Costs and benefits of living in a vegetated, compared with non‐vegetated, enclosure in male Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata)
Improving captive environments for primates has been an important tool to enhance animal welfare. One method has been to provide primates with naturalistic vegetated enclosures to promote species-specific behaviors, enhancing interactions with their social and natural environment, such as an increase in feeding, foraging, and positive social behaviors such as play. To investigate the benefits […]
Wintertime use of natural versus artificial shelter by cattle in nature reserves in temperate areas
The current study contributes scientific observation to the ongoing debate about whether and when artificial shelter (man-made), in addition to natural shelter (vegetation), should be provided to cattle grazing in nature reserves during temperate winters. In several year-round grazing projects in Belgium, we have investigated the effect of winter climatic conditions on cattle’s use of […]
Summertime use of natural versus artificial shelter by cattle in nature reserves
Whether cattle grazing in nature reserves in temperate summers ought to be provided with artificial shelter (man-made), in addition to natural shelter (vegetation), is a topic of debate. We have investigated the effect of heat-load on the use of natural versus artificial shelter (with a roof and three walls) by cattle in eight nature reserves […]
An automated positioning system for monitoring chickens’ location: Accuracy and registration success in a free-range area
Free-range use in chickens is often suboptimal, and the full potential of outdoor access for chicken welfare may not be achieved. Many studies use visual observations of free-range use, imposing several limitations. An automated system capable of continuously monitoring the location of multiple individual birds over a long time period has the potential to increase […]