News about Animals

Behavioral genetic analysis on dogs

The aim of this study is to describe personality traits in eight dog breeds using the Behaviour and Personality Description in Dogs (BPH) test, and subsequently to assess their heritability.

How much do people really care about animal welfare?

Professor Peter Sandøe participated in the Animal Welfare Seminar 2025 - 'Animal ethics and animal welfare - values informing outcomes' organized by RSPCA Australia. Peter gave a talk on peoples attitudes to animals and…

Changes in management of owned cats in the countryside

This study investigates changes in the management of owned domestic cats (Felis catus) in a rural area of Denmark, at two points in time separated by 24 years.

Notification of noisy work

Noisy work in Panum building 4, 6, 10, 12 and 16 (31.01.25)

A consensus on the definition of positive animal welfare

The paper presents a proposed definition of positive animal welfare: ‘PAW can be defined as the animal flourishing through the experience of predominantly positive mental states and the development of competence and…

A new future for dog breeding

This paper gives an overview of recent trends in companion dog breeding and discuss to what extent they will serve to promote healthy dogs that function well in their various roles in today’s world.

Chronic enteropathy in dogs affects the quality of life in both dogs and their owners

This paper examines the Quality of Life (QoL) of dogs with chronic enteropathy and how their owners and veterinarians assess it.

Newsletter December 2024

This newsletter includes important information on the below mentioned topics. We encourage everyone to review the relevant sections carefully, as some of these updates may have an impact on daily activities. New…

Price increases from January 1, 2025

General pricing The following general price increases have been decided for internal users in 2025: 8 pct. (including the regular 3 pct. P/L) price increase for rodent housing 13 pct. (including the regular 3 pct. P/L)…

Lifetime health care costs for dogs based on data from seven veterinary clinics in Denmark

Nielsen, S. S., Larsen, C. H., Frederiksen, J. M., Christensen, T., & Sandøe, P. (2025) Preventive Veterinary Medicine. Elsevier Abstract Reports indicate that owners believe the health care costs for their dogs are too…

The avian influenza epidemiology group at the ISVEE17 conference in Sydney

On 11 to 15 November 2024, Helene Ane Jensen, Yangfan Liu, Lene Jung Kjær and Carsten Kirkeby attended the 17th International Symposium on Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics, ISVEE17, in Sydney, Australia.

AI can now be our eyes and ears in the forest and beneath the waves

Animal sounds combined with artificial intelligence (AI) can revolutionize biodiversity monitoring both on land and in aquatic settings according to researchers from the University of Copenhagen. By analyzing wildlife…

Seven New Frog Species Discovered in Madagascar: Sounds Like Something from Star Trek

An international team of researchers have discovered seven new species of tree frogs that make otherworldly calls in the rainforests of Madagascar. Their strange, high-pitched whistling calls sound more like sound…

Workshop on Streptococcus agalactiae in the Nordic countries

Udder health researchers from Norway, Sweden and Finland were invited to Copenhagen for a workshop in the Danish project “Sikker diagnostik i B-streptokokbesætninger”.

Oral behaviour during riding is associated with oral lesions in dressage horses – A field study

This study included 11 warmblood dressage horses, randomly selected for oral inspection after competition. Five of eleven inspected horses had abrasion of the skin and/or mucosa.

Avian Influenza Epidemiology group at UCPH hosted an online seminar, “Nordfugl 2024”

On 4 October 2024, the Avian Influenza Epidemiology group at UCPH hosted an online seminar, “Nordfugl 2024”, with the aim of exchanging information on research and surveillance of avian influenza between the Nordic…

Gene Editing Cattle for Enhancing Heat Tolerance: A Welfare Review of the “PRLR‑SLICK Cattle” Case

Pozzebon, M., Guldbrandtsen, B. & Sandøe, P. (2024) Nanoethics. Springer Nature Abstract In March 2022 the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a risk assessment of a recent animal gene editing proposal…

Why is welfare pork so expensive?

Inspired by data from the Danish pork market, the present study seeks to identify cost drivers in the value chain of niche pork products.

Renovation of buildings 10-4 and 10-5 at Panum

Notice from CAS Dear users at Panum building 4, 6, 10, 12 and 16 On 23 September 2024, the renovation of floors 4 and 5 in building 10 will begin, respectively. AEM and reNEW/BMI. Establishment of construction site The…

Will dog breeds as we know them today soon be a thing of the past?

Presentation by Peter Sandøe at the 5th International Dog Health Workshop (IDHW) 2024 in Helsinki, Finland.

Flea toads, dwarf pygmy goby fish and bumblebee bats: Researcher aims to solve the riddle of miniature animals

Just seven millimetres long, flea toads are among the smallest vertebrates on Earth. Despite their diminutive size, their organs and functions hardly differ from animals a thousand times larger. While examples of extrem…

New knowledge about a fungus that turns 60-80% of the flies in your home into zombies

How can a fungus take over a fly's behavior? An international group of researchers with participation from the University of Copenhagen hopes to find out with the help of a new genetic map of a unique fungus that…

Ethicists’ commentary on managing clinical errors

Ethical question of the month, June 2024 You are the senior veterinarian in a small companion animal practice located in a small town. You have recently taken on a new graduate veterinarian who is very diligent, but…

Fungus gnat entombed in a 40-million-year-old piece of amber is a rare gem

A Danish amber collector’s find upon a wild North Sea shore in the 1960’s has proved to be of great and surprising significance. After having thoroughly examining the roughly 40-million-year-old piece of amber,…