News about Animal welfare

Best poster presentation - Sarah Nissen

Post doc Sarah Nissen wins poster presentation prize at the European conference Atrial Signals in The Nederlands

Ethicists’ commentary on deciding whether to proceed with spaying an unexpectedly pregnant animal from a “no-kill” shelter

Ethical question of the month, March 2024 You provide veterinary services to a “no-kill” small animal shelter. A mature female bulldog crossbreed dog is presented for a spay procedure. The history supplied is that the…

Newsletter #1 2024

Please read the whole newsletter here. Renovation of SPF 10.4 – all breeding mice have been relocated to SPF 10.2 Introduction to policies Policy for survival surgery Policy for single housing of animals Expired…

Ethicists’ commentary on confronting misinformation in the animal-care community

Ethical question of the month, February 2024 While discussing vaccine protocols with the owner of a new puppy, you learn that the owner and head trainer at a local dog education center has also been discussing vaccines…

PhD defence Sofie Troest Kjeldsen

Sofie Troest Kjeldsen defended her PhD thesis entitled: Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation in Horses - Pulmonary vein characterization, diagnostic device validation, and clinical application.

Ethicists’ commentary navigating client requests to engage in “harmless” fraud or rule-bending

Ethical question of the month, January 2024 Your clients compete at international horse shows that have strict biosecurity rules. These competitions require preventative vaccinations that are recorded in passports with…

Cat and dog owners’ expectations and attitudes towards advanced veterinary care (AVC) in the UK, Austria and Denmark

This questionnaire study investigate cat and dog owners’ expectations and attitudes towards advanced veterinary care, and the factors that might influence those views.

Researcher: Seven billion newly hatched chicks are killed every year – but a ban is not the solution

Annually, the global egg industry kills seven billion day-old male chicks because they don’t lay eggs and aren’t worth raising for meat. While several countries have banned the practice, neither bans nor other current…

Taconic Colony Management Solutions

This could be a possibility if expansion of a breeding strain is necessary for your research during the refurbishment of AEM's SPF breeding facility, and AEM cannot find space for it. We hope to be able to welcome you…

Transnetyx genotyping services

One of the possibilities is to use an external service, like TransnetYX, and establish a Tag Center where ear punches can be collected and sent from. At this meeting information on this approach will be presented and…

Ethicists’ commentary on considerations when judging whether to formally report a colleague’s potential misconduct

Ethical question of the month, December 2023 A veterinarian in our area has developed a reputation for significant errors that individually might be forgiven, but as they multiply, start to form a pattern. The range…

Dominance hierarchy does not influence distances travelled and area utilization in a large group of ponies

This study investigated the influence of dominance hierarchy on the locomotor behaviour and area utilization in a large group of horses in a pasture-based housing system in Northern Germany.

Relationship between animal-based on-farm indicators and meat inspection data in pigs

This study aimed to validate slaughterhouse indicators collected during meat inspection as an alternative to on-farm animal welfare indicators.

New article about udder health and antibiotic use

The udder health epidemiology subgroup has published an article explaining the latest study on udder health and antibiotics. Changing treatment procedures can potentially cut antibiotic use in half. Link to article

Impact of contaminated biological material in animals' health and in research data

Do you value your research data so much to assume that it is not contaminated by pathogenic agents? Did you know that lab animals’ health and welfare is of vital importance in order to produce valid and reproducible…

Conflict behaviour in Icelandic horses during elite competition

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of conflict behaviour in Icelandic horses competing at elite level in breed-specific gait competitions

Ethicists’ commentary on medical and professional challenges arising from inconsistent treatment policies within a clinic

Ethical question of the month, November 2023 You are a recent graduate working in a small animal hospital with a longtime veterinary owner and a loyal clientele. You are presented with a small dog that has a history…

Accuracy of three diagnostic tests to detect tooth resorption in unowned unsocialised cats in Denmark

This paper estimates the relative diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of oral clinical examination of cats and finds that cone-beam CT is the superior image modality.

Are biters sick? Health status of tail biters in comparison to control pigs

The findings of this paper show that behavioural tests might be helpful in identifying tail biters among pigs and highlight the need for appropriate and adjusted nutrient and mineral supply, especially with regard to…

Follow-up on the renovation of Unit 10.4

You can read the entire announcement here.

Ethicists’ commentary on current considerations when advising on destroying honeybee colonies

Ethical question of the month, October 2023 You are a veterinarian who advises on the care of honeybees. You have a client with a colony that is suspected to be infected with American foulbrood, a reportable disease in…

Ethicists’ commentary on the importance of meaningful discussion around the decision to euthanize

Ethical question of the month, September 2023 I recently had to make a difficult decision about my beloved, 1-year-old cat. She had some behaviors, respiratory issues, and urinary disease that were challenging to manage…

Comparison of three different measuring devices of ammonia and evaluation of their suitability to assess animal welfare in pigs

Witt, J., Krieter, J., Schröder, K., Büttner, K., Hölzel, C., Krugmann, K. & Czycholl, I. (2023) Livestock Science. Elsevier Abstract Since negative effects of ammonia (NH3) on health and productivity are known NH3…

Behavior problems in dogs—An assessment of prevalence and risk factors

The aim of this questionnaire study was to investigate the prevalence of and risk factors for dog behavior problems by analyzing the responses of a representative sample of Danish dog owners.