Animals

Consumers views and concerns about the welfare of farm animals may play an important role in their decision to consume dairy, meat and/or plants as their primary protein source. As animals are killed prematurely in both dairy and beef industries, it is important to quantify and compare welfare compromise in these two sectors before the point of death. Seventy world-leading bovine welfare experts based in 23 countries, were asked to evaluate the likelihood of a bovine to experience 12 states of potential welfare concern, inspired by the Welfare Quality(R) protocol. The evaluation focused on the most common beef and dairy production systems in the experts country, and was carried out separately for dairy/beef calves raised for red-meat, dairy/beef calves raised for veal, dairy/beef calves raised as replacement, and for dairy/beef cows. The results show experts rated the overall likelihood of a negative welfare state (i.e. welfare risk) to be higher in animals from dairy herds than from beef herds, for all animal categories, regardless of whether they were used to produce milk, red-meat or veal. These findings suggest that consuming food products derived from common dairy production systems (dairy or meat), may be more harmful to the welfare of animals than consuming products derived from common beef production systems (i.e. from animals solely raised for their meat). Raising awareness about the linkage between dairy and meat production, and the toll of milk production on the welfare state of animals in the dairy industry, may encourage a more sustainable and responsible food consumption.

We validated the use of an open-source computer vision toolkit to analyze high-quality behavioral data and evaluate welfare in the Lesser Egyptian Jerboa (Jaculus jaculus). Movements of these small, nocturnal rodents are rapid and difficult to observe, potentially obscuring behavioral assessment. However, assessment became warranted when alopecia and jumping were noted. We compared trained human observers to machine learning trained computer vision algorithms, evaluating accuracy and precision in behavioral classification. Human observers categorized behaviors with an overall accuracy of 0.71 + 0.11 and an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.92 + 0.07, with greater odds of misidentifying behaviors lasting less than one second. Computer vision classifiers successfully met human-grade accuracy and ICC, with significantly less sensitivity to behavioral duration. As 34% of manually classified behaviors lasted less than 0.5 seconds, we used computer vision to annotate activity budgets of captive jerboas before and after adding novel enrichment. Alopecia was significantly associated with grooming, and while grooming was negatively associated with terrarium height and with opaque dividers between terraria, conventional rodent enrichment had no significant effect on behavior. Inflammatory causes of alopecia were not found with cytologic, molecular, or histopathologic analysis. These results suggest captive jerboa may demonstrate psychogenic alopecia. Furthermore, computer vision automation allows for fast, accurate analysis of large volumes of behavioral data that can be used to tailor species-specific husbandry practices and improve animal welfare.

Health monitoring based on hematological and immunological parameters is crucial for optimizing performance in the swine industry. This study was conducted to address the lack of comprehensive reports on these parameters in commercial pigs in the Republic of Korea (ROK). To fill this gap, blood samples from 764 healthy pigs across 32 farms in the ROK were analyzed, with the pigs categorized into specific age groups, including weaners, growers, finishers, gilts, and sows. Complete blood counts (CBC) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentrations were measured, revealing significant differences across all age groups (p<0.0001). These findings allowed us to establish age-specific Reference Intervals (RIs) at a 95% confidence level and Confidence Intervals (CIs) at a 90% confidence level for each group. This study provides robust guidelines for evaluating the health status of commercial pigs at different stages of growth and development in the ROK. The established RIs and CIs offer valuable insights for future research and practical applications, ensuring reliable health assessments. Routine monitoring of these parameters represents a critical tool for early detection and improved health management in commercial pig populations.

Precision livestock farming demands accurate and reliable individual animal identification for optimizing health monitoring, resource allocation, and overall herd productivity. Conventional identification methods--such as ear tagging and wearable sensors--are often invasive, potentially causing animal discomfort and affecting natural behaviors. To address these challenges, we introduce Dairy DigiD, a non-invasive biometric classification system for dairy cattle using facial image analysis. Leveraging deep learning and the Detectron2 framework, Dairy DigiD classifies cattle into four categories--young (<2 years), mature milking, pregnant, and old--using over 2,500 high-resolution facial images. A DenseNet121 model achieved a classification accuracy of 97%, showcasing its strong discriminative capability. Further, Detectron2 attained an average recall of 87% in category identification, an average precision of 96% in cattle detection, and an overall detection accuracy of 93%, demonstrating its robustness and adaptability to varied environmental conditions. Unlike traditional approaches that rely on fixed facial landmarks and can be sensitive to environmental variability, Dairy DigiDs flexible deep learning architecture enables stable and scalable facial feature extraction. This non-invasive method minimizes animal stress, enhances data integrity, and facilitates improved herd management and welfare monitoring. In comparison to existing convolutional neural network (CNN)-based strategies, Dairy DigiD exhibits superior adaptability to real-world farm conditions, including variable lighting and complex poses. This work highlights the potential of integrating advanced computer vision and deep learning methodologies into precision dairy farming, offering an ethically aligned, efficient, and scalable approach to modern livestock management.

Assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs), such as artificial insemination, semen sorting and freezing, embryo production in vivo and in vitro, are all methods in which animal reproduction management of several species has become considerably more efficient. These ARTs have been applied both in domestic and wild ruminants. In this study, in vitro embryo production was attempted with oocytes collected surgically during the mating season, from live white-tailed deer (WTD) hinds, maintained under captivity, in Northeast Mexico. The study was conducted in two WTD farms nearby Cd. Victoria, Tamps., Mexico, and another WTD farm located in Guerrero Coahuila, Mexico. The laboratory work was carried at the Centro de Desarrollo de la Capacidad Productiva y Mejoramiento Genetico de la Ganaderia, property of the Union Ganadera Regional de Tamaulipas (Centro-UGRT). The deer hinds are kept in captivity year-around, with feeding and health management provided accordingly to their requirements (50-60 kg females). Fresh green forage and clean fresh water is supplied daily. Oocytes were collected on each farm, while the hinds were maintained under general anesthesia and by means of a mid-ventral laparotomy, ovaries were exposed and follicles greater than 1-2 mm were aspirated with a 20 G needle, connected by a two-way plastic and latex hose to a vacum machine (WTA, Brazil); the oocytes were collected into a 50 ml. centrifuge tube containing wash media with heparine (Vitrogen, Brazil). Each oocyte collection lasted approximately 20 minutes, after which and while still on the farm, the oocytes were filtered with 50 {micro} mesh filters and rinsed several times with wash media, then placed on search Petri plates. Oocytes were then counted and classified (total, viable and non-viable oocytes) and placed into cryovials with maturation media (3 ml. MIV, Vitrogen, Brazil) and placed into a portable incubator with 5 % CO2 gas mix (LabiMixWTA, Brazil), after all hinds were done, oocytes were transported to the in vitro fertilization laboratory (IVF Lab) at the Centro-UGRT. Once at the IVF Lab, the oocytes were placed on a larger incubator (Eve, WTA, Brazil) and kept there for 18-20 hours, after which, the MIV media was changed for fertilization media (FIV, Vitrogen, Brazil) and fertilization was initiated by adding 10,000-12,000 live sperm per cryovial, and incubated for an additional period of 24 hours; after which, FIV media was replaced by the same media and at this point, cleavage rate was estimated by counting the oocytes that initiated cell division. At 72 hours after cell division started, fertilization rate was estimated; and 7 days after, the blastocysts were counted and classified. The whole process of oocyte maturation and embryo production in vitro, was conducted based on a beef cattle embryo production system and adapted to a deer embryo production system using media for small ruminants (Vitrogen, Brazil). Data collected per hind included total number of oocytes, viable and non-viable oocytes, cleavage rate (ratio of viable oocytes that initiated cell division over viable oocytes), fertilization rate (ratio of embryos that initiated cleavage over those that continued development to the blastocyst stage) and blastocyst rate (embryos reaching the blastocyst stage over cleaved embryos); averages were calculted for each parameter. The main results from this study on a per hind basis for total viable and non-viable oocytes were 9.8, 6.3 and 4.5, respectively; cleavage and blastocyst rates were 39.5 and 36.8, respectively and 2.3 blastocysts. In conclusion, oocyte collection from live WTD hinds and in vitro embryo production was succesfully done under farming conditions in Northeast Mexico.

Reproductive dysfunction remains a major challenge for Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis) aquaculture. Hormone-induced ovulation and in vitro fertilisation (IVF) are currently used to overcome the absence of natural courtship behaviours in captivity. This study investigates the feasibility of hormone-free IVF and behaviour-based prediction of ovulation as alternative strategies to enhance reproductive outcomes. We selected males using computer-assisted sperm analysis to assess sperm motility and quality for IVF trials. IVF trials were conducted using selected males and naturally ovulated eggs collected from females during evening hours across six experimental nights in two groups. Fish behaviour was continuously recorded using underwater cameras, and a convolutional neural network was developed to automatically detect Rest the Head (RTH) and Locomotor Activity (LA) behaviours. These behavioural counts, together with timing information, were used as features to train a logistic regression model for predicting ovulation events. Hormone-free IVF achieved fertilization rates up to 44% with 18% hatching success, producing viable larvae without hormonal intervention. Both groups showed significantly elevated RTH and LA during ovulation nights compared to non-ovulation nights, with peak activity occurring between 18:00-19:00 hours. The behavioural prediction model correctly identified ovulation with 82-85% accuracy and an area under the curve of 0.95. These findings demonstrate that sperm-quality-based male selection combined with automated behaviour analysis provides a practical, non-invasive approach for hormone-free reproduction in organic flatfish aquaculture.

Horses have the ability to generate a remarkable repertoire of facial expressions, some which have been linked to certain emotional states, for example pain. Studies suggest that facial expressions may be a more honest expression of emotional state in horses than behavioral or physiological parameters. This study sought to describe the facial expressions during stress of healthy horses free of pain, using a standardized method of recording facial expressions in video. Stress was induced in 28 horses by subjecting them to road transport and 10 of these horses were also subjected to social isolation. The horses served as their own control. A body-mounted, remote controlled heart rate monitor provided continuous heart rate measurements during the interventions. The horses facial expressions were video-recorded during the interventions. Frequency and duration of each facial expression were then determined, according to the Equine Facial Action Coding System. Heart rate increased during the stressful interventions (p=0.01), confirming that the interventions were stressful. Using both the human investigation- and the co-occurrence methods, the following facial traits could be observed during stress: eye white increase (p<0.001), nostril dilator (p<0.001), upper eyelid raiser (p<0.001), inner brow raiser (p=0.042), tongue show (p<0.001) along with an increase in ear flicker (p<0.001) and blink frequency (p<0.001). The facial actions were successfully used to train a machine-learning classifier to discriminate between stressed and calm horses, with an accuracy of 74.2 %. Most of the facial features identified correspond well with previous research on the subject, for example flared nostrils, repetitive mouth behaviors, increased eye white, tongue show and ear movements. Some features selected as indicative of emotional pain-free stress are used in face-based pain assessment tools, such as dilated nostrils, eye white increase or inner brow raiser. The relation between facial expressions of stress and pain should therefore further be studied.

Head and neck position (HNP) has been identified in literature as important influence on wellbeing. It was investigated in ridden elite dressage horses whether there is a relation between the HNP, ethological indicators and the grading in the warm-up area and in the test. 49 starters (83%) of a Grand-Prix Special (CDIO5 *) as part of the CHIO in Aachen 2018 and 2019 were examined. For each horse-rider pair, HNP (angle at vertical (AT), poll angle (PA), neck angel (NA)) used were analysed as well as conflict behavior for 3 minutes each in warm-up area and test. 6571 individual frames were used. The noseline was carried significantly less behind the vertical in test vs. warm-up (5.43 {degrees} {+/-} 4.19 vs. 11.01 {degrees} {+/-} 4.54 behind the vertical; T = 34.0; p < 0.05). The horses showed significantly less conflict behavior in the test vs. warm-up (123 {+/-} 54 vs. 160 {+/-} 75) (T = 76.00; p < 0.01). In the latter, a smaller PA and more defensive behaviour of the horses was observed compared to the test. A correlation between the grading of test and HNP was found (R = 0.38; p < 0.05). The further the noseline was behind the vertical, the higher was the chance of a good rating. The higher riders were ranked in the "FEI world ranking", the higher were their marks in the competition (2018: r = -0.69, p < 0.05; 2019: r = -0.76, p < 0.05). Horses of riders higher in world ranking tended to show more unusual oral behaviour (r = -0.30, p < 0.05), and a noseline stronger behind the vertical (r = - 0.37, p < 0.05) resulting in a smaller NA (r = 0.43, p < 0.05). This are from the point of view of animal welfare problematic results.

The wisent (or European bison) Bison bonasus is a species that has gone through a bottleneck, resulting in a narrow gene pool of the current population. Presently, the protection program for this species, in addition to protecting the habitat, is aimed at preserving gene pool. One of its elements is creating a bank of gametes with the intention of using them in constantly developed Assisted Reproductive Techniques in this species. In order to use the potential of the gametes stored in the bank as effectively as possible, it is extremely important to assess their post-freezing quality. Wisent epididymal spermatozoa stored in the bank are evaluated using basic semen analysis methods, the CASA system and flow cytometry. So far, functional tests of spermatozoa have not been introduced to the evaluation protocol of spermatozoa obtained post mortem from European bison. This article, for the first time describes the use of the zona pellucida binding test to assess the quality of cryopreserved wisent epididymal spermatozoa. Due to the close relationship between the species, the Zona binding Assay protocol developed for cattle was used. To exclude the influence of the composition of the extender used for cryopreservation, the spermatozoa were cryopreserved in the Extender based on Tris buffer, egg yolk and glycerol and in the commercial extender Andromed(R). Regardless of the diluent used, 100% of the oocytes had sperm attached. The average number of spermatozoa attached to the oocyte was 66.26 for the Tris-based diluent group and 27.37 for the Andromed(R) - frozen group. The advantage of the Tris based extender resulted from ZBA seems to coincide with the results of the basic and advanced semen evaluation. The conducted experiment showed that the ZBA protocol developed for cattle is suitable for the evaluation of wisent epididymal spermatozoa.

Reliable and non-invasive assessment of affective states is crucial in animal welfare research. Linking affective states to cognitive processes, such as cognitive biases, provides a promising approach. An affect-driven attention bias - the tendency to focus more on threatening than on neutral or positive stimuli when in a negative affective state - has been observed in humans and non-human animal species. However, implementation is often hampered because ecologically relevant test setups need to be adapted to species-specific differences in the perception and processing of information from different modalities. As an initial step towards developing and validating an affect-driven attention bias test for goats, we aimed to identify visual stimuli perceived as potentially threatening using a looking-time paradigm. In a within-subject design, 30 adult female dwarf goats (Capra hircus) were presented with photographs of 12 animal species (six natural predators and six non-predators) from three taxa (mammals, reptiles, birds). Each image was shown for 10 seconds on one of two video screens, while the opposite screen remained white. Each goat completed four sessions (one per day) of six trials each: two sessions showing full-body and two sessions showing face/head-only images, resulting in 24 trials per subject. Analysis of relative looking duration revealed a significant interaction between animal taxon and predator category. Goats looked longer at predatory than non-predatory reptiles, while the opposite pattern was found for mammals. No difference was observed for birds. The presented body part (full body vs. face/head only) did not influence looking behaviour. These results suggest that photographs of predatory reptiles, particularly snakes, might be perceived as potentially threatening by goats, indicating their suitability as negative stimuli in future affect-driven attention bias tests. Further validation is needed to confirm their negative valence.

In modern fish production and experimental facilities, camera installations are increasingly common for monitoring animal welfare. This opens up a new alley of autonomous tracking systems levering streamed data. However, the substantial amount of data necessitates condensation for human operators. In this paper, we present the out-of-the-box pipeline called FishProx that starts with the imagery of fish in tanks and ends in the calculation of welfare impacting factors through anomaly scores. The utilisation of the Segment Anything Model (SAM) is the basis for the identification of feeding behaviour and also (ab)normal behaviour through analysing snapshots of the fish tanks to infer metrics such as fish cohesion and cluster alignment, alongside the detection count. Our method employs automatic and robust algorithms for camera systems, making additional labelled data unnecessary, thereby saving energy and costs. Furthermore, automatic fish observation coupled with integrated analytical capabilities can lead to a sensible autonomous decision-making process. Lastly, by providing objective metrics, our approach might guide the enabling of automatic quantification of fish states, making comparative studies possible.

The racing greyhound industry in Australia has come under scrutiny in recent years due to animal welfare concerns, including so-called behavioural wastage whereby physically sound greyhounds are removed from the racing industry because of poor performance. The non-medical reasons why greyhounds perform poorly at the racetrack are not well understood, but may include insufficient reinforcement for racing, or negative affective states associated with the context of racing. This study sought evidence for the affective states of greyhounds (n=525) at race meets and associations of those states with performance. It collected demographic, behavioural and performance data, along with infrared thermographic images of greyhounds at race-meets to investigate whether arousal influenced performance. It also collected behavioural data in the catching pen at the completion of races to examine possible evidence of frustration that may reflect sub-optimal behavioural reinforcement. Linear regression models were built to determine factors affecting greyhound performance. Increasing mean eye temperature after the race and increasing greyhound age both had a statistically significant, negative effect on performance. The start box number also had a significant effect, with boxes 4, 5 and 7 having a negative effect on performance. There was a significant effect of track on mean eye temperatures before and after the race, suggesting that some tracks may be inherently more stressful for greyhounds than others. Behaviours that may indicate frustration in the catching pen were extremely common at two tracks, but much less common at the third, where play objects in motion were used to draw greyhounds into the catching pen. The study provides evidence for the use of eye temperature in predicting performance, guidance for assessment of poor performance in greyhounds and suggested approaches to the management of frustration in racing greyhounds.

Spermatozoa progressive motility is positively correlated with fertilization competence. Bulls ejaculates with progressive motility lower than 50% are routinely rejected through the process of straw preparation, designated for artificial insemination of dairy cows. We examined the quality and fertility competence of ejaculates with relative low progressive motility (55-60%, n = 5; control) with those of very low progressive motility i.e. below the lower threshold, (20-45%, n = 5; rejected). Analysis revealed a lower volume for the control vs. rejected samples. Dip-Quick staining revealed a higher proportion of spermatozoa with abnormal morphology in the rejected group, in particular those with detached heads. Activation of spermatozoa with calcium ionophore, resulted by a lower proportion of activated spermatozoa in the rejected group. In addition, a higher proportion of spermatozoa with DNA damage were recorded in the rejected vs. the control samples. Following in-vitro fertilization, the proportion of oocytes that developed to the 2- and 4-cell stage embryos did not differ between groups. However, the proportion of embryos that further developed to blastocysts, was higher in the control group. Transcript abundance of selected genes in the blastocysts and the apoptotic index did not differ between groups, suggesting that the forming blastocysts were of the same quality. It is suggested that in specific cases, for example genetically superior bulls, ejaculates with very low progressive motility can be used for in vitro production of embryo. Further in vivo examinations, i.e. artificial insemination or transferring of embryos derived from these inferior ejaculates, might clarified this point.

The family: Felidae (hereafter referred to as felids) is among the commonly represented species in animal collections in Indian zoos. Of the globally recognised 45 species, 15 species (>30%) are housed in Indian zoos. Since 2007, the Central Zoo Authority has laid emphasis on ex situ conservation for seven threatened species by initiating planned breeding programmes. We investigated the demographics of felids housed in Indian zoos using data from CZA annual inventory records. Between 1995-96 and 2019-20, the population of large felids have remained stable with a mean growth rate ({lambda}) of 1.01; whereas the population of small felids have a marginally higher mean growth rate ({lambda}) of 1.03. We further use Sustainability-index analysis to investigate whether the observed growth patterns arise from intrinsic (i.e. births/deaths) or extrinsic (acquisition/disposal) factors. The management of felids in Indian zoos requires careful consideration of many factors including space, hybridisation, lack of pedigree knowledge, addition of wild-rescued specimens and colormorphs. We provide the first insights on how felids populations have fared at the family-level and species-level based on analysis of longitudinal data. The said analysis intends to inform plans to manage felid collections in Indian zoos. It should further present an outlook and also guide ongoing planned breeding programs of felids. Given the relatively large collection size and the corresponding conservation attention accorded to felids, our analysis will aid in setting priorities for collection planning, conservation education messaging, integration of in situ and ex situ efforts in the context of IUCN One Plan Approach.

In many countries, single-step genomic models have replaced multiple step models for routine evaluation. These models use all available information on animals phenotypes, genotypes, and pedigrees, yet missing parental information in pedigrees remains a challenge that affects genomic breeding value (GEBV) predictions. Therefore, the choice of method for handling missing parents can affect the prediction of breeding values. Here, we compared three approaches to model missing parental information for three levels of missing pedigree data: P_Real - pedigree from routine evaluation, P_2010 - at least 20 percent of dams and 10 percent of sires born before 2019 were set to missing, and P_4020 - at least 40 percent of dams and 20 percent of sires born before 2019 were set to missing. Missing parents information was expressed through missing codes in the raw pedigree (RP) by defining genetic groups (GG) that represent missing parents grouped based on year of birth, sex, and country of origin, or by defining metafounders (MF), which represent missing parents grouped by average genetic relationships estimated from the genomic information of their descendants. The genomic breeding values for fat yield were estimated using the single-step test-day SNP-BLUP model implemented with MiXBLUP software. For the considered scenarios, the results were presented separately for sires and dams, as well as for genotyped and ungenotyped individuals. We observed differences in the prediction quality between genotyped and ungenotyped animals. While GEBV predictions for the former were generally stable across scenarios, the predictions for the ungenotyped individuals varied. In particular, the removal of parental information led to less stable results when missing parental information was expressed by MF, where insufficient pedigree completeness resulted in an overestimation of the genetic trend. In conclusion, for informative pedigrees with a small percentage of missing parents, the incorporation of GG and MF results in very similar GEBV predictions, however GG appear to be a more robust approach for ungenotyped individuals in highly incomplete pedigrees.

Most common housing systems for dairy cows restrict their movement, which can influence welfare, gait, and hoof health of dairy cows. Outdoor access has been proposed as a management practice to offset these restrictions, but reported effects on cows locomotion vary and may not always be captured by traditional clinical assessments. In this study, we investigated gait and hoof through clinical (i.e., visual locomotion scoring and hoof lesion assessment) and subclinical (3D motion analysis, kinetic assessment, hoof infrared thermography and measuring claw conformation) methods to assess how limited provision of outdoor access affects non-lame cows housed in movement restricted environment. Thirty-six Holstein tie-stall cows were either given 1day/week (EX1) or 3days/week (EX3) of outdoor access (1h/day) during 5 consecutive weeks. Clinical and subclinical assessments of gait and hoof were performed before (Pre-trial), after 5 weeks of outing (Post-trial) and 8 weeks after outing (Follow-up). The results of this study revealed no clinical effect of outdoor access on cows locomotion score and hoof lesion prevalence. However, for subclinical assessment, both groups showed an increase in stride and stance time at Post-trial, with an increase in pressure applied by cows while standing in EX3 group and a reduction in coronary band temperature in both groups at Post-trial and Follow-up. Contact area and claw conformation changed after provision of outdoor access in both groups. This study illustrates that with the use of subclinical methods; we can reveal effects of outdoor access on gait and hoof health that might not be visible using the traditional methods.

Cetacean pathology is a cornerstone for population and marine ecosystem health monitoring, allowing clear differentiation among natural and anthropogenic threats. Previous studies in the Canary Islands reported natural causes of death in 59.4% (1999-2005) and 81% (2006-2012) of stranded cetaceans, versus anthropogenic causes in 33.3% and 19%, respectively. This study aimed to determine the causes of death (CD), pathologic findings, and epidemiological patterns of 316 cetaceans stranded in the Canary Islands between 2013 and 2018. The CDs were classified in pathologic entities (PEs) emphasizing natural versus anthropic origins. Of 316 animals, 224 (70.9%) from 18 species were suitable for pathological investigations. Among natural PEE, natural pathology associated with good nutritional status (NP-GNS) and natural pathology associated with significant loss of nutritional status (NP-LNS) represented 43/224 (19.2%) and 36/224 (16%) cases, respectively. Natural pathology with undetermined nutritional status (NP-UNS) occurred in 19/224 (8.5%) animals. Intra- and interspecific traumatic interactions (ITI) represented 30/224 (13.4%) cases, followed by neonatal/perinatal pathology (NPN) 19/224 (8.5%) and live-stranding stress and/or capture myopathy (LS-CM) 18/224 (8%). Infectious and parasitic diseases predominated in natural PEs. Anthropogenic PEs included interaction with fishing activities (IFA) in 17/224 (7.6%) cases, vessel collisions (VC) in 9/22 (4%) cases, and foreign body-associated pathology (FBAP) in 3/224 (1.3%) animals. Overall, anthropogenic causes accounted for 12.9% of deaths, natural causes for 73.6%, and the CD could not be established in 30/194 (13.4%) cases. This study reaffirms the trends concerning recognized PEs (NP-GNS, NP-LNS, NP-UNS, ITI, NPN, LS-CM, IFA, VC, and FBAP), expands the body of knowledge on cetacean pathology in the Canary Islands, and reports novel findings including mixed infections, clostridiosis in uncommon species, uremic syndrome secondary to urethral nematodiasis, gas embolism in unusual species, epibiont stomatitis, congenital musculo-skeletal malformations, or neoplastic processes. These findings advance understanding of cetacean mortality patterns and support conservation and management strategies.

This study leverages Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) and Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC) to analyze the vocalization patterns of laying hens, focusing on their responses to both visual (umbrella opening) and auditory (dog barking) stressors at different ages. The aim is to understand how these diverse stressors, along with the hens age and the timing of stress application, affect their vocal behavior. Utilizing a comprehensive dataset of chicken vocal recordings, both from stress-exposed and control groups, the research enables a detailed comparative analysis of vocal responses to varied environmental stimuli. A significant outcome of this study is the distinct vocal patterns exhibited by younger chickens compared to older ones, suggesting developmental variations in stress response. This finding contributes to a deeper understanding of poultry welfare, demon-strating the potential of non-invasive vocalization analysis for early stress detection and aligning with ethical live-stock management practices. The CNN models ability to distinguish between pre- and post-stress vocalizations highlights the substantial impact of stressor application on chicken vocal behavior. This study not only sheds light on the nuanced interactions between stress stimuli and animal behavior but also marks a significant advancement in smart farming. It paves the way for real-time welfare assessments and more informed decision-making in poultry management. Looking forward, the study suggests avenues for longitudinal research on chronic stress and the application of these methodologies across different species and farming contexts. Ultimately, this research represents a pivotal step in integrating technology with animal welfare, offering a promising approach to transforming welfare assessments in animal husbandry.

To investigate how the disturbances associated with a relocation to a bedded-pack barn, such as a housing system change, a milking system change and a social regrouping, impacts the behavior of lactating dairy cows, 38 cows from a total of 9 tie-stall or free-stall commercial farms were moved to a newly built bedded-pack barn on an enrollment basis, with a social regrouping occurring after 2 weeks. Scan sampling of video data was done to assess behavior expression in the pen, and live data was collected to assess milking reactivity and animal handling procedures. Results indicate that the cows adapted quickly to the relocation to the new housing system as there were no changes in the locations in the pen, the body positions or the behaviors of cows in time between arrival and regrouping. The social regrouping had a bigger impact with a decrease in 16% of the observed time spent lying and an increase of 9.7% of the observed time spent feeding. Cows also adapted quickly to the milking procedures with a rapid decrease in the occurrence of negative social interactions between cows at the parlor, and in needing less human-animal manipulations and less time to be brought to the parlor. The housing system of origin had a slight effect on behaviors with cows from tie-stalls spending 1.7 times more of the observed time lying than free-stall cows, and free-stall cows spending 1.6 times more of the observed time feeding than tie-stall cows. This study provides a better understanding of how dairy cows respond to disturbances and is encouraging for producers that need to make changes to their current housing system as cows were shown to be quickly adaptable to the challenges presented to them. SummaryDairy cows from cubicle systems were shown to adapt quickly after a relocation to a bedded pack barn, the first use of a milking parlor, and a social regrouping. This was supported by limited changes observed in their behaviors after the disturbances, and observed deviations were temporary and short-lived. Animal handling procedures also observed a quick improvement in time with the trips to the milking parlor needing 2x less time and 3.5x fewer physical contacts from handlers after 5 days. These results are encouraging to producers needing to make changes to their barns.

As with their nervous system and other physiological traits, the immune system of cephalopods, in general, and of the common octopus, Octopus vulgaris, in particular, could also present highly evolved characteristics compared to other classes of molluscs. However, to date, there is not much information about it, and studying the defense mechanisms is a key step in understanding their response system to external aggressions and, thus, having the tools to anticipate animal health problems and ensure their welfare. The lack of cell cultures in molluscs is a major problem when carrying out in vitro assays that help to deepen the knowledge of the main immune cells of this species. Cryopreservation becomes an alternative to maintain viable and functional cells after freezing/thawing processes, allowing a larger repertoire of studies to be performed with the same sample or to perform time courses. Having access to good quality cells for long periods will allow to cover a larger repertoire of studies with the same sample or to perform time courses, avoiding logistic bottlenecks that could arise due to the loss of viability and/or functionality of the cells on the lab bench, the lack of time to develop all the desired assays in the same day or the possible losses derived from transporting the samples between different laboratories. Additionally, high-quality suspensions of viable and functional cells are required for successful massive sequencing studies, such as single-cell analysis, where these aspects are the key to an optimal identification. We show here the first functional results from cryopreserved octopus hemocytes, where the cells were able to maintain viability above 80% after two months post cryopreservation and storage at -80{degrees}C and their functional ability to phagocytose bacteria similar to fresh cells. Our data revealed that the acclimation process after thawing was essential to recovering the functional activity of the cells. The results presented here will facilitate the study of the functions of the most important immune cells of this species and will provide tools for cell preservation in other molluscs species.