Behavioural and electrophysiological characterisation of sleep in sheep and its application in animal welfare studies

Major aims in the study of animal welfare are to try and understand the subjective mental experience of animals, to develop methods to assess their responses to changes in mental state and to use this information to enhance animal welfare. One of the most profound changes of mental state observable in all mammals is the change between wakefulness and sleep. Electrophysiological measurements, when combined with behavioural observations, provide a powerful means of characterising the states of sleep and wakefulness of animals. The spectral components of an electroencephalogram (EEG) reflect the differences in the electrical activity of the brain between sleep and wakefulness.When humans undergo an aversive, stressful, disturbing, or worrying experience during wakefulness, their subsequent sleep can be affected. The present series of investigations examined the hypothesis that sheep exposed to aversive husbandry procedures would experience disturbances to their subsequent sleep. A sleep disturbance might provide an indication of the effect of an aversive husbandry procedure on the mental state of a sheep, that would not otherwise have been detected using conventional methods such as behavioural observation, blood biochemistry and heart rate.Non-invasive electrophysiological hardware and software developed and used for human sleep studies, was adapted and used to study sleep in sheep. To assess the effectiveness of surface electrophysiological recordings to detect changes in the electrical activity of the brain of a sheep, three validation studies were carried out. They consisted of a) the post-mortem passage of electrical current through the head of a sheep; b) changes in EEG in response to depth of general anaesthesia and c) the EEG responses of a sheep in a sleep posture to an auditory stimulus.The method was then applied to characterise the sleep of six, housed, adult ewes. Three percent (± 0.2) of a 24-h period was spent in rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep and 15% (± 2.4) was spent in Non-REM sleep.Three experiments were undertaken to assess the effects of potentially aversive husbandry procedures on subsequent sleep. These consisted of a) movement to a novel environment; b) an 8-h road transport journey and c) a 29-h space Thesis Abstract restriction period (simulating times and space allowances used during road transport). Changes were seen in the distribution, quality and quantity of sleep. Although there were no significant effects on the duration of REM sleep or NonREM sleep, in two experiments, an increase in the number of REM sleep bouts was seen post-treatment. In all experiments, a post-treatment increase in the percentage of slow waves was seen in Non-REM sleep.This work provided a greater understanding of the impact of potentially aversive husbandry procedures on rest and sleep in sheep. All three of the potentially aversive husbandry procedures used as experimental treatments were associated with changes in subsequent sleep that may have been indicative of aversive experience during wakefulness. Although the changes in sleep found post-treatment were not large, they were consistent and reliable and therefore the methodology has potential for use in other applied animal welfare studies

Sheep fatigue during transport:Lost in translation?

Although sheep are commonly transported long distances, and sheep welfare during transport is a topic of research and policy discussion, the subject of their fatigue during transport has been under-researched. The current qualitative study, focused on the EU and UK, aimed to critically analyse stakeholder views on issues relating to sheep fatigue, including behavioural indications of fatigue, the interplay between fatigue and other factors, and the practicalities of identifying fatigue in commercial transport conditions. Insight into stakeholder perceptions of these issues could contribute to the body of knowledge regarding sheep fatigue during transport, potentially playing a part in future efforts to improve fatigue understanding and detection. Eighteen experts from different stakeholder groups were interviewed. Reflexive thematic analysis of interview data yielded four themes and three sub-themes. The first theme, “Let’s anthropomorphise it a little bit”, underscores the pervasiveness of anthropomorphism and suggests using it in a conscious and deliberate way to drive stakeholder engagement and policy change. The second theme, “We think that they’re like we are and they’re not”, cautions against wholesale transfer of human experiences to animals. The third theme, ‘See the whole animal’, advocates using Qualitative Behaviour Analysis (QBA), proven reliable in other contexts, to deepen and enrich our current understanding of fatigue. The fourth theme, ‘Fatigue “never comes up”’, highlights the fact that fatigue is rarely if ever discussed in the context of sheep transport. These themes suggest several avenues for future research, including developing QBA-based assessments for fatigue to improve welfare during transport.</p

Animal welfare with Chinese characteristics: Chinese poultry producers’ perceptions of, and attitudes towards, animal welfare

China’s poultry industry faces challenges in adopting and sustaining cage-free systems for poultry production. Effective interventions are crucial to support producers transitioning from cages to alternative systems or maintaining cage-free systems to improve animal welfare. However, little is known about how Chinese poultry producers perceive animal welfare in relation to cage-free systems and the importance of animal welfare in poultry production. Through a qualitative interview study with 30 Chinese farm owners, managers and senior managers from large-scale egg and broiler farms using cages and non-cage systems (collectively referred to as “producers”), this paper explores Chinese poultry producers’ attitudes and perceptions regarding animal welfare and welfare in different poultry housing systems. Template analysis was used to analyse the data from semi-structured interviews, which generated themes related to the participants’ awareness and understanding of the concept of animal welfare, the factors that impacted their choices of different housing systems, and the perceived priorities in poultry production. The responses revealed that the participating producers had a strong awareness and knowledge of animal welfare. However, the participants’ understanding of the term is heterogeneous: generally, egg producers emphasised natural behaviours, whereas broiler producers prioritised health and productivity. Nevertheless, profitability, leadership, and organisational policies primarily influenced housing system choices rather than animal welfare values. Economic motives drove egg producers towards cage-free systems, prompted by consumers’ and companies’ demand for cage-free eggs committed to transitioning away from cages by 2025. In conclusion, tailored interventions for different poultry sectors within China are necessary. While animal welfare values matter, economic incentives seem more promising for steering the shift towards and maintaining cage-free poultry production

Animal welfare with Chinese characteristics: Chinese poultry producers’ perceptions of, and attitudes towards, animal welfare

China’s poultry industry faces challenges in adopting and sustaining cage-free systems for poultry production. Effective interventions are crucial to support producers transitioning from cages to alternative systems or maintaining cage-free systems to improve animal welfare. However, little is known about how Chinese poultry producers perceive animal welfare in relation to cage-free systems and the importance of animal welfare in poultry production. Through a qualitative interview study with 30 Chinese farm owners, managers and senior managers from large-scale egg and broiler farms using cages and non-cage systems (collectively referred to as “producers”), this paper explores Chinese poultry producers’ attitudes and perceptions regarding animal welfare and welfare in different poultry housing systems. Template analysis was used to analyse the data from semi-structured interviews, which generated themes related to the participants’ awareness and understanding of the concept of animal welfare, the factors that impacted their choices of different housing systems, and the perceived priorities in poultry production. The responses revealed that the participating producers had a strong awareness and knowledge of animal welfare. However, the participants’ understanding of the term is heterogeneous: generally, egg producers emphasised natural behaviours, whereas broiler producers prioritised health and productivity. Nevertheless, profitability, leadership, and organisational policies primarily influenced housing system choices rather than animal welfare values. Economic motives drove egg producers towards cage-free systems, prompted by consumers’ and companies’ demand for cage-free eggs committed to transitioning away from cages by 2025. In conclusion, tailored interventions for different poultry sectors within China are necessary. While animal welfare values matter, economic incentives seem more promising for steering the shift towards and maintaining cage-free poultry production

The effect of four different feeding regimes on rabbit behaviour

Dietary composition and presentation impacts on the behaviour of animals, and failure to provide a suitable diet can lead to reduced welfare through the development of poor health, the inability to express normal behaviours and the development of abnormal behaviours. This study assessed the effects of two commonly fed pet rabbit diets (extruded nuggets with hay (EH) and muesli with hay (MH)) alongside hay only (HO) and muesli only (MO) on the behaviour of 32 Dutch rabbits observed over 17 months. Increased time spent feeding was observed in the groups fed ad libitum hay (HO, EH, MH) compared to the MO group (P < 0.05). A corresponding high level of inactivity was observed in the MO group compared to rabbits receiving hay (P < 0.05). In the groups provided with hay a preference to consume hay in a natural grazing posture was observed. The higher activity levels and absence of abnormal behaviours when hay was fed support recommendations that forage should form a significant portion of the diet for domestic rabbits