This thesis is an investigation of the prevalence of, and factors associated with, hock, knee, and neck injuries on dairy cattle in Canada. Tie-stall (n = 100) and free-stall farms (n = 90) were visited in Quebec, Ontario, and Alberta, Canada. Cows were scored for hock (tarsus), knee (carpus), and neck injuries on a 3 or 4-point scale combining the attributes of hair loss, broken skin, and swelling. Animal-based and environmental measures were taken which were hypothesized to be risk factors for injury. On tie-stall farms the mean herd-level prevalence of hock, knee, and neck injuries was 56, 43, and 30%, respectively. On free-stall farms the mean herd-level prevalence of hock, knee, and neck injuries was 47, 24, and 9%, respectively. Having sand stall bases, feed rail heights above 140 cm and managing cows to reduce slips and falls were associated with reduced injury prevalence. / Dairy Research Cluster (Dairy Farmers of Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canadian Dairy Commission)

<p>Accurate assessments of behavior and welfare are needed to evaluate the state of domestic dogs maintained in commercial breeding (CB) and other types of kennels. Field assessments of dogs’ states of being must be reliable, valid and efficient. However, observer subjectivity and situational variation in dogs’ responses pose a challenge to incorporating behavioral metrics into welfare assessment tools. The published Field Instantaneous Dog Observation (FIDO) tool, designed to capture the immediately observable physical and behavioral status of dogs in kennels, was thus evaluated on its reliability and validity. Specifically, the main goals were to determine 1) reliability of the behavioral scoring when used by novice raters, 2) whether and to what extent dogs’ behavioral responses to stranger-approach changed during a 30-second observation period, and 3) the predictive power of the FIDO scoring on behavioral responses of dogs placed within a standardized arena with a stranger. Behavioral responses to stranger-approach were organized into three categories: red, indicating a fearful response to approach, green, indicating an affiliative or neutral response, and yellow, indicating an ambivalent response. In study one, behavior assessment was conducted by two novice raters with 50 dogs housed at two US shelters. A stranger approached the home pen of each dog in a non-threatening manner, stood quietly, extended a hand to the dog and scored the response while the test was video-recorded. Intra-rater reliability was assessed by comparing each rater’s live observation scores with their scores of the same dogs using video recordings. Inter-rater agreement between scores from video recordings was also calculated. In study two, 81 commercial breeding dogs maintained at four USDA-licensed CB facilities in the US were approached by one observer and scored once every five seconds for 30 seconds. Of the 81 subject dogs, 56 met the criteria for full sampling. In study three, 40 pairs of dogs were scored using the FIDO tool in their home pens at four USDA-licensed CB facilities and assessed on responses to an unfamiliar observer in a field test conducted in an outdoor arena. Behavioral measures from the field test such as latencies to approach the stranger and durations in different areas of the arena were captured from video recordings and subjected to a principal components analysis [PCA] for reduction of variables. A multivariate multiple regression analysis was thereafter used, with principal component scores obtained from the PCA as outcome variables, and FIDO scores as predictor variables, accounting for other factors such as breed and group composition. Results from study one indicated that raters showed almost perfect agreement between their own scores of live and video-recorded shelter dog responses (kappa = 0.83, 0.89) and between each other’s video-recorded scores (kappa = 0.87), indicating high intra- and inter-rater reliability. Results from study two indicated that over a 30-second time frame with five-second increments, 91% of the dogs showed no change in their behavioral response to approach. This suggests that the first five seconds of scoring provide a reliable time point for assessing behavior using the FIDO tool and indicates no benefit to extending the FIDO scoring period to gauge dogs’ immediate responses to stranger-approach. Results from study three showed that dogs scored as red, as determined by the FIDO scoring, also showed higher scores associated with avoidance, indicated by greater time spent away and more time taken to approach the unfamiliar person in the field test (p = 0.039). FIDO scoring was, however, not significantly predictive of other behavioral responses such as interaction with the unfamiliar person. How dogs were housed was also significantly associated with incidences of escape attempts from the arena; dogs paired as a mixed sex (i.e. male-female) showed lower scores on incidences of escape attempts than dogs paired as a same sex (i.e. female-female) (p = 0.003). Taken together, these results suggest that the FIDO tool can be used by individuals without much expertise in canine behavior, and also attest to the practicality of the tool via a reliable five-second approach. Further, results also indicate that the FIDO scoring can help to identify fearful dogs in need of greater socialization towards unfamiliar people. Future research would, however, be valuable in validating behavioral scores obtained using the tool against long-term indicators of overall welfare.</p>

In the UK, laboratory-housed dogs are primarily used as a non-rodent species in the safety testing of new medicines and other chemical entities. The use of animals in research is governed by the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act (1986, amended 2012) and legislation is underpinned by the principles of humane experimental technique: Replacement, Reduction and Refinement. A link between animal welfare and the quality of data produced has been shown in other species (e.g. rodents, nonhuman primates), however, no established, integrated methodology for identifying or monitoring welfare and quality of data output previously existed in the laboratory-housed dog. In order to investigate the effects of planned Refinements to various aspects of husbandry and regulated procedures, this project sought to integrate behavioural, physiological and other measures (e.g. cognitive bias, mechanical pressure threshold) and to provide a means for staff to monitor welfare whilst also establishing the relationship between welfare and quality of data output. Affective state was identified using an established method of cognitive bias testing, before measuring welfare at ‘baseline’ using measures of behaviour and physiology. Dogs then underwent ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ behavioural challenges to identify the measures most sensitive to changing welfare and most suitable for use in a framework. The resulting Welfare Assessment Framework, developed in three groups of dogs from contrasting backgrounds within the facility, found a consistent pattern of behaviour, cardiovascular function, affect and mechanical pressure threshold (MPT). Dogs with a negative affective state had higher blood pressure at baseline than those with positive affective states, and the magnitude of the effect of negative welfare suggests that welfare may act as a confound in the interpretation of cardiovascular data. The responses to restraint included increases in blood pressure and heart rate measures which approached ceiling levels, potentially reducing the sensitivity of measurement. If maintained over time this response could potentially have a negative health impact on other organ systems and affecting the data obtained from those. Dogs with a negative welfare state also had a lower mechanical pressure threshold, meaning they potentially experienced greater stimulation from unpleasant physical stimuli. Taken together with the behaviours associated with a negative welfare state (predominantly vigilant or stereotypic behaviours) the data suggest that dogs with a negative welfare state have a greater behavioural and physiological response to stimuli in their environment; as such, data obtained from their use is different from that obtained from dogs with a positive welfare state. This was confirmed by examining the effect size (Cohen’s d ) resulting from the analysis of affective state on cardiovascular data. An increase in variance, particularly in the small dog numbers typical of safety assessment studies, means a reduction in the power of the study to detect the effect under observation; a decrease in variation has the potential to reduce the number of dogs use, in line with the principle of Reduction and good scientific practice. The development of the framework also identified areas of the laboratory environment suitable for Refinement (e.g. restriction to single-housing and restraint) and other easily-implemented Refinements (e.g. feeding toy and human interaction) which could be used to improve welfare. As a result of this, a Welfare Monitoring Tool (WMT) in the form of a tick sheet was developed for technical and scientific staff to identify those dogs at risk of reduced welfare and producing poor quality data, as well as to monitor the effects of Refinements to protocols. Oral gavage is a common regulated procedure, known to be potentially aversive and was identified as an area in need of Refinement. A program of desensitisation and positive reinforcement training was implemented in a study also comparing the effects of a sham dose condition versus a control, no-training, condition. A number of the measures used, including home pen behaviour, behaviour during dosing, MPT and the WMT showed significant benefits to the dogs in the Refined condition. Conversely, dogs in the sham dose condition showed more signs of distress and took longer to dose than dogs in the control condition. The welfare of control dogs was intermediate to sham dose and Refined protocol dogs. This project identified a positive relationship between positive welfare and higher quality of data output. It developed and validated a practical and feasible means of measuring welfare in the laboratory environment in the Welfare Assessment Framework, identified areas in need of Refinement and developed practical ways to implement such Refinements to husbandry and regulated procedures. As such it should have wide implications for the pharmaceutical industry and other users of dogs in scientific research.

As activity levels of intensively managed broiler chicken vary over time, detailed knowledge on their influence is potentially useful to further adjust welfare assessment schemes. Therefore, this study investigated the influence of daytime and age on the performance of broiler chicken in two applied fear tests.On-farm studies were carried out in 14 flocks of intensively managed broiler chicken. A forced and a voluntary approach test were conducted during morning and evening hours and at three different ages (1: 6-12d; 2: 21-24d; 3: prior to slaughter). At each observation, avoidance distances (AD) and the number of animals voluntarily approaching (VA) an observer were collected.No significant correlation was found between daytime and AD or VA. When tested at different ages, daytime and VA were significantly correlated (1: r= 0.56*; 2: r= 0.40*; 3: r= 0.64*), but the results were not consistent. At three weeks the VA was found to be higher in the morning but at younger age and prior to slaughter, more birds approach an observer in the evening. Both, approach and avoidance peaked at three weeks and decreased prior to slaughter. Further, the effect of differing observer locations in the chicken house on the behavioural response of broiler chicken was studied. A higher proportion of birds voluntarily approached an unknown human in the area close to the main entrance door, but the avoidance behaviour was not affected.From the results of this study I conclude, that the time of assessment has no effect on avoidance or approach behaviour of commercial slow-growing broiler chicken. However, fear related behaviour changed depending on age. This makes the applied tests potentially applicable independent of daytime restrictions when performed with birds of the same age.

Since the 1960s the focus of animal welfare has been mainly on the negative aspects of welfare and on minimizing and alleviating these negatives. Lately, the focus has been not only on the negative features of welfare that should be kept above a minimum standard, but also on the positive ones that should be enforced. Positive welfare goes a step beyond the common welfare approach and focuses additionally on the positive aspects that animals should have in their lives. This review analyses the behavioral indicators that have been proposed as positive welfare indicators of the domestic pig and have been studied theoretically or experimentally. Various behavioral indicators have been proposed but play is the positive indicator that has been studied the most, followed by exploratory and social affiliative behaviors. Vocalizations and ear and tail postures have also been proposed as promising positive welfare indicators but more research is needed to clearly understand the expression of these behaviors and the affective states that they indicate. According to the literature results, the Welfare Quality protocol for pigs is the only protocol that evaluates the positive welfare of the pig on the farm level. Play, exploratory and social affiliative behaviors are being measured. In addition, positive emotions are being measured via Qualitative Behavioral Assessment (QBA). / Efter 1960-talet, fokuserar djurvälfärden huvudsakligen på de negativa aspekterna av välfärd och på att minimera och lindra de negativa aspekterna. Under de senaste åren, har fokus legat inte bara på att minimera de negativa aspekterna och hålla dem över en minimistandard utan också på att förstärka de positiva. Positiv välfärd går ett steg framåt i det gemensamma välfärdssynsättet och fokuserar dessutom på de positiva aspekterna som djur bör ha i sina liv. Denna översyn analyserar de positiva beteendeindikatorer på djurvälfärd, de som har föreslagits som positiva välfärdsindikatorer för den domesticerade grisen och har studerats teoretiskt eller experimentellt. Bland alla indikatorer har lekbeteende studerats mest, följt av undersökingsbeteende och sociala affiliativa beteenden. Vokalisationer och öron- och svansställningar har också föreslagits som lovande positiva välfärdsindikatorer men fler studier bör göras för att tydligt förstå uttrycket av dessa beteenden och grisens känslor som de indikerar. Enligt litteraturen, är Welfare Quality protokoll för grisar det enda protokollet som utvärderar grisens positiva välfärd på gårdsnivå. Lekbeteende, undersökningsbeteende och sociala affiliativa beteenden mäts. Dessutom, positiva känslor mäts via QBA.