Removing individual rats affects indicators of welfare in the remaining group members

Burman, Ohp; Owen, D. J.; Abou-Ismail, Usama A.; Mendl, Michael

doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2007.08.001

Cited by 39 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Much work has been conducted on housing density of laboratory rodents (e.g. [10], [11], [35] to identify appropriate stocking densities for different species; the use of an additional tool to predict immunocompetence of individuals will add a further dimension, particularly where routine sampling is conducted and thus the additional blood requirements for this technique will not become an additional stressor.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For the individuals being sampled immediately, the number of voles in their cage was recorded as the number of individuals in the original cage. The re-housed portion was sampled a minimum of 10 days later to allow ample time for acclimatisation to the new group size [35], and the number of voles in their cage was recorded as the re-housed number of individuals.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Captive Housing during Water Vole (Arvicola terrestris) Reintroduction: Does Short-Term Social Stress Impact on Animal Welfare?

et al. 2010

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BackgroundAnimals captive bred for reintroduction are often housed under conditions which are not representative of their preferred social structure for at least part of the reintroduction process. Specifically, this is most likely to occur during the final stages of the release programme, whilst being housed during transportation to the release site. The degree of social stress experienced by individuals during this time may negatively impact upon their immunocompetence.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe examined two measure of stress - body weight and Leukocyte Coping Capacity (LCC) - to investigate the effects of group size upon captive-bred water voles destined for release within a reintroduction program. Water voles were housed in laboratory cages containing between one and eight individuals. LCC scores were negatively correlated with group size, suggesting that individuals in larger groups experienced a larger degree of immuno-suppression than did individuals housed in smaller groups or individually. During the course of the study mean body weights increased, in contrast to expectations from a previous study. This was attributed to the individuals sampled being sub-adults and thus growing in length and weight during the course of the investigation.Conclusions/SignificanceThe reintroduction process will inevitably cause some stress to the release cohort. However, for water voles we conclude that the stress experienced may be reduced by decreasing group size within captive colony and/or transportation housing practises. These findings are of significance to other species' reintroductions, in highlighting the need to consider life-history strategies when choosing housing systems for animals being maintained in captivity prior to release to the wild. A reduction in stress experienced at the pre-release stage may improve immunocompetence and thus animal welfare and initial survival post-release.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Captive Housing during Water Vole (Arvicola terrestris) Reintroduction: Does Short-Term Social Stress Impact on Animal Welfare?

et al. 2010

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“…This is an interesting finding helpful to the management of primates that tend to form close social bonds with each other under captive and field conditions [27,28]. Group members remaining in the enclosure did not demonstrate signs of stress, protest or despair [4,6], suggesting that they had little attachment to the monkeys removed from the enclosure within 1 year cohabitation [5]. The animals removed from the group consisted of a subordinate female (daughter of the dominant female), a male (unrelated to the other animals) and a sub-adult male (coefficient of kinship with the dominant female is 1/4).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…For example, diseased animals may be isolated from the rest of their group by keepers, or animals may be removed for exhibition elsewhere [1][2][3]. Previous studies on the effects of group change show that the effects of individual removal on zoo animals vary greatly according to species, social context and individuals [4][5][6]. These differing results raise interesting questions about whether the social dynamics and behavior are affected by the decisions of zoo managers.…”

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confidence: 99%

Behavior and adrenal activity in a group of zoo golden snub-nosed monkeys, Rhinopithecus roxellana, following social structure change

Zhang

Liu

et al. 2013

Chin. Sci. Bull.

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The effects of individual removal by zoo managers on behavior and fecal glucocorticoid changes in snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) were investigated at Beijing Zoo. The results showed that the effect of the removal of three subordinate individuals (DD, male, 4 years; XZZ, male, 3 years and LL, female, 3 years) from a group varied across the remaining group members that may be related to individual's social status, gender and age. The dominant male was impacted less than subordinate individuals in both the frequency and time duration for the four main behavioral categories. The frequency of stereotypic behavior significantly decreased in the dominant female after the removal of three animals (Z=2.862, P=0.003). Fluctuations were found in both the behavioral frequency and time duration in other remaining individuals. These findings suggest that small, socially stable groups were somewhat resilient to changes in member composition. Moreover, the cortisol level did not change significantly in the remaining members. An alternative method of hormone assay using fecal samples for vulnerable animals was presented, and that may be useful for monitoring wild golden monkeys and other endangered species of animal. animal welfare, artificial separation, resident, golden snub-nosed monkey, Rhinopithecus roxellana, social structure Citation:Zhang X L, He X, Liu D Z, et al. Behavior and adrenal activity in a group of zoo golden snub-nosed monkeys, Rhinopithecus roxellana, following social structure change.

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“…In contrast, with splitmarketing strategies (SM), the heaviest pigs in a pen are removed and slaughtered before the others, which increases floor-space allowance of the remaining pigs. However, removing animals from a group could disrupt its social structure, resulting in increased aggression, which is thought to reflect social stress (Burman et al, 2008). Whereas Boyle and Björklund (2007) found no effect of SM on pig behavior, Fredriksen and Hexeberg (2009) reported an increase in fighting.…”

Section: Introduction Imentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of split marketing on the welfare, performance, and carcass traits of finishing pigs1

Conte

Lawlor

O’Connell

2012

Journal of Animal Science

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The aim of this study was to compare a split marketing (SM) strategy, in which the heaviest pigs in a group are removed and slaughtered earlier than the others, with an all-out (AO) marketing strategy, in which all pigs are removed from the pen simultaneously and slaughtered on the same day, in terms of welfare, performance, and carcass traits of noncastrated (i.e., intact) male and female pigs. The experimental treatments were arranged in a 2 × 2 factorial array with 1) marketing strategy (SM vs. AO) and 2) sex (males vs. females), which yielded 4 treatment groups of 14 pigs (73.1 ± 4.8 kg): male SM, male AO, female SM, and female AO (7 replicates/group). Pigs in AO groups were all slaughtered after 6 wk on trial, whereas in SM groups the 3 heaviest pigs were removed and slaughtered 2 wk before the remainder of the group, which were slaughtered at the same time as the AO pigs. Pigs were fed a liquid diet from a long trough 3 times daily. Behavioral observations were conducted before and after SM, the day of SM, and 1 and 2 wk later. Behavior was recorded both during and between feed events, and skin lesions were scored on all, except the 3 pigs removed from SM groups before and 2 wk after SM. Growth performance, feed efficiency, and carcass traits were recorded. The number of aggressive interactions during feed events decreased after the 3 pigs were removed from SM groups. This reduction in aggressive interactions was observed on the day of SM in male groups (before SM: 24.3 vs. the day of SM: 14.7, SED = 3.31, P < 0.05 for interaction) and in subsequent observations in female groups (before SM: 21.4 vs. days after SM: 13.4, SED = 3.31, P < 0.05 for interaction). However, SM had no effect on behaviors recorded between feed events or on the number and severity of skin lesions (P > 0.10). There were no differences between the 11 remaining pigs in SM groups and the 14 pigs in AO groups in terms of growth performance, feed efficiency, and carcass traits of female or intact male pigs (P > 0.10). However, reduced within-pen CV in carcass weight was detected in pigs from SM groups compared with pigs from AO groups (8.6 vs. 10.9, SEM = 0.72, P < 0.05). Therefore, in restrictively fed pigs, a SM strategy improved the welfare of both female and intact male pigs by reducing aggressive interactions during feeding but had no effect on performance or carcass traits.

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Removing individual rats affects indicators of welfare in the remaining group members

Cited by 39 publications

References 37 publications

Captive Housing during Water Vole (Arvicola terrestris) Reintroduction: Does Short-Term Social Stress Impact on Animal Welfare?

Captive Housing during Water Vole (Arvicola terrestris) Reintroduction: Does Short-Term Social Stress Impact on Animal Welfare?

Behavior and adrenal activity in a group of zoo golden snub-nosed monkeys, Rhinopithecus roxellana, following social structure change

Effect of split marketing on the welfare, performance, and carcass traits of finishing pigs1

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