Qualitative behaviour assessment as part of a welfare assessment in flocks of laying hens

Until now, most research has focused on the development of indicators of negative welfare, and relatively few studies provide information on valid, reliable, and feasible indicators addressing positive aspects of animal welfare. However, a lack of suffering does not guarantee that animals are experiencing a positive welfare state. The aim of the present review is to identify promising valid and reliable animal-based indicators for the assessment of positive welfare that might be included in welfare assessment protocols for ruminants, and to discuss them in the light of the five domains model, highlighting possible gaps to be filled by future research. Based on the existing literature in the main databases, each indicator was evaluated in terms of its validity, reliability, and on-farm feasibility. Some valid indicators were identified, but a lot of the validity evidence is based on their absence when a negative situation is present; furthermore, only a few indicators are available in the domains of Nutrition and Health. Reliability has been seldom addressed. On-farm feasibility could be increased by developing specific sampling strategies and/or relying on the use of video- or automatic-recording devices. In conclusion, several indicators are potentially available (e.g., synchronisation of lying and feeding, coat or fleece condition, qualitative behaviour assessment), but further research is required.

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Welfare assessment of two hybrids of laying hens housed in conventional cages

Journal of Veterinary Medical Research ◽

10.21608/jvmr.2008.77859 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

pp. 128-134

Author(s):

H.D.H. Mahboub ◽

I.M. Fares ◽

R.A. Darwish

Keyword(s):

Laying Hens ◽

Welfare Assessment

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The Use of Qualitative Behaviour Assessment for the On-Farm Welfare Assessment of Dairy Goats

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani8070123 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 (7) ◽

pp. 123 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Monica Battini ◽

Sara Barbieri ◽

Ana Vieira ◽

Edna Can ◽

George Stilwell ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Principal Component Analysis ◽

Principal Component ◽

Holistic Approach ◽

Dairy Goats ◽

Qualitative Behaviour ◽

Hair Coat ◽

Welfare Assessment ◽

Welfare Indicators ◽

Normal Hair ◽

On Farm

This research investigated whether using qualitative behaviour assessment (QBA) with a fixed list of descriptors may be related to quantitative animal- (ABM) and resource-based (RBM) measures included in the AWIN (Animal Welfare Indicators) welfare assessment prototype protocol for goats, tested in 60 farms. A principal component analysis (PCA) was conducted on QBA descriptors; then PCs were correlated to some ABMs and RBMs. Subsequently, a combined PCA merged QBA scores, ABMs and RBMs. The study confirms that QBA can identify the differences in goats’ emotions, but only few significant correlations were found with ABMs and RBMs. In addition, the combined PCA revealed that goats with a normal hair coat were scored as more relaxed and sociable. A high farm workload was related to bored and suffering goats, probably because farmers that can devote less time to animals may fail to recognise important signals from them. Goats were scored as sociable, but also alert, in response to the presence of an outdoor run, probably because when outdoors they received more stimuli than indoors and were more attentive to the surroundings. Notwithstanding these results, the holistic approach of QBA may allow to register animals’ welfare from a different perspective and be complementary to other measures.

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Measuring ephemera: finding the “qualitative” in Qualitative Behaviour Assessment as a “whole-animal” science of animal welfare

HoST - Journal of History of Science and Technology ◽

10.2478/host-2019-0013 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 60-85

Author(s):

Maisie Tomlinson

Keyword(s):

Animal Behaviour ◽

Laboratory Mice ◽

Historical Account ◽

Qualitative Behaviour ◽

Animal Science ◽

Welfare Assessment ◽

Species Specific ◽

Research Period ◽

University Laboratory

Abstract Qualitative Behaviour Assessment (QBA) emerged in the early 2000s as a way of evaluating the expressive quality of animal behaviour and emotions using qualitative descriptors, such as “playful” or “depressed.” Developed in response to the scepticism of behaviourist attitudes to animal emotions, QBA is now an internationally respected methodology, if still contentious in some circles for what is perceived as an “anthropomorphic” approach. This article results from a research period spent with a UK university laboratory team who were developing species-specific QBA descriptors for the welfare assessment of laboratory mice. The case of the search for a “calm mouse” illuminates the difficulties sometimes encountered in finding the “qualitative” in QBA. It suggests that welfare assessments of animals are epistemologically multiple. Through a historical account of QBA’s emergence, drawing on Cristina Grasseni’s concept of an “ecology of practice,” I argue that different modes of perceiving animal behaviour have emerged through socially and historically inscribed practices.

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