Teat-end hyperkeratosis (THK) is a common welfare issue in dairy cows, causing pain and discomfort. It is closely linked to both the udder morphology and the milking system. This study aimed to assess whether the prevalence of THK differs between the fore- and hindquarters of dairy cows. A total of 492 cows (n = 1,968 teats) from a commercial dairy farm in Évora, Portugal, were evaluated for THK. The presence and severity of THK were scored on a scale of 1 (no lesion) to 4 (very rough skin). Cows were classified into one of the following categories: forequarters affected, hindquarters affected, both quarters affected, or all teats affected. Data were analysed using the Kruskal–Wallis test, followed by Dunn’s post hoc test in R. Of the 288 cows (58.5%) with THK, 22 had lesions only in the forequarters, 7 in the hindquarters, 5 in both quarters, and 254 in all teats. Notably, the severity of THK was lower in cows with lesions on all teats (2.2±0.03) compared to those with lesions confined to the forequarters (3.14±0.09), hindquarters (3.0±0.16), or both quarters (3.0±0.19). This study found a high prevalence of THK affecting all teats, regardless of the quarter, suggesting a significant influence from the milking system. However, the severity of THK was greater when only one to three teats were affected, potentially reflecting variations in the morphology of individual teats within the same udder.

Introduction: Environmental enrichment has gained increasing relevance in the last decades to improve animal wellbeing which is particularly relevant in laboratory animals. Nonetheless while mandatory in European legislation, classical laboratory animals care and maintenance protocols do not include enrichment. Hence, our goal was to review the environmental enrichment protocols currently in rats and mice.

Methods: Five databases (PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, Web of Science and EBSCO) were searched using the keywords "environmental enrichment" AND (pain OR nociception) AND (rat OR rats OR mouse OR mice) from inception to 30 th of August 2024. The quality assessment of studies was performed using the ARRIVE guidelines. Data management and analysis was performed in Microsoft Excel.

Results: Overall the quality of the studies was considered moderate. The environmental enrichment protocols implemented varied significantly between rats and mice, not only in terms of total number of enrichment items but also in relation to the type of enrichment used for each species. Importantly, a great number of studies stated performing environmental enrichment but failed to report the type of enrichment used.

Conclusions: Despite the importance of implementing environmental enrichment in pre-clinical studies being recognized, there is a significant variation in protocols between laboratories, highlighting the need for standardization.

Zhuangzi, a significant figure in Chinese Daoist philosophy, possesses a rich body of thought on animal ethics. Some scholars even argue that the text “Zhuangzi” is the earliest relatively systematic work on animal ethics in China. Generally speaking, Zhuangzi emphasizes conforming to nature and opposes human interference with the normal life activities of natural beings or the destruction of their innate characteristics. He acknowledges the intrinsic value of animals. Specifically, the philosophical foundation of Zhuangzi’s view on animals can be summarized in two main points: First, “viewing things through the Dao, there is no distinction between noble and humble.” Zhuangzi believes that the “Dao” gave rise to all things in the world; humans, animals, and other forms of life, despite having different manifestations, inherently contain the essence of the Dao. Second, the unity of all things. Zhuangzi holds that the “Dao” connects all beings into an interlinked organic whole, where both humans and animals are indispensable components. Therefore, Zhuangzi argues that while adhering to the overall order of nature, one must respect the equality of individual lives. From a practical perspective, Zhuangzi advocates for respecting the inherent nature of animals, opposing the suppression of this nature for human needs or turning animals into objects of human servitude. Furthermore, he insists on adhering to the ethical principle of non-action (wu wei), discouraging excessive interference with nature and disrupting the ways animals live.

Migration paths of the Carcharodon Carcharias (Great White Shark) are disproportionately altered by human-induced stressors on oceanic health, where ecosystem’s trophically cascade from rapidly changing environments. Current solutions to aid the erupting coastal food chain manually track white sharks (the primary indicator of ocean quality) with short term biomarkers. Unfortunately, modern solutions are expensive in mass, unreasonable in the long term, and harmful to white sharks. Thus, we present SharkHI: a deep learning system to detect, track, and predict shark health from video footage. Trained on the Ocean Predatory Lab (OPL) dataset, SharkHI provide a neural network model to predict white shark health conditions in a safe, inexpensive, and accurate manner, while proving a novel approach to calculate shark health more effectively. This system includes a convoluted neural network binary classifier to isolate viable shark image frames, and a pose detection network to track 5 key points for health condition calculation. SharkHI delivers a generalizable model proven to enable predictive conclusions on regional oceanic health conditions worldwide. Additionally, SharkHI explores an additional methodology using the center body of the white shark, without the need for the nose, pectoral/dorsal fins, or caudal keel in frame, vastly improving viable image frames for calculation. With SharkHI, an innocuous pipeline is prevalent to bridge foundational conclusions on necessary understandings of both shark and oceanic health globally.

The gastrointestinal (GI) pill is an innovative tool for monitoring core body temperature (T_c) in both human and animal studies, offering insights into thermoregulation and exertional heat stress. Traditional approaches to monitoring T_c in athletes often involve rectal thermistors, skin temperature sensors, or subjective measures of heat perception. However, the GI pill provides a non-invasive, accurate, and continuous measurement of T_c, which is particularly beneficial during field exercises.

GI pills are widely used due to their ease of administration and reliability during exercise, outperforming serial rectal temperature (T_re) measurements in terms of precision and practicality. In animals, GI pills have been used to monitor T_c in elephants and dogs during exercise, as well as in cattle at rest.

Research has extended into equine studies, where the GI pill has been used to monitor core temperature in horses during rest and transport and, notably, during field exercise. Our group studied the use of the GI pill during different types of field exercise in horses; this unique method breaks new ground because it includes the first studies to focus on the continuous monitoring of core body temperature in sport horses during work and competition in the open air ("in the field"). Earlier laboratory-based studies employed treadmills and more invasive temperature measurement methods.

In our studies, the GI pill showed that different exercise types produce distinct thermoregulatory responses, with significant inter-individual variability in thermo-regulation among horses. This variability underscores the importance of individual monitoring in assessing and managing heat stress, as well as the complexity of mammalian thermoregulation, influenced by numerous intrinsic factors. This study will provide an overview of existing GI pills and their use in mammals. The application of the GI pill has the potential to advance heat illness prevention and improve animal welfare, making it a vital tool in both human and veterinary sports science.

An appropriate rearing environment for calves in dairy farms is essential for their healthy development and welfare. However, in the dairy industry, calf environments are often barren and lack sufficient stimulation. Environmental enrichment is commonly defined as modifications to animal environments that improve biological functioning, yet many so-called enrichment practices for calves are responses to basic needs rather than environmental improvements. This study aimed to critically discuss the environmental enrichment approach versus the fulfillment of basic needs, advocating that essential provisions for natural behaviors should be viewed as fundamental requirements rather than enrichment. Natural behaviors, such as social interaction, suckling, and grazing, are behaviors that calves are highly motivated to perform. When deprived of the opportunity to express these behaviors, calves may develop abnormal behaviors like non-nutritive sucking. Offering milk through teats is often considered nutritional enrichment compared to systems that conventionally offer milk through buckets. For instance, when milk is not offered through teats, calves may engage more frequently in compensatory non-nutritive sucking, such as sucking on pen structures or cross-sucking (when pair- or group-housed). Similarly, restricted access to grazing can lead to oral stereotypies like tongue rolling. Given that cattle are gregarious animals, social isolation is unthinkable and has been shown to negatively impact their welfare. Environmental enrichment should go beyond satisfying these basic needs, providing additional environmental stimuli to enhance exploration and well-being for calves whose basic biological needs are already met. This distinction underscores that meeting the full spectrum of natural behaviors is crucial, and only after addressing these needs should further enrichment strategies be implemented to promote optimal welfare in dairy calves.

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of space and the feeding system during the fattening period on the stress biomarkers, performance and carcass yield of steers. A total of 48 Hereford steers with a 214.0 kg live weight (LW) were stocked into eight pens (with six animals/pen) according to the pen size and feeding system: 100DS (100 m²/animal and a daily food supply), 100SF (100 m²/animal and self-feeders), 10DS (10 m²/animal and a daily food supply) and 10SF (10 m²/animal and self-feeders). The finishing diet contained 77% whole grain corn, 20% ground grain corn, 2% slow-release urea and 1% mineral premix. Blood samples were collected from each steer 6 days before the start of the fattening period and at 0, 1, 7, 14, 21 and 35 days from the start of the experiment to measure their white blood cell counts and plasma cortisol and glucose. Dry matter intake (DMI) and average daily gain (ADG) were recorded to determine the feed conversion ratio (FCR). The steers were slaughtered at a 370 – 390 kg LW in a slaughterhouse. Hot carcass weight was measured after the removal of kidney pelvic fat, and the carcass yield was calculated (at 7% dressing). The data were analyzed using a general linear model (Tukey's test, α=0.05). No interaction between factors or feeding system effects was detected for white blood cells (p= 0.7386), cortisol (p= 0.6331) or glucose (p= 0.9734). The white blood cell count was higher in the confined animals on days 7 (46.5 vs. 27.4 10^3/ul) and 21 (138.4 vs. 123.4 10^3/ul). The plasma cortisol concentration also increased across 10DS and 10SF on day 21 (>1.5 mg/dl). Treatment effects were not detected for DMI (p=0.0447), ADG (p=0.97373) or FCR (p=0,8404). Allotting space affected the carcass yield, as animals with more space presented higher values (61.7% vs. 60.3%; p= 0.0010). In summary, the comfort conditions during the fattening period may affect animal welfare, even with a similar animal performance. Furthermore, more space being available is important to improving the carcass yield.

Over the past two decades, there has been a substantial increase in pet reptile ownership, yet empirical research on their complex biological needs remains limited, leading to conflicting opinions on their suitability as pets. This lack of research, combined with limited access to specialist veterinary services, often results in an over-reliance on anecdotal husbandry knowledge shared among owners, which can sometimes be contradictory. Previous research by the RSPCA indicates that novice reptile owners trust advice from vendors, such as pet shops, above all other sources of information. Given the wide availability of reptiles in diverse types of pet shops (e.g., general pet shops, specialist stores, garden centres, aquarists), this raises questions about whether the care advice provided is consistent or contains contradictions.

To investigate this, 146 pet shops across England were visited and assessed using a mystery shopper model to record care advice. This advice was compared against RSPCA care guidelines as benchmarks and scored to evaluate variations or contradictions between shops. An ordinal regression analysis showed that shop type had a near-significant effect on the scores (p = 0.082); specifically, aquarist shops had 4.50 times lower odds of receiving a high score compared to reptile specialist shops, a statistically significant difference (p = 0.017). Multiple Chi-squared Goodness-of-fit tests identified key areas where advice varied or contradicted benchmark guidelines, particularly regarding enclosure requirements, tortoise hibernation, animal aggression, and the importance of registering with a veterinarian.

This study highlights areas where further empirical research is needed to fill knowledge gaps and where animal welfare organisations may need to target educational campaigns. Providing consistent, evidence-based care advice could help prevent issues and promote sustainable reptile welfare.

Hair cortisol concentration (HCC) is a retrospective marker of stress; its quantification is a valuable tool due to the simple, non-invasive sampling method and its representation of prolonged stress periods. Another key attribute of fiber quality is the mean fiber diameter (MFD). We aimed to study HCC levels and MFD variation across two growth periods of Mohair fiber. Fiber samples were collected from 14 goats raised under extensive conditions (EP: extensive period—90 days) and then transitioned to a winter trial with free-range feeding (IP: intensive period—83 days). At the beginning of the IP, fiber was dyed at the base (dye binding). At the end of the IP, dyed fibers were cut and analyzed using OFDA2000 equipment to determine the initial and final MFD, allowing the calculation of the daily rate of diameter change (MFDR, µm/day). Steroid extraction was performed using organic solvents to quantify cortisol levels by high-performance liquid chromatography. Data were analyzed using a paired samples t-test with a 5% significance level.

During the EP, animals had a higher cortisol concentration (1.4±0.23 ng/mL) than during the IP (0.5±0.12 ng/mL). A lower MFDR (-0.008±0.004 µm/day) was also observed in the EP compared to the IP (0.015±0.004 µm/day). These findings suggest greater nutrient availability at the follicular level during the IP, resulting in increased MFD and reduced HCC. Despite being kept in a smaller space with reduced mobility and higher stocking density during winter, access to shelter, food, and water in both quantity and quality contributed to reduced cortisol levels and a higher MFDR, indicating improved animal welfare.

Evaluating animal welfare (AW) in dairy farming remains a complex challenge due to the numerous indicators involved. This study aims to develop a specific evaluation grid for dairy cows, incorporating measurement methods tailored to each indicator, to provide a reliable and reproducible assessment.

The study was conducted in three organic dairy farms in western France. A sample of 21 cows per farm was observed by two evaluators one day per week over a 10-week period. The selected indicators covered five categories, feeding, housing, health, behavior, and stress, in line with the five fundamental freedoms of animal welfare. A "high–medium–low" scale was applied to each indicator, and inter- and intra-observer reproducibility was assessed using the Kappa concordance coefficient.

The results show notable variability in the reproducibility of the indicators. Health indicators, such as skin lesions (Kappa = 0.82) and coughing (Kappa = 0.72), demonstrated high reproducibility, confirming their reliability for assessing AW. Conversely, indicators related to cleanliness, such as leg cleanliness, showed lower reproducibility (Kappa < 0.5), possibly due to the influence of environmental or behavioral factors. Similarly, behavioral indicators, such as responsiveness to human stimuli, presented moderate reproducibility, suggesting day-to-day fluctuations and highlighting the need to standardize observation conditions to improve precision. Positioning charts show that health indicators require minimal improvement, while those related to housing and behavior are of higher priority.

The proposed grid allows for prioritizing interventions on farms to enhance AW, although certain limitations remain. This study recommends additional outdoor observations to refine the assessment and address the limitations posed by indicators affected by indoor housing conditions.