scholarly journals Lying Behaviour in Dairy Goats: Effects of a New Automated Feeding System Assessed by Accelerometer Technology

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2370
Author(s):  
Ines Maurmann ◽  
Bianca A. E. Greiner ◽  
Stanislaus von Korn ◽  
Maren Bernau
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Video Data ◽  
Feeding System ◽  
Agonistic Interactions ◽  
Dairy Goats ◽  
Bout Duration ◽  
Feeding Management ◽  
Before And After

The aim of this study was to evaluate lying behaviour in dairy goats before and after installation of an optimized automatic concentrated feeding system (AFS). A mixed-horned herd of Bunte Deutsche Edelziege was used. As many agonistic interactions between goats happen at the feeding place, a new automated feeding system was installed to better fulfil the needs of horned goats. Lying behaviour is an indicator to ascertain animal welfare of ruminants. In order to measure lying behaviour accelerometer technology was used and verified by video analyses. The results show an agreement of 99.62–99.93% per lying time by comparing accelerometers to video data. Over all goats, a mean ± SD lying time (LT) of 11.78 ± 1.47 h/d, a mean ± SD lying bout duration (LBD) of 0.51 ± 0.10 h/bout and a mean ± SD frequency of lying bouts (FLB) of 24.35 ± 5.57 were found. Lying behaviour follows a seasonal progression with significant lowest LBD and highest FLB in summer. With the old AFS significant differences in LBD and FLB were detected between horned and hornless goats, but with the new AFS results were adjusted. Findings suggest that changes in feeding management do not affect the general seasonal progression of lying behaviour but can affect the behavioural differences between horned and hornless dairy goats.

scholarly journals Application of YOLOv4 for Detection and Motion Monitoring of Red Foxes

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1723
Author(s):  
Anne K. Schütz ◽  
Verena Schöler  ◽  
E. Tobias Krause  ◽  
Mareike Fischer  ◽  
Thomas Müller  ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Early Recognition ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Automatic Detection ◽  
Animal Husbandry ◽  
Video Data ◽  
Activity Level ◽  
Red Foxes ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Animal Activity

Animal activity is an indicator for its welfare and manual observation is time and cost intensive. To this end, automatic detection and monitoring of live captive animals is of major importance for assessing animal activity, and, thereby, allowing for early recognition of changes indicative for diseases and animal welfare issues. We demonstrate that machine learning methods can provide a gap-less monitoring of red foxes in an experimental lab-setting, including a classification into activity patterns. Therefore, bounding boxes are used to measure fox movements, and, thus, the activity level of the animals. We use computer vision, being a non-invasive method for the automatic monitoring of foxes. More specifically, we train the existing algorithm ‘you only look once’ version 4 (YOLOv4) to detect foxes, and the trained classifier is applied to video data of an experiment involving foxes. As we show, computer evaluation outperforms other evaluation methods. Application of automatic detection of foxes can be used for detecting different movement patterns. These, in turn, can be used for animal behavioral analysis and, thus, animal welfare monitoring. Once established for a specific animal species, such systems could be used for animal monitoring in real-time under experimental conditions, or other areas of animal husbandry.

scholarly journals Increasing Maximum Penalties for Animal Welfare Offences in South Australia—Has It Caused Penal Change?

Animals ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rochelle Morton ◽  
Michelle Hebart ◽  
Alexandra Whittaker
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Interdisciplinary Research ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Companion Animal ◽  
Animal Abuse ◽  
Electronic Form ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Case Files ◽  
Animal Welfare Legislation

Animal welfare legislation in South Australia underwent amendments in 2008, where all the maximum penalties for animal welfare offences were doubled. This commitment to increased penalties arguably provides evidence of the legislature’s intent with respect to penalties. Studies have speculated that the legislative intent behind the increased penalties is not being reflected in the courts. This interdisciplinary research sought to gain evidence to confirm or disprove these speculations, by quantifying the average custodial sentence and monetary fine handed down in court before and after the 2008 amendments. Furthermore, trends relating to the species of animal affected and the demographics of the offender were identified. A total of 314 RSPCA (SA) closed case files from 2006 to 2018 were converted into an electronic form. Since the amendments, the average penalties have doubled in magnitude; fines have increased from $700 to $1535, while prison sentences have increased from 37 days to 77 days. Cases of companion animal abuse were most common (75% of all cases) and the location of the offence was found to influence offending. These findings suggest that the 2008 amendments have caused the average penalties to increase. However, it is debatable whether these increases are enough to effectively punish animal abusers.

scholarly journals Vehicle and Pedestrian Level of Service in Street Designs with Elements of Shared Space

2020 ◽  
Vol 2674 (9) ◽  
pp. 1084-1096
Author(s):  
Ioannis Kaparias ◽  
Rui Wang
Keyword(s):  
Video Data ◽  
Road User ◽  
Level Of Service ◽  
Highway Capacity ◽  
Vehicle Traffic ◽  
Highway Capacity Manual ◽  
Shared Space ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Traffic Volumes

Inspired by developments in urban planning, the concept of “shared space” has recently emerged as a way of creating a better public realm. This is achieved through a range of streetscape treatments aimed at asserting the function of streets as places by facilitating pedestrian movement and lowering vehicle traffic volumes and speeds. The characteristics of streets with elements of shared space point to the conjecture that traffic conditions and road user perceptions may be different to those on streets designed according to more conventional principles, and this is likely to have an impact on the quality of service. The aim of this paper is, therefore, to perform an analysis in relation to level of service (LOS) and to investigate how this may change as a result of the implementation of street layouts with elements of shared space. Using video data from the Exhibition Road site in London during periods before and after its conversion from a conventional dual carriageway to a layout featuring several elements of shared space, changes in relation to LOS for both vehicle traffic and pedestrians are investigated, by applying the corresponding methods from the 2010 Highway Capacity Manual. The results suggest that streets with elements of shared space provide a much improved pedestrian experience, as expressed by higher LOS ratings, but without compromising the quality of vehicle traffic flow, which, in fact, also sees slight improvements.

scholarly journals PSX-34 Ruminating and lying behavior of dairy goats in confinement or grazing

2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 452-453
Author(s):  
Luana P Ribeiro ◽  
Sanae Ischii ◽  
Shirron LeShure ◽  
Terry A Gipson
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Management System ◽  
Free Choice ◽  
Mixed Model ◽  
The Other ◽  
Dairy Goats ◽  
Mixed Model Analysis ◽  
Independent Variables ◽  
System A ◽  
Key Indicator

Abstract Behavior is a key indicator of animal welfare and wellbeing. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of management system [confinement (C) or grazing (G)] on the behaviors of rumination time (RT) and lying/standing (L/S) in dairy goats. Forty Alpine goats (57.7±5.7 kg) in late lactation were randomly assigned to one of four groups. A replicated switchback design was used with Groups A and C the Confinement-Grazing-Confinement (CGC) sequence and Groups B and D the Grazing-Confinement-Grazing (GCG) sequence. Each group spent 1 wk in each management system. A 40% forage diet was offered free-choice in both systems, with some growing forage available for goats in G as well. Goats were fitted with two tri-axial accelerometers, one in an elastic, nose-band halter and the other attached to the hind leg. Data from tri-axial accelerometers were processed using SAS with prediction equations for RT and L/S. A mixed model analysis was conducted with RT or L/S as the dependent variable, and replicate (1, 2), sequence (CGC, GCG), management system (confinement, grazing), and interactions as independent variables, and animal as random. Rumination time and L/S were not affected (P > 0.10) by sequence or replicate. Goats in G had greater (P < 0.01) RT than those in C (12.7 vs 10.2 min/h; SEM=0.509). Regardless of management system, goats had lower RT in the second week than in the first or third week of the experiment (12.2, 10.2, and 11.9 min/h in wk 1, 2, and 3, respectively; SEM=0.574). Daily L/S behavior was not affected (P > 0.10) by management. Lying time was 726 min/d in C and 699 min/d in G (SEM=16.7). Standing time was 714 min/d in C and 741 min/d in G (SEM=16.7). These results indicate that management system affects rumination time but not lying/standing behavior in dairy goats.

scholarly journals Opinions towards Companion Animals and Their Welfare: A Survey of Croatian Veterinary Students

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomislav Mikuš ◽  
Mario Ostović ◽  
Ivana Sabolek ◽  
Kristina Matković ◽  
Željko Pavičić ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Veterinary Medicine ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Companion Animals ◽  
First Year ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Veterinary Students ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Study Programme ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Before And After

This survey was the first one investigating opinions of veterinary students in Croatia towards companion animals and their welfare, with special reference to dogs and cats as the most popular companion animals in the European Union. The study included students of all six years of the integrated undergraduate and graduate veterinary medicine study programme in Croatia. First-year students were surveyed twice, before and after having attended the course on animal welfare. Student opinions were assessed on the basis of their mean responses to five-point Likert scale questions and frequency of responses to Yes/No/I do not know questions and ratio scale questions. Study results revealed students to have strongly positive opinions towards companion animals and their welfare. The majority of student statements did not differ significantly between the first and sixth study years or before and after having attended the animal welfare course in the first study year, mostly yielding a straight, non-fluctuating line. Students were not sure whether welfare of companion dogs and cats was compromised. Study results pointed to reliable and reasonable opinions of veterinary medicine students in Croatia towards companion animals and their welfare, as well as to the welfare issues these species may be facing nowadays.

Effects of feeding management and time of day on the occurrence of self-suckling in dairy goats

2011 ◽  
Vol 168 (14) ◽  
pp. 378-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Martinez-de la Puente ◽  
I. Moreno-Indias ◽  
A. Morales-Delanuez ◽  
M. D. Ruiz-Diaz ◽  
L. E. Hernandez-Castellano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Time Of Day ◽  
Dairy Goats ◽  
Feeding Management

scholarly journals Sheep and goat welfare in Croatia: Assessing veterinary student attitudes

2021 ◽  
pp. 10-10
Author(s):  
Mario Ostovic ◽  
Tomislav Mikus ◽  
Velimir Susic ◽  
Kristina Matkovic ◽  
Zeljko Pavicic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Veterinary Medicine ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Student Attitudes ◽  
First Year ◽  
Student Responses ◽  
Sheep And Goats ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Student Residence

Research into the veterinary perception of animal welfare is becoming ever more relevant. Following previous studies on Croatian veterinary students? attitudes and opinions towards farm animal and pet welfare, the present study assessed their attitudes towards sheep and goat welfare, focusing on the year of veterinary medicine study and area of student residence. The questionnaire survey involved students of all six years of the integrated undergraduate and graduate study programme at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia. First-year students filled out the questionnaire twice, before and after having attended the animal welfare subject. The questionnaire consisted of two sections. The first section included questions on student demographic and experiential characteristics, whereas the second section asked them to define the level of cognition, sentience and welfare compromise in sheep and goats through five-point Likert scale questions. Study results revealed that students agreed that sheep and goats have cognitive abilities and feelings, but they neither agreed nor disagreed about their welfare compromise. There was no significant difference in student responses according to years of study or between first-year student responses before and after having attended the animal welfare subject or according to areas of student residence. These results could suggest poor student interaction with small ruminants and, therefore, help expand the respective curriculum.

scholarly journals Effectiveness of educational video in improving oral hygiene in preschool students

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rinintha Adistia ◽  
Wade'ah Wafa ◽  
Eriska Riyanti ◽  
Arlette Suzy Puspa Pertiwi Setiawan
Keyword(s):  
Oral Hygiene ◽  
Video Data ◽  
Plaque Index ◽  
Educational Video ◽  
Preschool Students ◽  
Oral Health Education ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Research Population ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Index Value

Introduction: In recent years, attention has been drawn toward assessing the effectiveness of an oral health education program, especially for preschool students, in order to improve oral hygiene status. There is a difference in the level of ability and learning methods based on age. For early childhood, they tend to imitate the things they see, both people and multimedia images. This research was aimed to analyse the effectiveness of educational video in improving oral hygiene level in preschool students. Methods: This type of research was quasi-experimental with one group pretest-posttest design. The sampling method was the total sampling and obtained 40 subjects. The research population was all students in Al Azhar Kindergarten aged 4-6 years and met the inclusion criteria. Greene and Vermilion Plaque Index was applied to measure the oral hygiene status of each subject before and after the intervention with educational video. The intervention consisted of four meetings; each meeting consisted of before and after plaque index measurement and also after watching the educational video. Data were analysed using t-paired statistical analysis. Results: The result showed a comparison of difference of the plaque index value change on the day I with day VII, which obtained the t-value = 3.365, higher than the t-table = 2.02. Conclusion: Educational video is effective in improving oral hygiene in preschool students by reducing the plaque accumulation.

scholarly journals Visitors’ Attitudes Toward Non-Human Primates in a Free-Roaming Multi-Species Sanctuary (Monkeyland, South Africa)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Lenzi ◽  
Chiara Grasso ◽  
Siobhan Speiran
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Lemur Catta ◽  
Companion Animal ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Primate Species ◽  
Human Interactions ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Guided Tour

The aim of the present study is to investigate themes related to visitors’ perceptions of captive wildlife in particular, attitudes towards non-human primates (henceforth, primates). This research took place in free-roaming, multi-species primate sanctuary, Monkeyland (South Africa), where 400 visitors were interviewed using an anonymous survey both before and after attending a guided tour. The answers were divided into different categories, in order to standardize the motivations behind tourists’ choices. The results of the survey demonstrated that most visitors agree that a primate would not be a good companion animal. Visitors’ desire to touch primates was found to be positively correlated with desire for companion primates and inversely associated with visitor age. In response to: “would you like to touch a monkey?”, the majority of tourists who expressed this desire seemed aware that such interactions are not appropriate, with concern for animal welfare and human health. Of the various primate species present in the sanctuary, visitors preferred the ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) and, generally speaking, expressed appreciation for primates’ “cuteness”. Our results indicate a general awareness by the visitors on the importance of animal welfare in the human interactions with captive wildlife, in agreement with the “hands-off” policy of Monkeyland primate sanctuary. We discuss the findings from a general to zooanthropological point of view, proposing some reflections on the attitudes of visitors toward non-human primates.

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