News about Animal welfare

Does “Dr. Google” improve discussion and decisions in small animal practice?

Based on an online questionnaire aimed at dog and cat owners in Austria, Denmark and the United Kingdom (N = 2117) this paper investigated the use of internet resources to find veterinary medical information.

New project on calf diarrhea

Rikke H. Olsen has been granted 837.000 dkr. for the Danish milk levy fond to investigate which types of Escherichia coli are associated with diarrhea in Danish calves in 2024.

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…

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…

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

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 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.

CPH Cattle Seminar 2023

On Tuesday 12 December 2023 CPH Cattle held their anual seminar with presentations and discussions about research and strategies related to the cattle sectors challenges.

Contagious equine metritis (CEM) in Icelandic horses

– results of a screening programme in 2021

Ethicists’ commentary on standards of euthanasia for moribund fish in aquaculture

Ethical question of the month, August 2023 A priority of agriculture and aquaculture veterinarians is to ensure a quick and humane death upon slaughter. In ideal conditions, techniques are constantly monitored, assessed…

New study: Pig welfare outweighs climate concerns for consumers

Consumers would rather pay more for higher-welfare pork than for pork with a reduced climate footprint. Politicians and the pork industry can learn from the result, according to the researchers behind the University of…

New study: Pig welfare outweighs climate concerns for consumers

Consumers would rather pay more for higher-welfare pork than for pork with a reduced climate footprint. Politicians and the pork industry can learn from the result, according to the researchers behind the University of…

Dairy cattle welfare – the relative effect of legislation, industry standards and labelled niche production

In this paper, the authors compared animal welfare provisions in dairy cattle production across five countries with different combinations of legislative and other approaches: Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden,…