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Item Development of a theoretical approach for investigating the occurrence of boredom in animals : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Veterinary Science at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand(Massey University, 2024-12-27) Heslop, Morgan VictoriaMany domestic and captive wild animals across the globe are kept under highly constrained conditions, and there has been a growing concern that boredom might represent a major source of welfare compromise for these animals. To understand how significant an impact animal boredom represents, there is first a need to improve understanding of what boredom is and how it can be recognised. The aim of this thesis is to systematically examine the concept of boredom and how it can be recognised in animals kept under human management. This investigation begins by reviewing current knowledge of boredom in humans, culminating in the presentation of a framework that demonstrates the relationships between the environmental antecedents, cognitive and physiological correlates, social and cultural features and behavioural outcomes of self-reported boredom. In humans, boredom is a temporally fluid emotion that is thought to function as a goal-switching signal, occurring when there is a mismatch between the availability of cognitive resources and environmental demands on those resources. The specific cognitive and behavioural changes associated with boredom are expected to change over time, but the pattern of these changes is not yet well characterised in humans, making it challenging to determine when to look for expected responses in animals. The framework is then used to identify which aspects of boredom are measurable and manipulable to systematically investigate boredom in animals. While various correlates are theoretically measurable, the most promising measures of boredom are behavioural; three behavioural strategies are expected to occur in response to boredom, characterised as goal-switching, goal-perseverance, and non-goal-related behaviour. Manipulations to increase the likelihood of boredom-related behavioural outcomes involve altering either the availability of the subject’s cognitive resources or the environmental demand, to produce a mismatch. A novel model is introduced to describe the predicted relationships between the expected behavioural pattern and the availability of cognitive resources relative to environmental demand, as well as perceived meaning of the current activity or task and the animal’s judgement of control during boredom. The model predicts that when there is a resource-demand mismatch, or when an activity/task is low in meaning, boredom will prompt behaviours that aim to either change goals or regulate cognitive resources and demand to support persevering towards the current goal. In situations where the subject does not judge adequate control to successfully alleviate boredom through these strategies, the model predicts the occurrence of non-goal-related behaviours. The model is used to investigate how existing research on environmental conditions and ‘enrichment’ (mainly through increased complexity) contributes to our understanding of boredom in animals. One important knowledge gap is understanding how a lack of change over time (i.e. monotony) is perceived as an antecedent to boredom in animals. The way monotony, so defined, may occur in the lives of animals is further explored. Although monotony is recognised as an antecedent of boredom in humans, it may not lead to boredom in all animals. The evolutionary background of a species is predicted to influence whether monotony is aversive to members of that species, and different types of monotony may be aversive to, or preferred by, different animals. Consideration of the key features of monotony led to the development of an experimental paradigm for investigating the behavioural outcomes of task-related monotony in rats, with a view to observing whether the predicted strategies associated with boredom occur during monotony in a species that is expected to find such conditions aversive. The planned experiment could only be completed with a single animal, and the data recorded could not be fully analysed within the timeframe of this PhD. Nonetheless, the paradigm provides a potential method for investigating how monotony is perceived by animals and identifying any associated welfare impacts. To date, there is a small amount of focussed evidence that animals in restrictive environments exhibit attempts to switch goals when opportunities are made available. However, most studies only report collapsed data such as the overall duration of different behaviours, precluding the recognition of behavioural patterns that indicate the occurrence of boredom according to the model developed here. Understanding these behaviours requires continuous monitoring to observe wider behavioural patterns over time. The model presented supports the systematic investigation of boredom in animals by generating predictions about the expected behavioural outcomes in situations with different features, which can be further examined and tested in future research. The exploration of boredom presented here contributes to a growing area of animal welfare science. The recognition and alleviation of boredom are both important and it is hoped that this work will contribute to a strong foundation that will support and provide rigour to future studies.Item Validation of tri-axial accelerometers and the impact of environmental enrichment on behaviour and welfare of domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Animal Science at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand(Massey University, 2024) Redmond, CushlaMonitoring and quantifying behaviour in dogs can provide valuable insight into their overall health and welfare. Behavioural observation in dogs can often be labour-intensive and time consuming. However, recent advances in remote sensing technologies, such as accelerometery, offer an automated method for continuously measuring behaviour without an observer present. The first aim of this thesis was to investigate the use of remote sensing technology, particularly tri-axial ActiGraph® WGT3X-BT accelerometers, along with machine learning (ML) algorithms to automatically classify behaviour in six colony-housed domestic dogs (Chapter 2). A total of 132,295 seconds (~36.7 hours; ~6.1 hours per dog) of video footage of behaviour were recorded. Five modelling rounds were created using ML techniques, with model 4 achieving the highest overall accuracy and kappa coefficient while still capturing a wide range of behaviours. The study found that the ActiGraph® WGT3X-BT accelerometer can accurately classify behaviour in domestic dogs. However, it also revealed challenges in differentiating behaviours with similar acceleration profiles, particularly in classifying the "standing" behaviour. As a result, behaviours were grouped during the model-building process to improve overall accuracy. The refined models significantly improved over time, indicating a promising method for detailed and remote assessment of domestic dog behaviour. The secondary aim of the thesis was to evaluate the potential use of tri-axial accelerometery and a validated random forests model for determining the efficacy of environmental enrichment treatments and to assess the effect of food, olfactory, and tactile enrichment treatments on the behaviour and activity of six colony-housed domestic dogs (Chapter 3). Significant differences were observed among enrichment treatments regarding active/inactive behaviour, ODBA levels, individual behaviours, and interaction durations. The use of ActiGraph® devices were demonstrated to be an accurate and objective method for measuring the success of enrichment activities, particularly when used alongside other observational methods such as interaction duration. The study emphasised the impact of environmental factors, individual differences among dogs, and seasonal variations on the effectiveness of enrichment. It highlighted the need for personalised enrichment programs to enhance the overall effectiveness of treatments.Item The impact of bale vs. crop grazing over winter on the welfare of dairy cattle farmed in Southland, New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Animal Science at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand(Massey University, 2024) Latimer, Bella RoseIntensive winter grazing of pregnant non-lactating dairy cattle in Southland New Zealand often leaves cows in wet, muddy and rainy conditions with minimal shelter. Management on winter crops, such as kale, involves using high stocking rates to maximise utilisation and encourage cows to eat down to the ground, leaving bare soil that easily turns into mud. This has led to welfare concerns, as these conditions leave cows unwilling to lay down and may impair thermoregulation. Lack of rest can result in frustration and stress, and prolonged thermoregulatory challenge can result in cold stress, which are negative experiences that can impair welfare. While it is less efficient due to lower yields of dry matter/hectare compared to crops, it is thought that bale grazing (management on pasture with access to hay bales) may alleviate some of these issues and improve the welfare status of cows over winter. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the impact on lying behaviours and thermoregulation when dairy cows are managed on a kale crop compared to bale grazing over winter. Eighty pregnant non-lactating dairy cows were managed on either a kale crop or using bale grazing (n = 40/group) for winter 2022. Data collection was divided into two stages. In stage one, lying behaviours were monitored for the first month of winter (27 days) in relation to weather conditions. After this, during stage two, 60 out of the 80 cows (20 bale grazing cows, 40 kale crop cows, n = 10 groups per treatment) went onto replicated experimental plots of either kale/bale grazing for in-depth, behavioural analysis of lying and thermoregulatory behaviours/parameters for two days. Hygiene scores (measure of coat cleanliness on a 3-point scale) were obtained before and after each stage. Live weight and body condition scores were obtained before and after stage one and again just before calving. Inferential statistics were only calculated during stage two due to the lack of treatment replication in stage one. During stage one, lying times were similar for both treatments (kale crop = 8.7 hours/day, bale grazing = 8.9 hours/day), whereas kale crop cows transitioned between lying and standing more often (15 vs. 19/day) and took more steps than bale grazing cows (2,327 vs. 2,045/cow/day) on average. Rain and/or cold temperatures reduced lying times, transitions and steps for both treatments, resulting in rebound lying behaviour when conditions improved. This was more pronounced in the kale crop cows. During stage two, conditions were cold and dry. Kale crop cows lay down less than bale grazing cows (P = 0.013) and transitioned significantly more often between lying and standing (P = 0.019) on day one. However, this was likely attributed to a very low space allowance on day one. Bale grazing cows spent more time in comfortable lying postures (P = 0.022), were observed ruminating more (P = <0.001), remained cleaner (P = 0.004), had higher rump and thigh skin temperatures (P = 0.007) and higher infrared nose temperatures when lying (P = 0.048) than the kale crop cows. The surface for the kale crop cows became more compacted (P = 0.008) and got muddier (higher mud/boot score; P = 0.051). Overall, bale grazing cows appeared more comfortable than kale crop cows, which may be attributed to the greater thermal comfort and the provision of drier lying surfaces at a lower stocking rate.Item How New Zealand greyhound racing industry licensed persons perceive the industry, greyhound welfare, and their ability to create change : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Animal Science at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand(Massey University, 2024) Korver, SandrineThe greyhound racing industry in New Zealand is facing increasing concerns about animal welfare, and its social license to operate is diminishing. A social license to operate refers to the informal and intangible agreement that determines whether an industry or business can continue operating based on its social acceptability. The New Zealand government, represented by Hon. Grant Robertson, put the greyhound racing industry on notice in September 2021 following an independent review of the industry and its practices. The review recommended major changes in three areas: data recording, transparency of all activities, and improvement of animal welfare in general. In this study, I aimed to better understand greyhound racing industry participants' perspectives, practices, and attitudes, particularly regarding greyhound welfare and management. This study provided critical insight into a commonly overlooked and unvalued stakeholder whose perspectives are essential in understanding the appetite to make changes to align with evolving community expectations. I surveyed 46 New Zealand registered greyhound racing license holders and collected quantitative and qualitative data. I used a mixed-methods approach, including reflexive thematic analysis for qualitative data. This research provides a deeper understanding of the diverse perspectives, motivations, and opinions of license holders within the New Zealand greyhound racing industry. The participants care deeply about their dogs and understand the basic requirements for the racing greyhounds. However, they could benefit from further education regarding what good welfare means for greyhounds. The participants rated affective state and survival-related categories of welfare as the most important categories for ensuring good greyhound welfare. Behaviour interactions were rated as less important towards maintaining good greyhound welfare. Their responses around greyhound welfare indicated further clarification of terminology would be beneficial and would elucidate whether increased animal welfare educational efforts are necessary. This research highlights the key areas where changes are needed and suggests effective approaches to support, involve, empower, and educate the racing greyhound license holders. Greyhound license holders felt excluded from decision-making that impacts them and their dogs. They wanted greater support from industry authorities to improve canine welfare. They expressed their eagerness to improve their industry and their desire to be included in decisions regarding changes, through being included in committees, meetings and ensuring their input is acknowledged and applied. They are committed to improving the social license to operate. They want the public to understand the sport better and greyhound welfare through increased transparency and openness, by involving the public in open days and events. The findings of the study will help the license holders adapt and apply these approaches to improve greyhound welfare and management practices.Item Assessing the welfare of pasture-based dairy cows of New Zealand and transhumance chauris of Nepal : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Veterinary Science at Massey University, Runenga Porehuroa, University of New Zealand, School of Veterinary Science, Manawatu(Massey University, 2024-06-14) Sapkota, SujanThere is no industry-recognized welfare assessment protocol for pasture-based dairy cows of New Zealand. Also, the welfare assessment in yak/chauri raised under the transhumance system is at the preliminary stage. So, there is a strong necessity of a pastured-based welfare assessment protocol for pasture-based dairy cows in New Zealand and transhumance yak/chauri in Nepal. The aim of the research studies presented in this thesis were to develop a practical and time-limited welfare assessment protocol suitable to pasture-based dairy farms, and transhumance yak chauri focused on a single visit around milking. During the process, 84 different welfare measures were collected from six protocols and 4 welfare studies which were screened and trialed in two pasture-based farms to finalise 32 welfare measures including 5 additional measures specific to New Zealand. These measures were tested on 23 different dairy farms from the Waikato and Manawatu. All the measures were feasible except for the measure related to water availability and behavior. Testing of the repeatability and reliability should be performed for all the selected measures on more number of farms before taking this protocol for commercial use. Also, we further did subsampling-based locomotion scoring on five different pasture-based dairy farms to know if they could predict herd level prevalence. The findings were that there was a significant association between the order in which cows were milked and their susceptibility to lameness. However, the percentage of lame cows within the sub-sampled group was not uniform and was significantly influenced by the farm and the timing of the visit. For our yak/chauri protocol, 31 potential welfare measures were submitted to 120 Nepalese experts for evaluation identifying 13 measures, plus a new one (hematology) was deemed useful. The resulting protocol was tested in five chauri herds in northern Nepal, encompassing animal-based evaluations, mastitis and parasite sampling, and hematology. The protocol was found to be feasible and offers a valuable starting point for yak/chauri welfare assessment.Item A characterisation of farmed animal accreditation schemes in Aotearoa New Zealand and a comparison to minimum animal welfare legislation : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Animal Science at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand(Massey University, 2023) Bramley, Lauralee RuthFarmed animal welfare represents the subjective, mental experiences of animals farmed to produce animal-derived products. Welfare considerations for farmed animals exist from birth until the point of slaughter. Animal welfare is a legal priority in New Zealand through the Animal Welfare Act 1999 and its legislative instruments, the Codes of Welfare and the Animal Welfare Regulations. Animal welfare is also important for maintaining social license to operate, international export, animal productivity, and human wellbeing within the primary industries. An increased interest in animal welfare has emerged among consumers in recent years, with a particular focus on farmed animals. This increased concern has influenced the industry's social license to operate. Accreditation schemes are frameworks that outline specific requirements for producers or individuals to obtain certification. They have been created to safeguard an industries' social license and enhance consumer assurance. Over the past decade, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of New Zealand farmed animal accreditation schemes that incorporate animal welfare assurances. Unfortunately, there have been questions about the transparency of such schemes and the credibility of their claims, especially schemes whose standards may not comply with minimum legislation. To date, there has been little research on New Zealand farmed animal accreditation schemes. My research aimed to investigate and characterise the farmed animal accreditation schemes operating in New Zealand and determine how many of these are publicly accessible. I also aimed to evaluate publicly accessible schemes against minimum legal requirements of New Zealand's animal welfare legislation found within relevant Codes of Welfare. A novel methodology was developed to compare scheme standards to relevant Codes of Welfare. In this study, I identified 20 New Zealand farmed animal accreditation schemes. Seventy percent (n: 14) of these schemes had standards that were publicly accessible. Twelve schemes comprised of 13 unique standards were eligible for comparison to respective Codes of Welfare. Overall, six (46%) of New Zealand’s farmed animal accreditation scheme standards that include animal welfare requirements exceeded minimum legislation, while three (23%) aligned with minimum legislation. Likewise, three (23%) did not address their respective Codes of Welfare. This research could be used to start discussions about how New Zealand’s farmed animal accreditation schemes are being utilised to ensure animal welfare, promote more transparency within schemes, and how the claims of these schemes are being evidenced.Item Applying welfare science to cetacean strandings : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand(Massey University, 2022) Boys, Rebecca MAnimal welfare science can provide critical knowledge to inform ethical wildlife management and human intervention efforts. Despite live stranding events being recognised by the International Whaling Commission as a major welfare concern for free-ranging cetaceans, little research has to date, been conducted on stranded cetacean welfare. Live cetacean stranding events offer a quintessential exemplar of wildlife management, where assessment or integration of welfare has been limited in the decision-making process. This thesis contributes new understanding of how welfare science can be applied to cetacean stranding events to inform decision-making processes. Here, the first welfare-centric data regarding live stranded cetaceans is presented. Specifically, this research presents novel contributions to science via: (1) conceptualisation of stranded cetacean welfare and survival likelihood; (2) recognition of key knowledge gaps and concerns that must be addressed to ensure optimal welfare and survival likelihood outcomes; (3) identification of potential valuable and practical indicators for assessing stranded cetacean welfare and survival likelihood; (4) evidenced feasibility of welfare indicator application to live cetacean stranding events; (5) incorporation of indicators to undertake holistic welfare assessments; (6) identification of potential welfare implications of strandings management, including efficacy of euthanasia; and (7) provision of key recommendations and requirements to ensure humane end-of-life outcomes for non-viable stranded cetaceans. This thesis documents inextricable links between animal welfare and survival likelihood of stranded cetaceans and demonstrates a clear need for integration of welfare science alongside conservation biology at live stranding events. Systematic, standardised data collection and welfare-centric assessment of stranded cetaceans can, if applied scientifically, inform intervention decisions, to ensure consistent guidance and improve strandings management to safeguard humane outcomes for affected cetaceans. Collectively, this research provides a significant contribution to the current scientific understanding of stranded cetacean welfare, by providing key knowledge required for the development of a welfare assessment framework that can support decision-making at stranding events.Item Identification of potential welfare indicators for commercially farmed King salmon (Hāmana, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) : a scoping review to inform the development of a national code of welfare : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Physiology at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand(Massey University, 2022) Norris, Izabella MareeAquaculture – the cultivation of marine plants and animals – is one of New Zealand’s fastest growing primary industries. A major contributor to the growth of New Zealand’s aquaculture industry is the farming of King salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). Parallel to the growth of the aquaculture industry is an increasing interest in the welfare of farmed fish from people in the industry, government, and public. Under the Animal Welfare Act 1999, fish are considered sentient beings capable of experiencing positive and negative emotions. However, unlike other animals under the Act, fish do not have a Code of Welfare to formally guide farmers to meet their obligations as animal carers under the Act. In order to develop a Code of Welfare for farmed fish, there needs to be an understanding of current and future state of the New Zealand salmon farming industry along with an evaluation of potential areas within production systems that may influence fish welfare, and identification of potential indicators of farmed salmon welfare. The New Zealand salmon farming industry use freshwater and marine-based operations to farm King salmon. Juvenile salmon are reared in freshwater hatcheries until they have reached an acceptable weight and/or stage of smoltification before being transferred into grow-out cages. Smolt are grown out in net cages, situated within either freshwater hydro-canals or coastal bays of the South Island, until they reach a harvest weight of ~4kg. At harvest, farmed salmon are stunned and slaughtered using methods such as Aqui-S and carbon dioxide immersion, manual and automatic percussion, and electrical stunning. Brain spiking is also used to euthanise broodstock prior to stripping. The Five Domains Model was used as a guide to evaluate areas of potential welfare impacts within New Zealand salmon farming systems. In terms of nutritional impacts (Domain 1), management of feed withdrawal regimes and factors associated with underfeeding may negatively impact salmon welfare. Appropriate water quality parameters are crucial for the maintenance of adequate environmental living conditions (Domain 2). Water quality parameters that may influence salmon welfare include water flow rate, temperature, oxygen saturation, carbon dioxide concentration, ammonia concentration, and salinity. Impacts on salmon health (Domain 3) may arise from the contraction of infectious bacterial diseases, physical injuries, and the development of spinal deformities. Lastly, in Domain 4, salmon welfare may be impacted through interactions with humans (e.g., handling stress during handling events), other non-human animals (e.g., aggressive interaction with conspecifics or presence of predators), and the environment (e.g., limited ability to exercise agency within barren and confined environments). A scoping review of globally published literature relevant to measures of salmon welfare was conducted to identify potential indicators of farmed salmon welfare. The scoping review identified a total of 112 potential animal- and resource-based indicators of farmed salmon welfare from 60 articles. There was a clear focus on the use of survival-critical indicators reflecting welfare impacts in Domains 1-3 (nutrition, health, and physical environment). A limited number of situation-related indicators (Domain 4) were identified. Of the identified indicators, a large proportion were classified as animal-based indicators sampled post-mortem. These indicators can only provide evidence of a previous experience in the animal assessed. To create a reliable and holistic assessment of farmed salmon welfare, contextual information is required for appropriate application and interpretation of welfare indicators with regards to affective experiences and a range of indicators across Domains 1-4 should be used in combination to capture all possible welfare impacts. The 112 unique welfare indicators identified and the understanding of their collective value to the welfare of commercially farmed salmon in New Zealand presented in this review provides industry, government, and policy makers the necessary information to develop regulations and on-farm welfare assessments.Item Assessment of positive emotion in horses : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Veterinary Science at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand(Massey University, 2022) Stratton, Rachael BridgetObjective, non-invasive indicators of the subjective experience of positive emotion are required to support assessment and improvement of animal welfare. Emotion is unique to the individual and indicators of emotion are indirect. The aim of this thesis was to ascertain if body and facial behaviours and physiological parameters reflected the emotional experiences of horses. Following review of the theoretical and experimental literature, three experiments were conducted, and an alternative emotional arousal-valence framework was proposed. Based on the preferences of individual horses, the relative arousal level and emotional valence induced by four stimuli (wither grooming, motionless person, intermittent spray, and being left alone) were ordered. Behavioural and physiological parameters were then measured during exposure to each stimuli. The indicators of contrasting affective experiences in horses were found to be heart rate, heart rate variability, eye temperature, and behaviours involving legs, neck, tail, ears, eyes, eyebrows, mouth, chin, and nares. Several behaviours differed across all three arousal levels or valence levels. Positive emotional valence was indicated by a decreased rate of neck very low, left ear forward, left or right ear back, blink, angled eyebrow, nares flared, nares neutral, and/or an increased rate of chin wobble, small eye aperture, or oral investigation behaviours. Higher arousal was indicated by an increased rate of neck very high, tail swishing, or higher odds of contracted lips, and/or a decreased rate of right ear forward or to the side behaviours. Reduction from 16 to six parameters may be possible. The findings may be used to aid interpretation of horse emotional experience and in the assessment and improvement of horse welfare. The research approach and framework described in this research may be suitable for future research in horses and other species.Item Investigation of ewe and lamb mortality on a commercial farm in New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Animal Science at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand(Massey University, 2021) Capdevila Ospina, Kimberly GiselleOn-farm ewe mortality is an important issue that impacts the productivity and profitability of the New Zealand sheep systems. Additionally, it raises potential concerns regarding ewe welfare and consumer perception implications related to the increase of ewe deaths. Ewe mortality ranges from 2.0 to 20.8% per annum and is increasingly recognised as an important problem on New Zealand sheep farms. This thesis established the ewe mortality rates, period of risk and the association between productive parameters and ewe deaths on a commercial sheep farm in New Zealand, with further investigation into the causes of ewe and lamb mortality around lambing. This study utilised a cohort of 1789 two-tooth ewes on a commercial sheep farm located in the Waikato region. Data were collected from the start of mating (March 2019) to weaning (December 2019), a period of 262 days. Additionally, the ewes were monitored daily over a period of 24 days, both prior to and during the first weeks of lambing, by a researcher who utilised a drone for greater access when possible. Results showed that over half the ewe deaths during the study period occurred during the lambing period, hence, this was the period of highest risk for ewe death. Twin and triplet-bearing ewes had higher risk of mortality than single-bearing ewes. During the lambing period, being cast was the main cause of ewe death (66%), while other causes included vaginal prolapse and dystocia. Change of conceptus-adjusted live weight (CALW) at mating and BCS at ram removal tended to be lower in the ewes that died, however, further investigation is required to establish productive parameters associated with ewe mortality. The findings of this thesis suggest that it might be possible to reduce ewe mortality around lambing, especially in multiple-bearing ewes, by daily monitoring to identify and resolve cast ewes. If this were done it is likely that the ewe and therefore her future lambs would be saved. This study only included one farm in a single year, however, and the repeatability of these results should be evaluated in further years and in other flocks.