Using anticipatory behavior as preference test in the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)
The preference tests have made a great contribution to promoting animal welfare. However, they are not always easily applicable and have some criticalities. Recently the anticipatory behavior has been used to detect the animals’ preference. In this study, we attempted to investigate the relationship between preference and anticipatory behavior. To this end, we tested on […]
A Standardized Protocol for Preference Testing to Assess Fish Welfare
Animal welfare assessment techniques try to take into consideration the specific needs and wants of the animal in question. Providing enrichment (the addition of physical objects or conspecifics in the housing environment) is often a way to give captive animals the opportunity to choose who or what they interact with and how they spend their […]
Assessing the Preference of Rabbit Does to Social Contact or Seclusion: Results of Different Investigations
The aim of this study was to verify the motivation of rabbit does to social contact or seclusion. The results of two different research activities assessed in Italy (experiment 1) and Germany (experiment 2) through the use of motivational cages are reported. In experiment 1, only the average time of occupation of the group or […]
Gerbils Prefer Partially Darkened Cages
A test system previously described by Blom et al (1993) was used to investigate the preference of the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus) with respect to light intensity in their cage, by comparing a standard transparent rodent cage with three cages darkened by either 25, 50 or 75 per cent. The ten animals included in the […]
Shelter choice by Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) in the laboratory
The preference of Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) for different in-cage shelters was tested. First, 15 males and 15 females were made to choose between a cage with a shelter and one without. Different shelters were tested consecutively: short (10-cm) or medium (15-cm) pipes made of black acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), 7.6 cm in diameter and […]
The preference of 0+ and 2+ gilthead seabream Sparus aurata for coloured substrates or no-substrate
A major component of animal welfare is to provide for the behavioural and psychological needs of captive animals. A means to estimate these needs is preference tests. However, what an animal chooses may not prove to be beneficial for its long-term health and welfare. The long-term effect (for approximately three months) of the presence of […]
Video Preference Assessment and Behavioral Management of Single-Caged Japanese Macaques (Macaca fuscata) by Movie Presentation
Movie presentation can act as an enrichment technique for nonhuman primates, who also show preferences for certain contents. This study investigated the video preferences and effects of movies on behavioral abnormalities in single-caged Japanese macaques. When movie rewards were provided for subjects’ touch responses, the subjects maintained the touch responses during 40 2-hr sessions. Although […]
Feed-restricted broiler breeders: State-dependent learning as a novel welfare assessment tool to evaluate their hunger state?
This paper reports three experiments that aimed to validate the use of state-dependent learning (SDL) as a novel welfare assessment tool to evaluate the hunger state of feed-restricted broiler breeders. In each experiment, birds alternated every 2 days between two food rations: quantitative feed restriction (QFR) and ad libitum access to the same feed (AL). […]
The impact of bedding volumes on laboratory mice
Environmental refinement is considered to be an improvement in housing conditions for laboratory animals. Previous preference tests showed that female BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice prefer deeper bedding in comparison to shallow bedding (Freymann et al., 2015). In order to give a comprehensive insight into the impact of bedding depths on laboratory mice, we continued to […]