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Thousands of animals are housed in captive conditions worldwide, often to the detriment of their mental well-being. Scientists at Queen's Animal Behaviour Centre have spent the last 20 years developing new ways of improving the psychological welfare of animals housed in captivity. Their research has shown that classical music and scents such as lavender in dog shelters calms the animals, and that shielding zoo-housed gorillas from visitors with camouflage netting over the viewing windows, prevents great apes from becoming agitated. The impact of this research extends to guidelines and regulations set by the American Veterinary Medical Association, the UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the Australian Government's National Health and Medical Research Council. Commercial impact includes CDs of music composed specifically for dogs, now widely available to buy on the open market, and being utilised in 1700+ rescue shelters and by over 150,000 pet owners around the globe.
Impact: Policy / animal welfare / economic. European Directives on Animal Welfare have been changed to improve animal comfort during transport. Our research has provided a basis for establishing comfort/discomfort at an objective, physiological level through response modelling and the quantitative assessment of the effects of thermal conditions. The definition of optimum transport environments has underpinned improved transport vehicle design and operation and formed the basis of the development of regulations for improved animal welfare.
Significance: ~60 billion animals are transported world-wide each year.
Beneficiaries: EU policy makers (leading to revised Directives), UK Government departments (especially Defra), and animals during transport.
Attribution: Prof. Mitchell (SRUC).
Reach: All EU Member States, Canada, and the US.
Impact on health and welfare: The health and welfare of laying hens has been improved by the EU-wide ban on the use of small, barren battery cages, enabled by UoE research on the relationship between cage design and welfare.
Impact on public policy and services: The EU banned conventional battery cages for laying hens through a directive that came into effect on 1st January 2012. New Zealand followed with its own ban in 2012.
Impact on production: Farmers have changed from housing laying hens in battery cages to using more welfare-friendly furnished cages or free-range systems.
Impact on commerce: In the UK, over £400M has been spent to meet the standards laid down by the EU directive.
Beneficiaries: Laying hens in Europe and New Zealand; farmers who use furnished cages as an economically efficient alternative to free-range.
Significance and Reach: The improved welfare of over 1.3 billion laying hens in Europe and New Zealand.
Attribution: All research was led by Dr Michael Appleby, University of Edinburgh (1984-2001), with collaborators at the Roslin Institute (now UoE), Uppsala and Bristol.
Professor Marian Dawkins' research at the University of Oxford has established rigorous metrics of welfare for commercially-reared chickens and ducks, that have had a major impact on policy and practice. Her findings in relation to stocking densities for broiler chickens influenced the 2007 EU Broiler Directive; this was adopted by the UK in 2010, and has had a major impact on the industry. For ducks, research examined the provision of water, for which there were contradictory indications with respect to welfare and bacterial infections, and identified solutions for both. Since 2010 this has been incorporated into duck welfare programmes in which both Defra and industry participate.
Impact: Policy, Animal Health and Welfare: Improved sow and piglet welfare and recommendations and codes of practice for farrowing and lactation systems that better meet sow and piglet needs.
Significance: Farrowing crates restrict sow movements interfering with natural sow behaviour and increasing psychological distress. Used predominantly to protect piglets, SRUC research demonstrated that piglet survival improved in loose-housed environments, undermining crate use.
Beneficiaries: Farmers, sows and piglets, the general public
Attribution: Drs Baxter and Jarvis, Professors Lawrence and Roehe (SRUC). Research collaboration was with Prof Sandra Edwards, University of Newcastle.
Reach: International legislative bans on farrowing crates; voluntary industry uptake of non-crate systems; EU recommendations/legislation on housing at farrowing, guidelines for keeping pigs (e.g. RSPCA Freedom Food).
The use and treatment of animals in the provision of our food, clothing and other raw materials, as well as in the areas of medical research, sport and entertainment, polarises public opinion and provokes extreme views. Research by Professor Robert Garner on the ethics and politics of animal protection has provided a springboard for political debate and decision making both in the UK and internationally. In particular, Garner's work has impacted upon the debate within the animal protection movement, and has helped to shape aspects of government policy on animal welfare issues in general, most notably on the UK Government's approach to the issue of whaling, and DEFRA's approach to the ethics of using wild animals in circuses.
Research undertaken at Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU) studied habitat enrichment in captive coyotes (with the National Wildlife Research Center in Utah), and herd composition of donkeys, horses and mules (with the Donkey Sanctuary). These studies observed social and environmental interactions, addressing important welfare indicators in gregarious species. The work identified welfare issues in both sites and provided the necessary evidence to allow improvements to be made.
Specifically, this research has:
1) led to changes in the husbandry practice and policy in both partner institutions that have improved animal welfare;
2) improved how the Donkey Sanctuary trains international partners and undertakes welfare education.
Hundreds of millions of laying hens in the European Community are now kept in enriched cages with significantly more space than conventional battery cages and with specific provision for nesting, scratching and perching. Research undertaken at Bristol University provided much of the evidence base for the full implementation of the relevant European directive in January 2012; the prohibition of the conventional battery cage and the introduction of a superior, scientifically researched alternative. This has had a dramatic impact on husbandry standards and the welfare of laying hens. With Bristol's involvement, similar progress has also been made in countries beyond Europe.
The mouse is the most important laboratory animal used worldwide in biomedical research and for regulatory testing of products. Research at the University of Liverpool by Prof Hurst has led to a change in the methods universally recommended for routine handling of mice to minimize a well- recognized problem that handling can create high anxiety, stress and a risk of animals biting the handler. This has impacts for animal welfare, for practitioners, and for reliability in a broad range of research and testing using mice (e.g. in the pharmaceuticals industry) where responses can be confounded by uncontrolled anxiety responses. Mouse handling guidelines have been changed and are being implemented in animal research facilities.
Veterinarians have long recognised health problems associated with in-breeding and extreme conformation in various pedigree dogs. However, the `Pedigree Dogs Exposed' documentary in 2008, which particularly featured the plight of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels (CKCS), and resultant independent inquiry reports, to which RVC contributed, brought the extent and severity of the issue into the public eye. RVC's ongoing programme of research linked to interaction with stakeholders has contributed to the changes in breed standards instituted by the Kennel Club (KC); understanding of underlying principles governing the relationship between structure and function and affecting desired traits; developing tools to address conformation-related health problems; and driving changes in breeding practice leading to healthier dogs.