Ethological research applied to farm animals: reconciling animal welfare and production

This paper illustrates the integrative feature of ethology with two complementary approaches in farm animals, one aiming at production targets and the other addressing concerns about animal welfare. The first approach is based on social ethology. As farm animals belong to gregarious species, their individual behaviour is strongly shaped by the group. Social organisation is based on both stable dominance relationships that ensure the resolution of many conflicts inherent to promiscuity among animals, and affinity relationships that ensure group cohesion and increase social tolerance in conflict situations. A better understanding of the behavioural mechanisms involved in the construction of social relationships, allows to providing animal husbandry practices that take into account the social needs of animals, highlights the importance of affinity relationships to alleviate problems due to social stress and ensures social support for a better adaptation. The second approach relies on cognitive ethology. While it is now widely accepted that animals are sentient beings capable of feeling emotions, understanding their emotional experience remains a tricky issue. The analysis of the emotion - cognition relationships allows to assess emotional experiences in animals through a scientific approach and to open new perspectives for a better understanding animal welfare. Inspired by theories in cognitive psychology, we have developed a framework to facilitate the study of emotions in animals from their cognitive abilities. Emotion depends on how the animal evaluates the eliciting situation based on a limited numbers of checks: the relevance of the situation (i.e. suddenness, familiarity, predictability and pleasantness), the implications of the situation for the animal, including how far the situation is consistent with its own expectations, and the coping potential of the animal, including the control offered by the situation and its ability to react. The outcomes of this limited number of evaluative checks determine the negative or positive nature of the emotion. Furthermore, recent works have shown that an emotion transiently influences the way the animal evaluates its situation and that the accumulation of emotions can long-lasting influence the evaluation processes. Innovative husbandry practices may then be recommended to seek positive experiences of animals and so genuinely improve their level welfare.Afin d'illustrer le caractère intégratif de l'éthologie, nous rapportons deux approches complémentaires appliquées aux animaux de ferme, l'une répondant à des objectifs de production, l'autre plus fondamentale répondant à une attente en matière de bien-être animal. La première concerne l'éthologie sociale. Les animaux de ferme appartenant tous à des espèces grégaires, leurs comportements individuels sont fortement façonnés par le groupe. L'organisation sociale est basée à la fois sur des relations stables de dominance-subordination qui assurent la résolution de nombreux conflits inhérents à la promiscuité entre les animaux, et sur des relations d'affinité qui assurent la cohésion du groupe et accroissent la tolérance entre les animaux dans les situations de conflit. Une meilleure connaissance des mécanismes régulant les relations sociales permet de proposer des systèmes de conduite d'élevage plus respectueux des besoins sociaux des animaux et de promouvoir des pratiques qui préservent les liens d'affinité garants d'une meilleure adaptation de l'animal aux conditions de vie ultérieures. La seconde approche concerne l'éthologie cognitive. S'il est maintenant admis que les animaux sont des êtres sensibles capables de ressentir des émotions, la compréhension de leur expérience émotionnelle reste délicate. L'étude des relations entre émotions et cognition ouvre de nouvelles perspectives visant à mieux comprendre les conditions du bien-être des animaux. S'inspirant de théories en psychologie cognitive, un cadre conceptuel a été développé pour étudier les émotions chez les animaux de ferme à partir de processus d'évaluation. L'émotion dépend ainsi de la manière dont l'animal évalue la situation à partir du caractère soudain, connu, agréable et prévisible de la situation, de la correspondance ou non de la situation par rapport à ses propres attentes, et de sa possibilité ou non de contrôler la situation. De nouveaux travaux montrent que ces processus d'évaluation sont en retour influencés par une émotion et que l'accumulation d'émotions peut influencer durablement l'évaluation. Sur la base de ces travaux, des pratiques d'élevage innovantes peuvent être proposées non seulement pour réduire les états de stress des animaux mais surtout pour solliciter chez eux des émotions positives garant d'un véritable mieux-être

Genetic analysis of emotional reactivity in sheep: effects of the genotypes of the lambs and of their dams

A total of 1347 weaned lambs from eight genotypes were tested over five consecutive years: Romanov (ROM) and Lacaune (LAC) pure breeds, the two F1 crossbreeds (RL and LR) and the offspring of ewes from these four genotypes sired with Berrichon-du-Cher rams (BCF). The lambs were individually exposed to three challenging tests involving novelty, human contact and social isolation. Ten synthetic variables were used to express social reactivity (i.e., active vs. passive strategy), exploratory activity and reactivity to humans. BCF crossbreds were more active (i.e., high bleats, locomotion and attempts to escape) than purebreds and F1. In contrast, ROM expressed more passive responses (i.e., low bleats and vigilance postures) than LAC and BCF crossbreds. In addition, ROM approached a motionless human less and had longer flight distances to an approaching human than did LAC and BCF crossbreds. When restrained, ROM, and to a lesser extent B×ROM and B×LR, avoided human contact more than did LAC, RL and B×LAC. Most of these differences were explained by direct additive genetic effects while maternal influences or heterosis effects were rarely significant. The highest heritability was for high bleats (h2 = 0.48). Females were more active and avoided human contact more than did males

Face-based perception of emotions in dairy goats

Faces of conspecifics convey information about identity, but also gaze, and attentional or emotional state. As a cognitive process, face-based emotion recognition can be subject to judgment bias. In this study we investigated whether dairy goats (n = 32) would show different responses to 2-D images of faces of familiar conspecifics displaying positive or negative emotional states. We also examined the possible use of images of faces as stimuli in cognitive bias studies. The faces of four subjects were photographed in a positive and a negative situation. Three types of images of ambiguous facial expressions were then created using morphing software (75% positive, 50% positive, and 25% positive). In a test-pen, each goat was exposed for 3 seconds to each type of image, obtained from the same goat. All goats were shown non-morphed faces first, before being shown the three types of morphed faces, balanced for order. Finally, the first non-morphed face was shown again. Spontaneous behavioural reactions including ear postures (forward, backward and asymmetrical) and interactions with the screen (time spent looking or touching) were recorded during the 3 seconds. Results were analysed using REML with repeated measurements. Goats spent more time with their ears forward when the negative was shown compared to the positive(F4,121.3 = 2.51, P = 0.018), indicating greater interest in negative faces. Identity of the photographed goat influenced the time spent with the ears forward (F2,57.4 = 7.01, P = 0.002). We conclude that goats react differently to images of faces displaying different emotional states and that they seem to perceive the emotional valence expressed in these images. Response to morphed faces was not necessarily intermediate to response to negative and positive faces, and not on a continuum. Further study is thus needed to clarify the potential use of faces in cognitive bias studies

Muuttaako uudelleenryhmittely hiehojen sosiaalista käyttäytymistä?

ei saatavill

Network on « Genetics of adaptation and animal welfare »

Relations between genetics and animal welfare raise numerous questions as genetic characteristics are involved in many aspects of animals’ abilities to adapt to farming conditions, whether intensive or extensive. These questions are related to the genetic mechanisms of adaptation, to the consequences on animal welfare of the selection implemented up until now, and to the future improvements of the selection process. A network on the genetics of adaptation and animal welfare was built up within the multidisciplinary project “Agri Bien-être Animal” to review current knowledge. It aims also at providing usable references for regulatory discussions, as well as promoting synergies and exchanges between research units, development organisations and breeders.Les interrogations sur les relations entre génétique et bien-être des animaux sont d'autant plus nombreuses que les caractéristiques génétiques interviennent dans de nombreuses composantes des capacités d'adaptation des animaux à leurs conditions d'élevage, que celles-ci soient intensives ou extensives. Les questions portent à la fois sur les mécanismes génétiques de l'adaptation, les conséquences en matière de bien-être des sélections opérées jusqu'à présent et la conduite à tenir dans les futurs schémas de sélection. Un réseau Génétique de l'adaptation et bien-être a donc été créé au sein du programme interdisciplinaire INRA « Agri Bien-être Animal » pour faire le point des connaissances acquises. L'objectif est de fournir ainsi des références utilisables lors des discussions réglementaires et de faciliter les synergies et les échanges entre unités de recherche, organismes de développement et professionnels de la sélection

Do lambs perceive regular human stroking as pleasant? Behavior and heart rate variability analyses

Stroking by humans is beneficial to the human-animal relationship and improves welfare in many species that express intraspecific allogrooming, but very few studies have looked at species like sheep that do not express such contact except around parturition. This study investigated the way lambs perceive regular human tactile contact using behavioral and physiological responses. Twenty-four lambs were reared and bucket-fed in groups of four. All were stroked daily by their familiar caregiver. At 8 weeks of age, the lambs were individually tested in their home pen but in a 1×1m open-barred pen after a 15h period of habituation to physical separation from peers while remaining in visual and auditory contact. Half of the lambs received stroking by their caregiver for 8min and half were exposed to their caregiver’s immobile presence. Heart rate and heart rate variability were recorded and analyzed by 2-min slots over the same interval based on three measures: mean heart rate value (HR), root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD) and standard deviation of all intervals measured between consecutive sinus beats (SDNN). Behavioral responses (ear postures of the lamb and time spent in contact with the familiar caregiver, on the knees of the familiar caregiver, and moving) were recorded throughout the test. Lamb HR decreased continuously while in the presence of their caregiver. Lambs being stroked showed slower HR and higher RMSSD which reflected positive emotional states compared to lambs left unstroked. All behavioral variables were highly correlated with the main component axis of the PCA analyses: the more the animals stayed in contact with their caregiver, the less they moved and the more their ears were hanging. This first component clearly differentiates lambs being stroked or not. Behavioral and physiological observations support the hypothesis that gentle physical contact with the caregiver is perceived positively by lambs

Classification of pig calls produced from birth to slaughter according to their emotional valence and context of production

Vocal expression of emotions has been observed across species and could provide a non-invasive and reliable means to assess animal emotions. We investigated if pig vocal indicators of emotions revealed in previous studies are valid across call types and contexts, and could potentially be used to develop an automated emotion monitoring tool. We performed an analysis of an extensive and unique dataset of low (LF) and high frequency (HF) calls emitted by pigs across numerous commercial contexts from birth to slaughter (7414 calls from 411 pigs). Our results revealed that the valence attributed to the contexts of production (positive versus negative) affected all investigated parameters in both LF and HF. Similarly, the context category affected all parameters. We then tested two different automated methods for call classification; a neural network revealed much higher classification accuracy compared to a permuted discriminant function analysis (pDFA), both for the valence (neural network: 91.5%; pDFA analysis weighted average across LF and HF (cross-classified): 61.7% with a chance level at 50.5%) and context (neural network: 81.5%; pDFA analysis weighted average across LF and HF (cross-classified): 19.4% with a chance level at 14.3%). These results suggest that an automated recognition system can be developed to monitor pig welfare on-farm.publishedVersio

Vuorovaikutteisen suunnittelun haasteet ja mahdollisuudet metsätalouden vesiensuojelussa

Rapport de l'expertise scientifique collectiveLes animaux peuvent-ils éprouver des émotions, peuvent-ils penser, ont-ils une histoire de vie ? Depuis l’Antiquité, les philosophes ont proposé des réponses contrastées à ces questions. Du XIXème siècle à nos jours, la réflexion sur ce que sont les animaux s’est enrichie d’apports scientifiques : théorie de l’évolution, éthologie, neurophysiologie, sciences cognitives. Mais la conscience animale reste toujours l’objet de débats importants dans la communauté scientifique. Ainsi en 2012 un groupe de scientifiques de premier plan a éprouvé la nécessité de publier un manifeste intitulé « Déclaration de Cambridge sur la Conscience », qui énonce qu’«…une convergence de preuves indique que les animaux non humains disposent des substrats neuro-anatomiques, neurochimiques et neurophysiologiques des états conscients ainsi que la capacité d’exprimer des comportements intentionnels...».Les connaissances actuelles, dont cette expertise collective propose une synthèse, montrent que les animaux possèdent un large éventail de capacités cognitives associées à des comportements plus ou moins complexes. Les formes de conscience étudiées chez les humains supposent des capacités cognitives distinctes que l’on retrouve chez certains animaux. Peut-on en postuler que ceux-ci ont des formes de consciences équivalentes à celles de l’homme, sans être forcément identiques ?L’étude des niveaux et des contenus de la conscience chez les animaux est en passe de devenir un enjeu scientifique important en raison de la complexité du sujet et des controverses qu’il ne manquera pas de susciter. Enfin, les acquis scientifiques dans ce domaine invitent à reprendre les réflexions morales concernant les relations que les hommes entretiennent avec les animaux (et particulièrement avec les animaux domestiques

Fear and Fearfulness in animals

International audienc

Les reactions emotives chez les bovins domestiques femelles (Bos taurus L.): quantification et variations sous l'influence de facteurs environnementaux et hormonaux

SIGLEINIST T 71658 / INIST-CNRS - Institut de l'Information Scientifique et TechniqueFRFranc