiu o peso relativo da bursa de Fabrícius, porém apenas a temperatura de 36±1ºC diminuiu o peso relativo do timo; (3) diminuiu o burst oxidativo basal de macrófagos, porém apenas a temperatura de 31±1ºC foi capaz de diminuir o burst oxidativo dessa célula na presença de S. aureus. (4) aumentou os níveis séricos de corticosterona; e (5) observamos presença de discreta enterite caracterizada por aumento de infiltrado inflamatório linfo-plasmocitario na lamina própria do jejuno. Tomados em seu conjunto, os presentes dados permitem afirmar que o estresse térmico por calor tenha produzido alterações na atividade neuroimune dos frangos de corte modificando, nos mesmos a atividade do eixo HPA; essas alterações teriam influenciado o desempenho produtivo e a imunidade, propiciado do aparecimento de processos inflamatórios intestinais. / The concept of animal welfare is a reality in the world poultry industry. Stressed chickens present a decrease in growth performance and feed conversion, physiological and hormonal changes as well as an increased susceptibility to diseases. Recurrent changes induced by in stress in human and animals immune functions were also reported after stress in poultry. Besides that, stressed events were reported to be related to intestinal microbiota integrity disturbances. In this sense, we evaluated the effects of heat stress (26±1ºC, 31±1ºC and 36±1ºC) on broiler chickens performance parameters, intestinal morphology and innate immunity, correlating and discussing the observed data under a neuroimmune perspective. Ours results showed the heat stress (31±1ºC and 36±1ºC) in broiler chickens (1) decreased body weight gain and feed consumption, however feed conversion and mortality decreased only in chickens submitted to 36±1ºC, (2) decreased the bursa of Fabricius relative weight in 31±1ºC and 36±1ºC, but thymus relative weight decreased only in the 36±1ºC stressed chickens, (3) decreased macrophage basal oxidative burst, however only the 31±1ºC heat stress decreased S. aureus induced oxidative burst, (4) increased corticosterona serum levels, and (5) induced an enteritis characterized by increased presence of lymphocytes and plasmocytes within the lamina propria of jejunum. These obtained results suggested that heat stress-induced changes in broiler chickens were a consequence of a neuroimune activity disturbance, most probably, on animals HPA axis activity. Thus, a possible increase in corticosterona serum levels induced by the heat stress underlay the effects of this stressor on birds\' performance and immune function, leading to the appearance of intestinal histophatological signs of inflammation.