Capturing wild animal welfare: a physiological perspective

Abstract

Affective states, such as emotions, are presumably widespread across the animal kingdom because of the adaptive advantages they are supposed to confer. However, the study of the affective states of animals has thus far been largely restricted to enhancing the welfare of animals managed by humans in non‐natural contexts. Given the diversity of wild animals and the variable conditions they can experience, extending studies on animal affective states to the natural conditions that most animals experience will allow us to broaden and deepen our general understanding of animal welfare. Yet, this same diversity makes examining animal welfare in the wild highly challenging. There is therefore a need for unifying theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches that can guide researchers keen to engage in this promising research area. The aim of this article is to help advance this important research area by highlighting the central relationship between physiology and animal welfare and rectify its apparent oversight, as revealed by the current scientific literature on wild animals. Moreover, this article emphasises the advantages of including physiological markers to assess animal welfare in the wild (e.g. objectivity, comparability, condition range, temporality), as well as their concomitant limitations (e.g. only access to peripheral physiological markers with complex relationships with affective states). Best‐practice recommendations (e.g. replication and multifactorial approaches) are also provided to allow physiological markers to be used most effectively and appropriately when assessing the welfare of animals in their natural habitat. This review seeks to provide the foundation for a new and distinct research area with a vast theoretical and applied potential: wild animal welfare physiology.

A novel feeding platform design for behavioral research on wild Tanimbar corellas (Cacatua goffiniana)

“…However, they are typically highly vigilant and easily startled in such circumstances. Therefore, developing elevated feeding platforms for this particular species was considered more promising for a reliable and wildlife welfare-oriented approach (Lindsjö et al, 2019;Beaulieu, 2023).…”

Oxidative status: A general but overlooked indicator of welfare across animal species?

“…The use of markers of oxidative status in animal welfare science and in adjacent fields: A literature review In addition to animal welfare studies, [19] markers of oxidative status have also been measured in the wild in the fields of ecophysiology and conservation physiology. [11,20] These fields can be considered adjacent to the field of wild animal welfare, as many of the conditions considered in these fields also likely impact the welfare of animals by affecting their environment, health, nutrition, or behavior.…”

“…In that case, a consistent pattern would suggest that the variable peripheral effects on the measured markers are likely negligible compared to central influences (as shown here by the results of the meta-analysis). [19] Choosing markers of oxidative status to assess welfare A challenge when assessing the welfare of animals through their oxidative status concerns the choice of the markers to measure and how to measure them. Indeed, the oxidative status of an animal corresponds to a mosaic of molecules belonging to three main categories: ROS, antioxidant defenses, and oxidative damage.…”

“…The validity of these additional markers could be tested in empirical studies examining how these markers vary across different conditions assumed to be associated with the same valence. [19,24]…”

Expert system as a tool for management of thermal comfort in heat environments in agribusiness

“…Regarding the relationship between humans and the environment, interaction may lead to stress, defined as a syndrome affecting physiological, productive, reproductive, and behavioral reactions, which can occur at different levels (MacLeod et al, 2023;Beaulieu, 2024). Thermal comfort, provided by an adequate environment, is a satisfactory combination of mean radiant temperature, relative humidity, temperature, and relative air velocity, as well as the activity performed (metabolism) and the thermal insulation of clothing at levels considered comfortable (Zhang et al, 2021).…”