News about Animal welfare

A critical review of animal-based welfare indicators for polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in zoos

This review provides an overview of current valid and promising welfare indicators along with identified gaps in knowledge, relevant for the provision of a methodology for assessing and monitoring welfare of captive…

Qualitative Behaviour Assessment for zoo-housed polar bears (Ursus maritimus)

This study aimed to assess the ability of Qualitative Behaviour Assessment (QBA) to discern emotional state in zoo-housed polar bears, and further to investigate its validity through associations to behavioural and…

Various ways towards animal product limiting - practical and social engagements in dietary change

This paper explores how people engage in the practicalities of animal product limiting and how they communicate about the dietary changes they are making in interpersonal interactions.

Ethicists’ commentary on hierarchies of animal “value”

Ethical question of the month, January 2023 A recent media article on the needs of chimpanzees that are “so closely related to humans” caused me to reflect that people, including veterinarians, tend to ascribe more valu…

Assessing welfare risks in unowned unsocialised domestic cats in Denmark based on associations with low body condition score

Paper on welfare risks in unowned unsocialised domestic cats in Denmark based on associations with low body condition score. Published open access in Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica.

Ethicists’ commentary on medicine for geriatric zoo animals

Ethical question of the month, December 2022 In zoo animal medicine, the timing of humane euthanasia for quality-of-life issues is an ethical challenge. Should we engage in “therapeutic relentlessness” on captive wild…

Ethicists’ commentary on fabricating the cause of death

Ethical question of the month, November 2022 Veterinary pathologists regularly encounter numerous cases in which a diagnosis cannot be determined. In one such case, a healthy, indoor-only, 12-year-old, neutered male,…

Change in transfer and breeding instruction forms and reviewing the department’s SOPs

Please read the information here.

Power shutdown at the Biocenter

The power shutdown applies to the entire basement in building 2. It will affect ventilation and other installations in animal facility, including lights (electronic board 2.01.AB). If the shutdown gives rise to…

Mapping of initiatives to prevent inherited diseases and exaggerated phenotypes in dogs

Report on initiatives to prevent inherited diseases and exaggerated phenotypes in dogs. Funded by the Danish Knowledge Centre for Animal Welfare, Danish Veterinary and Food Administration.

Construction work near the Biocenter - Test piloting performed

The piloting will begin on Monday Janurary 30th, and it is expected to last approx. 10 working days. AEM is still in dialogue with the contractor, and should you experience any irregularities, you are very welcome to…

Construction work near the Biocenter - Test piloting

As mentioned, the construction work involves driving 32 steel piles into the ground during the month of February. A meeting with the contractor and the Maintenance Department was held yesterday due our concern for the…

Danish milk consumers are critical of advanced breeding methods in dairy production

Danish milk consumers are critical of advanced breeding methods in dairy production, but only 1 in 5 is unwilling to drink milk from dairy cows bred with semen derived from such methods Lund, T.B., Sandøe, P., Secher,…

Construction work near the Biocenter

There is a risk that this type of construction work may be noisy and can sometimes produce low-frequency vibrations. For further details, please see the attached letter from the construction management (in Danish only).…

Human empathy makes us better at understanding animal sounds

Those who do well on human empathy tests are also measurably better at decoding the emotional sounds of animals, according to a new study from the University of Copenhagen. Other aspects, such as age and work related to…

Newsletter from AEM

Please read the whole newsletter here. Visit by the AAALAC accreditation panel All project plans are valid for two years after which they must be renewed Information from suppliers of animals Price adjustments from…

CPH Cattle Seminar 2022

The CPH Cattle annual seminar was held on the 24th of November 2022.

Ethicists’ commentary on post-surgical pain control

Ethical question of the month, August 2022 Your client purchases a young large-breed stallion that must be castrated on short notice. You are unable to do the surgery, so ask the client to find another veterinarian that…

Webinar with Associate Professor Nick Bell, University of Nottingham, UK.

in the network for health and biosecurity under the Danish cattle research coordination committee, we were pleased to have held an open webinar, which can be seen on video.

Ethicists’ commentary on debarking of dogs

Ethical question of the month, July 2022 A provincial animal welfare agency has requested that the provincial Veterinary Registrar consider a ban on devocalization surgeries in dogs. Reasons for the request include…

Opportunities and Challenges in Applying the 3Rs to Zoos and Aquariums

This paper analyses opportunities and challenges for each of the three Rs when applied to animals housed in zoos and aquariums.

Experts agree: Dairy cattle's welfare worse than beef cattle

Cattle welfare experts rate the welfare of dairy cattle as lower than that of beef cattle, research from the University of Copenhagen shows.

A transnational study on veterinarians’ recommendations concerning radiotherapy in dogs and cats with cancer

Using an online questionnaire (N=636), we investigated what treatment Austrian, Danish and UK veterinarians would recommend for a cat and a dog in a disease scenario where adjunctive radiotherapy would be optimal.

Ethicists’ commentary on appropriate use of pharmaceuticals

Ethical question of the month, June 2022 You are an equine veterinarian who relies on firocoxib as your “go to” for chronic arthritis pain. There was no equine-labelled product in Canada until recently, so you were…