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Category: Animal Welfare ×
Bites haven't be an unavoidable part of veterinary work
More than 2,300 dog and cat bites were reported across a veterinary network of over 1,000 clinics in the UK and Ireland between January 2024 and October 2025.
US animal welfare policy: new federal measures focus on dogs and research while farm animals remain largely outside the framework
The Trump administration has announced what USDA calls a “new era of animal welfare”, combining stronger enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act for dogs with federal measures…
Welfare of Beef Cattle: EFSA Prioritizes Shortcomings and Areas for Action
An opinion from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) identifies the main risk factors for the welfare of beef cattle in Europe: hard flooring, limited access to water, an u...
Anxious Dogs in Shelters: Behavior Therapy Upon Arrival Reduces Stress More Quickly Without Delaying Adoption
An American study settles a recurring debate in animal welfare: Should dogs arriving at a shelter be given time to adjust, or should they undergo immediate behavioral rehabilita...
New Biomarkers to Better Perform Welfare Assessment on Wild Animals
An article presents a major advance in the welfare assessment of animals in both wildlife and captive populations. It promotes more accurate, non-invasive biomedical methods to...
Playing with a dog for 15 minutes reduces stress in both humans and dogs
Saliva and fecal tests showed that dogs’ cortisol levels were lower one week after spending time with a human, and that students’ self-reported stress levels decreased by 33.5%...
Anthropocentrism, anthropomorphism, speciesism: Beware of confusion!
Anthropocentrism—understood as the preference given to humans in a world they are free to exploit as they see fit—tends to clash with a concept that has become increasingly prev...
Hypertype in Dogs: Dutch Breeder Sentenced
A French bulldog breeder was fined €3,000 for selecting breeding dogs with noses that were too short, resulting in puppies that suffered from severe breathing difficulties, even...
Animal welfare… let's talk about the animal welfare instead
The conditions under which animals are raised for human consumption are a major source of controversy in society . Some call for an end to all animal farming, while others insis...
Does organic farming ensure better animal welfare for farm animals?
On June 30, 2021, the European Commission responded positively to the 1.4 million citizens who signed the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) “End the Cage Age , ” announcing th...
Welfare of Laying Hens: A New Challenge for Veterinarians
Veterinarians at the forefront of the transition toward more sustainable farming practices that respect the welfare of laying hens—that is the goal of the Federation of European...
Endangered Species: How YouTube Encourages the Trade in Exotic Animals
The unsustainable trade in wild species is growing exponentially, largely due to its widespread accessibility via the Internet. Access to social media has upended the rules of w...
City noise affects health and birdsong
Urban traffic noise causes learning deficits and delays in young birds. These birds also have weakened immune systems, a sign of chronic stress. Traffic noise is ubiquitous in o...
Prenatal stress affects anxiety-related behavior and the well-being of sows
Sows that experience prenatal stress are more anxious as adults, and when they become mothers themselves, they are less maternal toward their offspring. This finding has implica...
Better Detection of Pain in Donkeys to Improve Their Well-Being
People say donkeys are stubborn, but veterinarians prefer to describe them as stoic. In fact, they are very good at hiding their pain, which contributes to delays in detecting t...
Boxers: Dogs with Serious Heart Conditions
Boxers are prone to a rapidly progressive hereditary heart disease that is often diagnosed too late to be treated effectively. However, the discovery of a physiological biomarke...
Training through punishment compromises a dog’s well-being
Dogs trained using aversive stimuli become more anxious and stressed, according to a new study. If the training method relies on frequent punishment, this distressed state persi...
Retirement and End of Life Care for Equines: How Can We Meet Future Needs?
Despite a current trend toward a declining horse population, the growing popularity of horse riding in the 1990s and 2000s led to an increase in France’s equine population. Now...
Well-being: Brachycephalic dogs suffer from more health conditions
While flat-faced or brachycephalic dogs are very popular, they often suffer from serious respiratory, eye, digestive, and skin conditions that result in a reduced quality of lif...
Slower-growing chickens enjoy better well-being
A new independent study shows that slower-growing broiler chickens are healthier and have a better quality of life than breeds that grow more quickly to meet the demands of the...
Predicting and Preventing Fractures in Racehorses
A study of the skeletons of various horses shows that racehorses are not adequately prepared for the extreme mechanical stresses they endure during a race. The resulting injurie...
Cows' social networks: A Key Factor in Their Health and Well-Being
To date, our understanding of social connections and bonds among cows remains limited. However, these connections are believed to have a significant impact on the animals’ healt...
Relieving Post-Traumatic Stress in Dogs
Everyone is familiar, in one way or another, with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in humans, but did you know that your four-legged companions can also suffer from it? The...
Drones and Artificial Intelligence to the Rescue of Birds in Agricultural Settings
Ground nests of birds in rural areas are vulnerable to agricultural activities and machinery that plow fields every spring. Researchers have developed a new system that, when pa...
Social Behavior: Pigs turn to humans, unless there is a problem
Like dogs, pigs turn to humans in neutral situations to interact with them. However, when faced with a problem to solve, pigs prefer to figure it out on their own, unlike dogs....
The Species Most Frequently Killed on Europe's Roads
A study identifies the species most vulnerable to road accidents—and they are not necessarily the ones most at risk of extinction. It shows that road accident prevention measure...
Chat: Will the lifting of lockdown restrictions cause separation anxiety?
While cats are not known for their exuberant attachment to their owners, a study has identified potential separation anxiety issues in cats for the first time. Although numerous...
Understanding Separation Anxiety in Dogs to Avoid Stress During the Reopening
Given the current lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s hard not to imagine the period of freedom that will follow. But for our canine friends, the future doesn’t look...
Animal Welfare: WOAH Is Taking Action on the Issue of Live Animal Transport
The 2nd edition of the World Forum on the The Animal Welfare* Working Group, established by WOAH in 2017, met on the 11th and 12th last April in Paris. This year, participants d...
Animal Shelters: Less Stress and More Rest for Dogs Temporarily Housed Outside the Kennel
Le placement temporaire en famille d’accueil réduit le niveau de stress et augmente le temps de repos chez les chiens vivant en refuge.
Animal Transport: Strasbourg Seeks to Strengthen and Update Animal Welfare Requirements
The European Parliament adopted, by a large majority, the report on the implementation of the regulation on animal protection during transport, both within and outside the Europ...
Donkey hides: a global trade denounced as inhumane and destructive
Several veterinary organizations, including the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), condemn the global tr...
Online Animal Sales: European Veterinarians Want to Tighten Regulations on Online Trade
In a joint letter addressed to Brussels, the three leading European veterinary organizations are sounding the alarm about the abuses in the largely unregulated online pet trade....
French Bulldog: A brachycephalic dog breed under close veterinary supervision in the United Kingdom
The French Bulldog, recognized by the Kennel Club in 1906, has become very popular in the United Kingdom. In terms of registrations, it was the second most registered pedigree d...
Pets and Veterinarians: The French View Their Pets' Health as a Priority
According to the survey “ The French and Their Pets, ” conducted by SantéVet and Ipsos for the second consecutive year, dog and cat owners rank their pets’ health as their top c...
Fur-bearing animals: Norway is moving toward a ban on mink and fox farming
Norway has decided to phase out fur farming by 2025. Once the measure is adopted by the Norwegian Parliament, a plan to phase out the approximately 300 fur farms that exploit wi...
Animal Welfare: Laws in Effect Across the 50 U.S. States Show Significant Disparities
Every year for the past twelve years, a report has provided a qualitative ranking of laws on animal welfare enacted in the United States. The 50 states are ranked according to t...
Anxiety in Dogs: Dexmedetomidine Treatment Reduces Sensitivity to Noise
Many dogs suffer from acute anxiety and stress associated with sudden loud noises, such as explosions, gunshots, thunder, and firecrackers. A new double-blind clinical study sho...
Weaning and Feline Behavior: Cats Weaned Early Are Prone to Aggression and Stereotypic Behaviour
A Finnish study* shows that the age at which a cat is weaned has a direct impact on the animal’s future behavior. Early weaning significantly increases the risk of behavioral an...
Horse Breeding: When Genetic Selection of Arabian Horses Verges on the Absurd
With his hypertype build, El Rey Magnum looks just like a cartoon horse. Yet this nine-month-old purebred Arabian is the pride of Orion Farms, a breeding center in the United St...
Whaling: MEPs Call on Norway to Stop the Slaughter
Although suspended in 1986 by an international moratorium, commercial whaling has never ceased in Norway, which has consistently opposed this decision aimed at ensuring the cons...
Equine Well-Being: A New Indicator for Detecting Chronic Stress in Horses
A study published in PLOS ONE reveals that sources of suffering in horses, such as chronic pain and hematological abnormalities, are associated with lower cortisol levels. About...
Equine Health: Software to Detect Signs of Pain in Horses
The University of California (UC Davis) Veterinary School has developed a program to monitor horses’ health that uses computer software to interpret facial expressions of pain....
Wildlife Trafficking: Medicines, Ivory, and Coral Top Customs Seizures in Europe
Brussels is reviewing the major seizures of endangered species of fauna and flora reported by European Union member states over a one-year period, from January through December...
Brachycephalic dogs: The popularity of flat-faced dogs shows no signs of waning in the United Kingdom
Two British studies, conducted by the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), examine brachycephalic dog breeds, which face serious health and welfare issues directly linked to their ph...
180 countries adopt the first strategy aimed at advancing animal welfare worldwide
The member countries of the World Organisation for Animal Health have formally adopted a coordinated strategy for animal welfare*, during the 85th General Session of the WOAH in...
Pregnancy and Slaughterhouses: EFSA Weighs In on the Issue of Slaughtering Pregnant Animals in Europe
In the European Union, according to experts at the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), on average 3% of dairy cows, 1.5% of beef cattle, 0.5% of pigs, 0.8% of sheep, and 0.2%...
Europe: Moving Toward a Ban on Wild Animals in Circus Performances
A conference*, organized in part by the Eurogroup for Animals at the European Parliament on March 28, sent a clear message to the European Union: traditional circuses featuring...