A manheimiose pneumônica bovina (MPB) gera significativa lesividade quando predomina no Complexo Doença Respiratória Bovina. Visto isso, considera-se importante o estudo do diagnóstico precoce para melhor estadiamento e tratamento da doença. As concentrações plasmáticas e séricas das proteínas de fase aguda (PFA) têm sido adotadas na medicina veterinária como marcadores precoces de doenças inflamatórias e algumas vezes, relacionadas ao bem-estar animal. O presente estudo objetivou revisar o painel inflamatório da MPB; investigar a contribuição que o emprego da flunixina meglumina no tratamento de bovinos manifestando MPB; e investigar marcadores inflamatórios para o diagnóstico precoce da doença e evolução do tratamento, empregando referências de bem estar animal. Para isto foram utilizados 12 bezerros da raça holandesa com seis meses de idade, hígidos e divididos em dois grupos experimentais, o primeiro tratado com antimicrobiano e o segundo com antimicrobiano e anti-inflamatório. Os animais foram submetidos à inoculação intratraqueal de M. haemolytica e tiveram suas amostras de lavado broncoalveolar e de sangue colhidas em quatro momentos, onde foram realizados exame clínico, coleta de sangue e lavado broncoalveolar para realização de hemograma, determinação das proteínas de fase aguda, análise de cortisol e cortisona. A análise estatística foi realizada utilizando programa SAS 9.3 para Windows. Os dados foram testados quanto à normalidade pelo teste de Shapiko Wilk, considerando significância de 5%. Foi efetuada a análise de variância simples com comparação entre médias por meio do teste de LSD, sendo considerado significante p<0.05. O resultados mostraram que a MPB é uma doença de grande importância no cenário mundial; não foram encontradas diferenças estatísticas entre os marcadores precoces entre os grupos com ou sem anti-inflamatório, porém o uso concomitante com o antimicrobiano promoveu incremento do bem estar. / The bovine pneumonic mannheimiosis (MPB) generates significant lesivity when it predominates in the Complex Bovine Respiratory Disease. Thus being important the study of the previous diagnosis for better understanding and treatment of the disease. As plasma and serum concentrations of acute phase proteins (PFA) have been adopted in veterinary medicine as early markers of inflammatory diseases and sometimes related to animal welfare. The aim of the study was review the inflammatory panel of MPB; to investigate a contribution that the use of flunixin meglumina without treatment of bovines manifesting MPB; and to investigate inflammatory markers for the previous diagnosis of the disease and treatment evolution, using references of animal welfare. Twelve six-month-old, healthy and divided into two experimental groups, the first treated with antimicrobial and the second with antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory were used in this study. The animals were submitted to intratracheal inoculation of M. haemolytica and had their bronchoalveolar lavage and blood samples collected at four moments, where clinical examination, blood collection and bronchoalveolar lavage were carried out to perform hemogram, determination of the acute phase proteins, analysis of cortisol and cortisone. Statistical analysis was performed using SAS 9.3 software for Windows. The data were tested for normality by the Shapiko Wilk test, considering a significance of 5%. The analysis of simple variance was performed with a comparison of means by means of the LSD test, being considered significant p <0.05. The results showed that MPB is a disease of great importance in the world scenario; no statistical differences were found between the early markers between the groups with or without anti-inflammatory, but the concomitant use with the antimicrobial promoted an increase in animal welfare.

É reconhecido que as técnicas de enriquecimento ambiental são importantes ferramentas para a melhoria do bem-estar de animais cativos. No entanto, questões em torno da efetividade e temporariedade dos efeitos das práticas requerem investigação e aprimoramento. O presente estudo foi realizado com o objetivo de analisar a influência de diferentes tipos de enriquecimentos, assim como o tamanho do recinto no comportamento de felinos em cativeiro. O estudo foi dividido em três partes, na primeira, buscou-se analisar se um enriquecimento classificado como intrínseco (catnip) e outro extrínseco (quebra-cabeça alimentar) apresentaram efeitos na expressão de comportamentos direcionados ao enriquecimento e de pacing em jaguatiricas (Leopardus pardalis) quando aplicados por meio de frequências de exposição consecutiva (sete dias) ou intermitente (a cada dois dias). A segunda parte do estudo concentrou-se em investigar se jaguatiricas alojadas em recintos maiores apresentaram diferenciada expressão de pacing em comparação àquelas residentes em recintos menores, sob duas condições: sem aplicação (linha de base) e com aplicação de enriquecimento (catnip e quebra-cabeça alimentar). Por fim, a terceira parte investigou se três enriquecimentos intrínsecos (bola de feno sem odor, com catnip e canela) influenciaram de forma distinta os comportamentos de guepardos (Acinonyx jubatus) e tigres de Sumatra (Panthera tigris sumatrae) em termos da expressão dos comportamentos de pacing, locomoção, inatividade, exploração e comportamento direcionado ao enriquecimento. Em síntese, os resultados indicaram que as dimensões dos recintos influenciaram no comportamento de pacing em jaguatiricas, apresentando maior ocorrência de pacing nos indivíduos alojados em cativeiros pequenos. O enriquecimento extrínseco utilizado (quebra-cabeça alimentar) demonstrou efeito de longa duração em comparação ao intrínseco (catnip), em termos de tempo de interação, assim como, indicaram maior influência na redução da expressão da estereotipia. Por outro lado, os enriquecimentos intrínsecos aplicados no estudo demonstraram um efeito de curto prazo para os comportamentos direcionados ao enriquecimento, contudo, a essência de canela reduziu significativamente os níveis de pacing em guepardos e tigres de Sumatra. Em termos de frequencia de exposição, os felinos não demonstraram efeitos de habituação aos estímulos apresentados entre sessões (ao longo do período experimental), para ambas as condições de apresentação (consecutiva e intermitente). As descobertas do presente estudo contribuíram com a resolução de questões relacionadas ao aprimoramento da ciência do enriquecimento. Dentre estas destacam-se: 1) tipos diferentes de enriquecimentos demonstraram causar efeitos distintos no comportamento dos animais, sugerindo que as práticas devem ser em aplicadas para atingir objetivos específicos de acordo com os efeitos provocados (longo-prazo, curto-prazo e/ou redução de estereotipias); 2) características ambientais, como o tamanho do recinto, podem influenciar o comportamento de animais que ocupam grandes extensões em relação a comportamentos anormais; e por fim 3) a complexidade proporcionada pelo enriquecimento pode minimizar esses efeitos maleficentes. Os resultados apresentados nesta pesquisa destacam a importância de investigações focadas no impacto das características do recinto, eficácia do enriquecimento nas interferências comportamentais e no design metodológico, a fim de atender às necessidades comportamentais dos animais em cativeiro. / Environmental enrichment techniques have been shown to be a powerful tool to improve the welfare of captive animals. However, many issues regarding effectiveness and temporality of the effects on behavioural interference require investigations and improvement. This study was conducted to analyse how environmental enrichments classified as intrinsic and extrinsic, as well the enclosure sizes influence the behaviour of wild cats kept in captivity. In the first part of this study the effects of an intrinsic (catnip scent) and an extrinsic (puzzle-feeder) environmental enrichment on the duration of enrichment-directed and pacing behaviours in captive ocelots (Leopardus pardalis), considering two application schedules, consecutive (seven days) or intermittent (every two days) was addressed. In the second part it was investigated if the enclosure size affects the duration of pacing behaviour by ocelots kept under enriched (catnip and puzzle-feeder) and non-enriched (baseline) environmental conditions; and in the third part it was tested if three intrinsic enrichments (hay balls without scent, with catnip and with cinnamon) had distinct effects on cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) and Sumatran tigers (Panthera tigris sumatrae) behaviour regarding pacing, locomotion, inactive, exploratory and enrichment-directed behaviours. In summary, results demonstrated that the enclosure size have a high impact in the duration of pacing behaviour expressed by the ocelots. The extrinsic enrichment (puzzle-feeder) presented a long-term effect on ocelots behaviour, resulting in a reduction of pacing time. On the other hand, the intrinsic enrichments promoted a short-lived effect in cheetahs and Sumatran tigers, and cinnamon demonstrated a better influence on the reduction of pacing behaviour than catnip. In terms of frequency of exposure the wild cats did not get habituated to the practices between sessions (over experimental days), for either consecutive or intermittent application schedules. The findings presented here elucidated issues related to enrichment science improvement. Among these stand out: 1) different types of practices cause distinct effects on animals behaviours, and should be applied according to the aim proposed to achieve (long-term, short-term or stereotypy reduction); 2) enclosure sizes can influence the behaviour of wide-ranging animals kept in captivity; and 3) the environmental complexity, provided by the environmental enrichment practices, reduces the negative effect of small sized enclosures in ocelots. The presented outcomes highlight the importance of investigations focused on the impact of enclosure features and the efficacy of environmental enrichment and methodological design for its application for the welfare of captive animals.

No description available.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito de duas dietas líquidas , associadas ao uso de enriquecimento ambiental (EA) em bezerros alojados individualmente. O delineamento experimental foi um fatorial 2 x 2, sendo avaliadas duas dietas líquidas (leite ou sucedâneo lácteo) e ausência ou presença de EA (bico de mamadeira e coçador). Foram utilizados 24 bezerros recém-nascidos da raça Holandês, distribuidos em 4 tratamentos: Leite, Leite + EA, Sucedâneo, Sucedâneo + EA. O sucedâneo lácteo continha em sua composição 22,33 % PB, 15,96% EE e 1,07% de FDN, na matéria seca, e foi diluído para uma concentração de 14% de sólidos. O leite apresentava 3,37% PB, 3,38% EE na matéria seca e 12,25% de sólidos. Os animais foram alojados em abrigos individuais e tinham livre acesso a água e ao concentrado. Foi utilizado um programa alimentar step up/step down, com desaleitamento realizado aos 56 dias de vida. Não houve efeito da associação das diferentes dietas líquidas com EA sobre o desempenho dos animais (P>0,05), mas houve tendência (P<0,082) de redução do consumo de concentrado para animais com acesso ao EA. O desempenho animal foi sigificativamente afetado pelo fator idade (P<0,05). A associação de dieta líquida com EA não afetou os parâmetros metabólicos, mas animais aleitados com leite apresentaram maiores concentrações de B-Hidroxibutirato e ureia plasmática (P>0,05). Da mesma forma, a combinação de dietas com EA não afetou o escore fecal, mas animais aleitados com sucedâneo apresentaram fezes mais fluidas (P>0,05). Não houve alteração no repertório comportamental dos animais em função de diferentes dietas líquidas associadas ao EA (P>0,05). Durante o período de avaliação de duas horas após o aleitamento da manhã, os animais passaram a maior parte do tempo em ócio (60%), seja em pé ou deitado. Os outros 40% do tempo foram gastos com atividades relacionadas a alimentação, como pastejando (8,5%), consumindo concentrado (3,8%); atividades fisiológicas, como dormindo (5,45%), ruminando (1,3%), defecando (0,6%), urinando (0,1%); ou ainda atividades comportamentais, como explorando o ambiente (6,3%) e se lambendo (6,7%). Os animais utilizaram o EA por aproximadamente 1,4% do tempo somente e vocalizaram durante 1,7% ou realizaram mamada não nutritiva por 1,9%. Houve tendência (P<0,0627) para redução na vocalização e função da disponibilidade de EA. O fornecimento de diferentes dietas líquidas associadas ou não ao EA não afetaram o desempenho, metabolismo ou comportamento animal. No entanto, não se descarta a possibilidade de ganhos no bem-estar dos animais com o uso de enriquecimento ambiental uma vez que, os animais vocalizam menos durante o processo de desaleitamento. / The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of two liquid diets, associated to the use of environmental enrichment (EE) in individually housed calves. For the evaluation a 2 x 2 factorial experimental design, with two liquid diets (milk or milk replacer) and absence or presence of EE (bottle nipple and scraper) evaluated. Twenty-four newborn Holstein calves were distributed in to four treatments: Milk, Milk + EE, Milk replacer, Milk replacer + EE. The milk replacer contained 22.33% CP, 15.96% EE and 1.07% NDF, in the dry matter, and was diluted to a concentration of 14% solids. The milk presented 3.37% CP, 3.38 EE in the dry matter and 12, 25% solids. The animals were housed in individual shelters and had free access to water and concentrate. A step up/step down diet program was used, with weaning performed at 56 days of age. There was no effect of the association of different liquid diets with EA on the performance of the animals (P> 0.05), but there was a tendency (P <0.082) to reduce the concentrate intake for animals with access to EE. The animal performance parameters were significantly affected by the age factor (P<0.05). The association of liquid diet with EE did not affect metabolic parameters, but milk-fed animals had higher concentrations of B-Hydroxybutyrate and plasma urea-N (P>0.05). Likewise, the combination of liquid diets with EE did not affect fecal score, but animals fed with milk replacer had more fluid faeces (P>0.05). There was no change in the behavioral repertoire of the animals as a function of liquid diets associated with EA (P> 0.05). During the two-hour evaluation period after liquid diet feeding, the animals spent most of their time in leisure (60%), either standing or laying down. The other 40% of the time was spent on feeding related activities such as grazing (8.5%), consuming concentrate (3.8%); physiological activities, such as sleeping (5.45%), ruminating (1.3%), defecating (0.6%), urinating (0.1%); or behavioral activities, such as exploring the environment (6.3%) and self-grooming (6.7%). The animals used the EE for approximately 1.4% of the time only, and vocalized for 1.7% or performed non-nutritive feeding for 1.9%. There was a trend (P <0.0627) for reduction in vocalization and function of EE availability. Feeding different liquid diets associated or not with EA did not affect performance, metabolic or animal behavior. However, the possibility of improved animal welfare with the use of environmental enrichment is not ruled out since the animals vocalize less during the process of weaning.

O presente projeto levantou uma discussão a respeito das condições psicológicas, fisiológicas e éticas pelas quais passam os cães de trabalho da Polícia Militar, com foco em investigar se a rotina de trabalho leva a condições de estresse e a influência desses fatores no desempenho reprodutivo e na qualidade de vida dos animais. O estudo foi realizado no Canil da Polícia Militar de Campinas, com a participação de oito cães machos de quatro diferentes raças (2 Pastor Alemão, 2 Belga Malinois, 2 Dobermann e 2 Rotwailler), sendo divididos em dois períodos: Período trabalho - animais que estavam em treinamento e trabalho e Período controle - animais que estavam no dia de descanso. Foram colhidas amostras de saliva para a dosagem de cortisol no método de eletroquimioluminescência, fez-se a observação comportamental através da elaboração e analise de um etograma de trabalho e houve a coleta e análise de sêmen. Os resultados mostraram concentrações médias de cortisol salivar no Período Controle de 0,361 à 0,438&micro;g/dl e no Período trabalho 0,312 à 0,592 &micro;g/dl, sendo os maiores valores encontrados após o retorno do trabalho. Nas avaliações de comportamento observamos que na maior parte do período, os animais apresentaram-se em repouso e poucos comportamentos estereotipados foram destacados e as raças Pastor Alemão, Belga Malinois e Dobermann apresentaram parâmetros seminais desejáveis. A raça Rotwailler apresentou cortisol elevado, comportamentos estereotipados e maior taxa de anormalidades espermáticas, portanto acreditamos que não seja a raça mais indicada para os trabalhos desenvolvidos pelas polícias Nosso estudo indica que os cães de trabalho avaliados adaptados ao ambiente desde filhote, apresentam boa capacidade de adaptação ao ambiente de confinamento rotina de trabalho e treinamento, uma vez que não sofrem distresse. / This project raised a discussion about the psychological and ethical conditions under which pass the military working dogs, on investigating whether routine work leads to stress conditions and the influence of these factors on reproductive performance and quality of animals life. The study was conducted at military police Kennel in Campinas, using 8 male dogs of 4 different races (2 German Shepherd, 2 Belgian Malinois, 2 Dobermann and 2 Rotwailler), divided into two periods: Period work - animals that were in training and work and control period - animals that were in day off. Saliva samples were collected for cortisol measurement in eletroquimioluminecence method, behavioral observation through the preparation and analysis of a ethogram and collection and analysis semen. Our results showed average concentrations of salivary cortisol in the control period of 0.361 to 0.438 and 0.312 to 0.592 working period, with the highest values found after returning from work. In behavioral assessments we observed that in most of the period, the animals showed up at rest and few stereotyped behaviors were highlighted and. The breeds German Shepherd, Belgian Malinois and Dobermann showed desirable semen parameters, which did not occur in Rotwailler. The Rotwailler breed had high cortisol, stereotyped behaviors and higher rate of sperm abnormalities, so we believe that it is not the most suitable breed for the military working dog. Our study indicates that the assessed working dogs adapted to the environment as a puppy, show good ability to adaptation to environmental containment routine work and training, since it does not suffer distress.

<p>Heart rate variability (<b>HRV</b>), or the variation in time between adjacent heart beats over time, is a non-invasive proxy measure of autonomic nervous system (<b>ANS</b>) function that has been used regularly in studies focused on evaluating livestock stress and welfare. The autonomic nervous system regulates involuntary physiological processes (<i>e.g.</i> respiration and heart rate) and consists of two main components, the parasympathetic (<b>PNS</b>), and sympathetic (<b>SNS</b>) branches, which act to maintain bodily homeostasis (PNS) or stimulate the “fight-or-flight” response after exposure to a stressor (SNS). Traditional linear HRV measures provide an estimation of overall autonomic activity or changes to the balance between the PNS and SNS branches by evaluating changes to the mean, variance, or frequency spectra of the R-R intervals. </p><p>To interpret HRV data obtained via linear HRV measures, particularly spectral HRV analysis, a linear assumption has to be assumed where SNS and PNS activity act in a purely antagonistic manner. However, this assumption is not always met. In many cases, ANS activity is altered in a nonlinear manner, which is reflected to some degree in the variability of heart rate output. Therefore, HRV measures that evaluate nonlinear changes to organizational or structural aspects of the R-R interval variability may be a useful compliment to traditional linear HRV measures for distinguishing between stressed and non-stressed states. The purpose of this dissertation was to evaluate the use of nonlinear HRV measures for evaluating dairy calf disbudding pain, piglet castration pain, growing pig heat stress, and as potential indicators of the subsequent immune response to a lipopolysaccharide (<b>LPS</b>) challenge in growing pigs.</p><p>Chapter 1 provides a knowledge base for understanding HRV and its use as a measure of autonomic stress in studies with livestock species. A brief explanation of animal welfare science, measures used to evaluate an animal’s welfare, and a demonstration of need for non-invasive physiological measures is provided before discussing the physiological basis of HRV. Relevant linear and nonlinear HRV measures are explained and examples of their use in livestock stress research are provided. Finally, a rationale for the studies conducted in this dissertation is presented.</p><p>Chapter 2 evaluates the use of HRV as an indicator of castration pain in 9-d-old piglets over a 3-d experimental period. Compared to sham castrated piglets, surgically castrated piglets exhibited greater low frequency to high frequency ratios (<b>LF/HF</b>), reduced sample entropy (<b>SampEn</b>), and greater percent determinism (<b>ÞT</b>) during the post-castration period. However, postural behavior was not different between treatments and serum cortisol concentrations only tended to differ between treatments at 1 and 24 h post-castration treatment, with surgically castrated pigs having numerically greater serum cortisol concentrations at both timepoints. These results demonstrate the ability of nonlinear HRV measures (SampEn and ÞT) to complement the physiological interpretation of linear HRV measures (LF/HF) in response to castration. Specifically, pigs who were surgically castrated exhibited more regularity (SampEn) and periodicity (ÞT) in their HRV data, and potentially more sympathetic activity (LF/HF) compared to sham castrated piglets, indicating greater pain-related stress. Additionally, HRV was a more sensitive measure of the stress response to castration than readily identifiable behaviors such as posture and the serum cortisol response.</p><p>Chapter 3 evaluates the use of HRV as an indicator of disbudding pain in dairy heifer calves (4 to 7-wk of age) over a 5-d experimental period. Calves who were given lidocaine and meloxicam prior to disbudding exhibited lower mean R-R interval (<b>RR</b>) values and a greater short-term detrended fluctuation analysis scaling exponent (<b>DFAα₁</b>) than sham disbudded calves. Together, these results indicate that calves who received pain mitigation exhibited greater pain-related stress (RR) and reduced physiological complexity in their heart rate signal (DFAα₁). Calves who were disbudded without pain mitigation had an intermediate response compared to sham disbudded calves and calves provided lidocaine and meloxicam. However, their numerical values closely followed those of calves provided lidocaine and meloxicam. These results demonstrate the usefulness of nonlinear HRV measures (DFAα₁) for evaluating nonlinear and correlational aspects of physiological complexity in response to disbudding. Additionally, the HRV results suggest that the provision of meloxicam does not reduce the amount of pain-related stress experienced by calves following disbudding.</p><p>Chapter 4 evaluates the use of HRV as an indicator of heat stress in growing pigs exposed to an acute heat episode. Heat stressed pigs exhibited greater body temperatures and spent less time in an active position compared to thermoneutral control pigs. Additionally, heat stressed pigs displayed an altered nonlinear HRV response to the acute heat phase compared to non-heat stressed control pigs. Specifically, heat stressed pigs exhibited lower SampEn and tended to exhibit greater ÞT, but no alterations to linear measures were observed in response to the acute heat episode. The low frequency to high frequency ratio was higher in heat stressed pigs during the period following the acute heat phase. Therefore, nonlinear HRV measures (particularly SampEn) may be more sensitive to the immediate physiological stress response to increased environmental temperature than traditional linear HRV measures.</p><p>Chapter 5 evaluates the use of baseline HRV as a potential indicator of the subsequent cortisol and pro-inflammatory cytokine response to an LPS challenge in growing pigs. The time for a pig to approach a human (<b>approach time)</b> prior to LPS administration was inversely related to baseline standard deviation of the R-R intervals (<b>SDNN</b>), and directly related to RR and the mean length of diagonal lines in a recurrence plot (<b>Lmean</b>). This result may have implications for the use of HRV as a measure of temperament in livestock species, since pigs with lower baseline SDNN (<i>i.e.</i> greater stress) and greater baseline Lmean (<i>i.e.</i> increased periodicity length in HRV data; greater stress) values took longer to approach a human observer before LPS administration (which occurred 1 d after HRV measurement). Area under the curve values for approach time following LPS administration were inversely related to high frequency spectral power (<b>HF</b>) and directly related to body weight, where pigs with low baseline HF values (<i>i.e. </i>lower parasympathetic activity) and higher body weights were slower to approach a human observer following LPS administration. Additionally, pigs with greater Lmean values had a greater change in body temperature following LPS administration. In conclusion, while baseline HRV measures were not directly representative of the cortisol or cytokine response following an LPS challenge, HF and Lmean may be useful indicators for evaluating certain aspects (sickness behavior and fever) of the innate immune response to an LPS challenge. <b></b></p><p> In conclusion, these studies demonstrate the usefulness of nonlinear HRV measures for evaluating livestock stress. Measures such as sample entropy and those derived from recurrence quantification analysis (ÞT, Lmean) seem to be particularly useful for complementing traditional linear HRV measures and, in some cases, are more sensitive measures of the physiological stress response (see chapter 4). Therefore, their inclusion in future studies on livestock HRV is warranted. However, further work is needed to fully elucidate the physiological significance of nonlinear HRV measures and their response to stress.</p>

When a species is housed in captivity there are facets of the managed environment that can impact on individual and population welfare. A key component of an individual’s environment is its social environment, which can have important implications for animal health and welfare. Highly social species may experience impoverished welfare if kept in captive groups that differ in size, structure and demographic to that experienced by free-living animals. Amongst the most common of social animals to be housed in captivity are the flamingos (Phoenicopteridae). The unique evolutionary biology of these birds means that key aspects of their behaviour depends upon group living. A positive relationship between breeding success and increasing flock size has previously been noted, but how flamingo flocks are structured socially remains mysterious. All six species of flamingo are currently found in captive collections. The three more generalist species, greater (Phoenicopterus roseus), Caribbean (P. ruber) and Chilean (P. chilensis) flamingos are found commonly in zoos and can, under the right conditions, breed well. The other flamingo species are much more specialised in their habitat and dietary requirements and have proved more challenging with regards to their captive management. These three species are the Andean (Phoenicoparrus andinus), James’ (P. jamesi) and lesser (Phoeniconaias minor) flamingos. All six species are included in the experimental work presented in this thesis. This research aimed to evaluate specific elements of flamingo group living using social network analysis (SNA). It also aimed to assess influences of the captive environment (i.e. enclosure style and visitor number) and climate on enclosure usage, time-activity budgets and behavioural diversity to provide, as far as possible, a complete insight into how to measure, assess and evaluate captive flamingo welfare. A synthesis of the relevance of SNA to zoo animal management, and a review of current literature to identify research needs that could evidence good flamingo husbandry form the basis of the first two chapters. These two overview chapters support the questions asked in the following data-based sections of the thesis. Flamingos were observed at WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre from March 2012 to July 2016 with data on patterns of social associations being collected four times daily (depending upon weather and bird husbandry). Associations were defined as birds within one neck length of each other and, using photos, the affiliations of each bird in the group were recorded. For assessment of bond strength, network position and identification of preferred/avoided partners a Half-Weight Index was applied to these data. Permutation testing was applied to association matrices to determine the difference between the number of observed preferential bonds (and avoided bonds) and Mantel tests were used to compare matrix correlations to assess differences between seasons, species, years and enclosures (where appropriate). The SNA programmes Socprog, UCInet and Netdraw were used to analyse network data. These network data form the basis of three chapters and show that flamingos associate preferentially with non-random bonds occurring in all flocks observed. Influences of social bonds on courtship display were also examined, and temporal changes in association were considered across time, season and year. Finally, to see any influence of animal health on bond preferences, scores of foot condition (used to identify and evaluate the presence and severity of pododermatitis on an individual bird) were analysed alongside of network measures for three flocks of flamingos. To measure enclosure usage, each species’ exhibit was measured and zones accessible to the birds were defined. As exhibit use can be based on resource use (and these resources can form differently-sized areas within an exhibit) a modified Spread of Participation Index (SPI) was used to provide an outcome between 1 (one area or resource used more than others) and 0 (equal use of all resource zones). Time-activity budgets were calculated for all flocks over daytime, and for one flock (measured using remote camera traps) over night. These data are presented in two chapters and demonstrate that captive flamingos can change their activity patterns in a similar manner to that noted in wild birds. Interestingly, flamingos are very active during the night and this provides useful data for zoo personnel to consider when re-assessing husbandry and management plans for these most ubiquitous of zoo birds.

Orientador: Mateus José Rodrigues Paranhos da Costa / Banca: Isabella Dias Barbosa Silveira / Banca: Ricardo Andrade Reis / Resumo: Os objetivos foram estudar os efeitos de um programa de treinamento em manejo racional no bem-estar de bovinos e testar a viabilidade prática da aplicação do manejo racional em frigoríficos. Os comportamentos de humanos e bovinos foram estudados em três frigoríficos durante o desenvolvimento de dois processos: 1) condução dos bovinos dos currais de espera até o boxe de atordoamento e 2) atordoamento. Nas avaliações do processo de condução dos animais foram acompanhados 31, 22 e 18 lotes de animais antes do treinamento nos frigoríficos MT, GO e SP, respectivamente, repetindo-se o mesmo número de lotes após o treinamento. Foram registradas duas variáveis do comportamento humano durante a condução dos animais (uso do bastão elétrico e uso inadequado da bandeira) e três do comportamento bovino (escorregões, quedas e vocalizações). Durante o processo de atordoamento foram consideradas duas variáveis, a eficiência de atordoamento (sendo observados 336, 475 e 314 animais nos frigoríficos MS, GO e SP, respectivamente, em cada etapa, antes e após o treinamento) e sinais de insensibilidade (com 400, 453 e 308 animais nos frigoríficos MS, GO e SP, respectivamente, em cada etapa). Os dados sobre a condução dos bovinos foram analisados usando-se Anova com o procedimento GLM e para as variáveis de atordoamento foi utilizado o Teste de Kruskall-Wallis. Houve diferenças significativas (P<0,01) entre frigoríficos nas variáveis escorregões, quedas, uso do bastão elétrico e sinais de insensibilidade. Também houve efeito significativo do treinamento para a maioria das variáveis estudadas, sendo que o maior efeito foi no uso do bastão elétrico, que diminuiu nos três frigoríficos após o treinamento. Os resultados indicaram que os frigoríficos que realizaram investimentos em mão de obra e instalações, atingiram melhor resposta ao treinamento dos funcionários. / Abstract: The objectives of this research were to study the effects of rational handling training programs on cattle welfare and to test the practical feasibility of the rational handling in the slaughterhouse. The human and cattle behaviours were recorded in three slaughterhouses during two processes: 1) leading cattle from lairage to stunning boxes and 2) stunning cattle. In order to assess the handling procedures during the first process we studied 31, 22 and 18 groups of cattle, before and after the training activity, in three slaughterhouses (MT, GO and SP); in this process five variables were considered, two of them related to human behaviour (the frequency of electric prod and the frequency of inadequate flag use) and three related to cattle behaviour (the frequencies of slips, falls and vocalizations). For the assessment of the stunning process two variables were defined: stunning efficiency (with 336, 475 and 314 cattle observed before and after the training period) and insensitiveness (with 400, 453, and 308 animals observed before and after training). Analysis of variance was used for data related to the process of driving the animals to the stunning box and the Kruskall- Wallis test was used when for the variables related to the stunning process. Significant statistical differences were found among slaughterhouses for the frequencies of slips, falls, use of the electric prod and insensitiveness. Similar results were found when considered the effects of training, being the major effect on the frequency of electric prod use, which dropped down in three slaughterhouses. Inadequate facilities and equipments promoted depreciation on the labour, increasing the frequencies of slips, falls and in the number of sensitive animals after stunning. The results suggested that the slaughterhouses that did invest in people, training, facilities and equipments achieved a better result in the improvement of animal welfare. / Mestre

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.

Despite a growing increase in popularity of human-animal interaction research, there remains a lack of understanding of the reasons why children are cruel to animals and whether early intervention is effective in preventing cruelty and neglect. The aims of this thesis were to deepen our understanding of the psychology of child-animal interactions, and to test whether targeted educational interventions improve the mechanisms which underlie these interactions. A review of the literature found that current research is heavily biased towards the positive impact of animals, identifying a need for more research into the complex web of psychological factors that impact these relationships. The systematic review included in this thesis provides the first narrative meta-synthesis of empirical research on the psychological risk factors for childhood animal cruelty and highlights a decrease in publications over more recent years, as well as a lack of high quality research. Studies have largely overlooked the fact that most cruelty in childhood is unmotivated and accidental and so further research is essential to understand how to prevent different types of childhood animal cruelty. Three studies investigated the fundamental mechanisms that underlie child-animal interactions, focusing on attachment to pets, beliefs about animal minds, and attitudes towards animal cruelty. These studies highlighted the importance of teaching children about animal sentience through education, and that educational interventions should focus on preventing unmotivated cruelty and neglect in the general population. Animal welfare education aims to promote positive relationships between children and animals, thus preventing cruelty. However, few scientific evaluations of these programs exist. This thesis evaluates a cruelty prevention education programme, 'Prevention through Education', developed by the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Knowledge, attachment to pets, attitudes towards animals, attitudes towards animal cruelty, compassion towards animals, reported humane behaviour, and beliefs about animal minds were assessed at pre-test, post-test, and delayed post-test using a self-report questionnaire, comparing test schools to control schools. The questionnaire was administered to 1,217 Scottish children aged 6 to 13 years. The results found that cognitive factors were influenced by the intervention, but affective factors were more resistant to change. A novel cruelty prevention iPad game that was theoretically driven and evidence based, was designed, developed and evaluated. The evaluation involved a pre-test, post-test, test-control design using a self-report questionnaire with 184 primary-school children in Scotland, UK. The results indicated a positive impact of the game on increasing knowledge about animal welfare needs and appropriate and safe behaviour towards pets, increasing children's beliefs about pet minds, and decreasing acceptance of cruelty to pets. The intervention had no impact on compassion. This study demonstrates the potential of developing interactive iPad games to promote cognitive dimensions of positive child-animal interactions. This thesis highlights the importance of evidence-based animal welfare education for early prevention of animal cruelty, and the potential of computer game-based learning to promote positive child-animal interactions. This thesis further addresses major gaps in psychological research and deepens our understanding of how to prevent animal cruelty and neglect. The findings have implications for practice and policy and will impact upon the educational strategies of organisations wishing to develop early prevention strategies.