The Definition, Current Knowledge and Implementation of Welfare for Farm Animals--A Personal View

Being humane to farm animals (welfare) must include (1) having a sound knowledge of their normal and anomalous behavior responses in a farm context and heeding this in a practical way and (2) adopting handling procedures which elicit minimal distress in the species concerned. Building up an ethogram of predictable responses and recording the patterns of behavior during key events, mating, birth, and care of the young are essential. There are still gaps in the recorded ethograms offarm animals. Objective measurements of distress, including an index of its seriousness, are also a priority. The results from animal preference tests can provide some answers on which to base practical husbandry in the areas of housing design, optimal temperatures, the need for companions, factors which elicit aggression, acceptable feeds, and species\u27 sensory capacities. Handling preference tests could also be undertaken. Overcoming inertia is a problem for both the owners and the animals if changes are to be made within established systems of production. Gross cruelty can be countered by legislation, but the motivation for ongoing good welfare of farmed animals must come from within the workers/owners on the site. Trying to force it by legislation may be counter-productive. A five-point program for promoting practical animal welfare is outlined

Virtual reality and augmeneted reality for managing symptoms

As technology advances, Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) have been applied more and more widely. VR and AR are applied in the various healthcare facets including medical education and training, surgical simulation, neurological rehabilitation, psychotherapy, and telemedicine. Many research studies have provided the evidence that VR and AR can be effective interventions on the management of many disease and treatment-induced symptoms. VR and AR can offer to users a safe environment within which to experience different interventions. These interventions include the rehabilitation of discharged patients at the home setting, the support of hospitalized patients during different procedures, and also the management of treatment-induced adverse events of patients with cancer to name a few. These technologies are promising tools for the monitoring of treatments that influence the psychological and physiological functions of the patients. The aim of this chapter is to describe VR and AR and their efficacy on symptoms management which many patients experience