Review of human-animal interactions and their impact on animal productivity and welfare

Humans and animals are in regular and at times close contact in modern intensive farming systems. The quality of human-animal interactions can have a profound impact on the productivity and welfare of farm animals. Interactions by humans may be neutral, positive or negative in nature. Regular pleasant contact with humans may result in desirable alterations in the physiology, behaviour, health and productivity of farm animals. On the contrary, animals that were subjected to aversive human contact were highly fearful of humans and their growth and reproductive performance could be compromised. Farm animals are particularly sensitive to human stimulation that occurs early in life, while many systems of the animals are still developing. This may have long-lasting impact and could possibly modify their genetic potential. The question as to how human contact can have a positive impact on responses to stressors, and productivity is not well understood. Recent work in our laboratory suggested that pleasant human contact may alter ability to tolerate various stressors through enhanced heat shock protein (hsp) 70 expression. The induction of hsp is often associated with increased tolerance to environmental stressors and disease resistance in animals. The attitude and consequent behaviour of stockpeople affect the animals’ fear of human which eventually influence animals’ productivity and welfare. Other than attitude and behaviour, technical skills, knowledge, job motivation, commitment and job satisfaction are prerequisites for high job performance.     

Fear-related behaviour of dogs in veterinary practice

To investigate further the occurrence of fear-related behaviour in dogs in veterinary practice and to evaluate associated factors, 135 dogs were observed under practice conditions within the framework of a standardised test examination and the owners interviewed using a questionnaire. Most dogs exhibited fear reactions, particularly on the examination table, with 78.5% (106/135) categorised as ‘fearful’ based on their behaviour. Unlike weight and castration, age, gender and previous experience were significantly (P < 0.05) associated with fearful behaviour. Male dogs were significantly less ‘fearful’ than females and animals under <2 years were significantly less ‘fearful’ compared with older dogs. Those with only positive previous experiences in veterinary surgeries were significantly less ‘fearful’ than dogs that had a previous negative experience. Fear-related behaviour in veterinary practice is an issue of importance.     

Genetics of fear in ruminant livestock

We provide first an overview of studies on ruminant livestock that emphasises an inter-individual variability and a relative intra-individual consistency in fear responsiveness. Then, we provide evidence that genetic factors underlie fear responsiveness. We discuss problems that may hinder the genetic evaluation and the application of fearfulness traits for genetic selection in livestock. These problems include the absence of validation in experimental designs, the complexity of fear-related responses, and the interaction between genetic factors and environmental influences that limit the consistency in fear-related responses. Some possible welfare consequences of current selection programs are also considered. Finally, we discuss the possibility for including fear criteria in current selection programs and consider how such approaches may have considerable promise in ruminant livestock. More particularly, we outline current knowledge about how genes control fearfulness. Even if fear-related responses in ruminant livestock are complex, the capacity to select on fear-related criteria or even perhaps on genes that confer fearfulness traits has the potential to significantly enhance our ability to optimise livestock for their production environment and reduce the potential for compromise to their welfare.     

Review of human-animal interactions and their impact on animal productivity and welfare

Humans and animals are in regular and at times close contact in modern intensive farming systems.The quality of human-animal interactions can have a profound impact on the productivity and welfare of farm animals.Interactions by humans may be neutral,positive or negative in nature.Regular pleasant contact with humans may result in desirable alterations in the physiology,behaviour,health and productivity of farm animals.On the contrary,animals that were subjected to aversive human contact were highly fearful of humans and their growth and reproductive performance could be compromised.Farm animals are particularly sensitive to human stimulation that occurs early in life,while many systems of the animals are still developing.This may have long-lasting impact and could possibly modify their genetic potential.The question as to how human contact can have a positive impact on responses to stressors,and productivity is not well understood.Recent work in our laboratory suggested that pleasant human contact may alter ability to tolerate various stressors through enhanced heat shock protein（hsp） 70 expression.The induction of hsp is often associated with increased tolerance to environmental stressors and disease resistance in animals.The attitude and consequent behaviour of stockpeople affect the animals＇ fear of human which eventually influence animals＇ productivity and welfare.Other than attitude and behaviour,technical skills,knowledge,job motivation,commitment and job satisfaction are prerequisites for high job performance.     

Genetic background of maternal behaviour and its relation to offspring survival

Maternal behaviour is becoming increasingly important in animal production. Selection for increased litter size at birth in pigs and sheep puts higher demands on the ability of dams to raise large litters. In pig production, the use of loose housing systems for lactating sows increases the importance of good maternal behaviour. Extensive production systems (e.g., ecological farming and outdoor production), where there is a small degree of supervision of the animals, also leaves a greater responsibility with the mother to care for her young. The environment provided by the dam is important for the survival and growth of the offspring in many species. Several behaviour traits of the mother play a role for the offspring's chances of survival and a good start in life. Examples of such behaviour traits are responsiveness towards signals from the offspring (pigs), aggressive behaviour towards the offspring (pigs and sheep), nursing behaviour (pigs and sheep), and fear behaviour (pigs, sheep, and cattle). Some of these traits are in part genetically controlled, and thus possible to improve by selection. Behaviour traits are, however, often difficult to observe and record on a large scale. By studying behaviour, we can gain further understanding about factors affecting survival of the young, and increase our chances to improve maternal behaviour. Improved maternal behaviour would increase the welfare for both mother and young.     

Ontogenetic habitat shifts and habitat use in an endangered minnow, Notropis mekistocholas

Henderson AR, Johnston CE. Ontogenetic habitat shifts and habitat use in an endangered minnow, Notropis mekistocholas . Ecology of Freshwater Fish 2010: 19: 87–95.
© 2009 John Wiley & Sons A/S
Abstract –  Information on larval and juvenile habitat use is virtually absent for fishes. Our objective was to document habitat use of larval and juvenile Cape Fear shiners Notropis mekistocholas , an endangered species, in both natural and lab settings so that a better understanding of habitat requirements in all life stages can be achieved. We measured habitat parameters of areas used by all life stages of N. mekistocholas in the summers of 2007–2008 in the Rocky River, North Carolina. Field data suggests larvae use more shallow depths (mean = 31.6 cm) and reduced water velocities (mean = 0.02 m·s⁻¹) than adults (mean = 56.3 cm, 0.10 m·s⁻¹), and juveniles 15–25 mm often school with adults. Results of lab studies support field observations. In the mesolarval and metalarval stages N. mekistocholas were selective in their use of water velocity ( P  = 0.013) and depth ( P  = 0.001). In multiple juvenile stages, N. mekistocholas were selective for water velocity ( P  = 0.015), and depth ( P  < 0.001), choosing deeper depths and higher water velocities than larvae. These results demonstrate ontogenetic shifts in habitat use of N. mekistocholas and suggest that water velocity and depth are critical to successful recruitment for this species.     

Novel therapeutic targets for post-traumatic stress disorder: endocannabinoid system

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a kind of mental disorder that usually occurs after life-threatening and strong mental traumas. Clinical studies showed that the PTSD patients are 3 times more likely to have cannabis as compared with the healthy people. The use of cannabinoids has a close relationship with the occurrence and clinical manifestations of PTSD. Experimental studies revealed that endocannabinoid (eCB) signal alterations in animal models of PTSD influenced fear memory of the animals, suggesting a close correlation between the eCB system and the pathogenesis of PTSD. Given that the eCB system was reported to regulate affective states and participate in memory consolidation, retrieval and extinction, targeting the eCB system may improve the emotional and cognitive features of PTSD, thereby holding out great promise for the development of novel approaches for clinical treatment of PTSD.