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Item Using post-mortem computed tomography to identify traumatic cranial lesions in small stranded odontocetes euthanised via ballistics(Taylor and Francis Group on behalf of the New Zealand Veterinary Association, 2025-07-29) Boys RM; Stewart RO; Kot BCW; Lye G; Beausoleil NJ; Stockin KAAims: To describe the pathophysiology caused by ballistics applied to the head of stranded cetaceans that required euthanasia and use this information to infer the likely welfare implications of these real-life euthanasia events. Methods: Post-mortem computed tomography (PMCT) imaging was conducted on six cetacean carcasses of five different species that were submitted for dissection following ballistics euthanasia. No animals were euthanised for the purpose of this study. All data were collected opportunistically at stranding events where euthanasia was a priori deemed necessary by the Department of Conservation (DOC) in partnership with indigenous Māori (iwi). The cranial damage assessed included osseous lesions at entry and exit wounds, intracranial bone fractures and intracranial projectile fragments. Potential welfare implications were inferred based on the likelihood of instantaneous insensibility occurring due to direct physical disruption to the brainstem. Additionally, basic stranding data were collected from DOC incident reports including whether animals were refloated prior to the decision for euthanasia. We also gathered information from the marksperson involved on how the ballistics method was employed, equipment used, and animal insensibility assessed at each stranding event. Results: PMCT results suggest that two animals were likely instantaneously insensible, three had a moderate chance of being instantly insensible and one had a low chance of instantaneous insensibility. In one case, the marksperson reported a faster time to insensibility/death than was judged likely to have occurred from PMCT. In only two cases were the criteria for verifying insensibility reported as being checked. The likelihood of instantaneous insensibility occurring was affected by shot placement/aim and characteristics of the projectile used. Conclusions: Euthanasia is a critical option for severely compromised cetaceans. While most animals examined were probably rapidly insensible following shooting, cranial trauma and thus confidence in the efficacy of ballistics seemed to vary with shot placement, aim, equipment and cranial anatomy. Clinical relevance: Verification of insensibility immediately following shooting, by assessing reflex responses as recommended, is crucial to ensure humane emergency management. PMCT provides an effective non-destructive tool to validate field methods for assessing the efficacy of euthanasia.Item Out of habitat marine mammals – Identification, causes, and management recommendations(Elsevier Ltd, 2025-07) Nunny L; Bossley M; Boys RM; Brakes P; Genov T; Parsons ECM; Peters KJ; Rose NA; Simeone CA; Stockin KA; Vail CS; van der Linde K; Visser IN; Simmonds MPAn out of habitat (OOH) marine mammal is an individual found outside of their natural range, e.g., an Atlantic walrus (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus) along the coastline of mainland Europe, or an individual within their natural range in habitat that is not optimal for their health or survival due to a lack of suitable conditions and/or because of potential conflict with humans. As the number of OOH marine mammals appears to be increasing, and following on from two international workshops, here we define what constitutes an OOH marine mammal and provide a detailed assessment of potential drivers. Climate change, habitat loss and/or degradation, disturbance, changes in prey distribution, and morbidity may all be reasons for a marine mammal being OOH. Appropriate management of OOH marine mammals is considered. This may simply involve monitoring to better understand the situation, to protect the welfare of the animal(s) and to ensure that members of the public are kept safe. However, on occasion, further intervention may be required, such as providing safe areas for the OOH marine mammal(s), encouraging the animal(s) to move, capture and translocation, or euthanasia. Regardless of the action taken, educating and communicating with the public are key elements of OOH marine mammal management. Lessons can be learned from human-wildlife conflict and rewilding scenarios. The potential for OOH marine mammals to be pioneers seeking new habitat, contributing to species resilience in the face of rapidly changing environments, and how to include them in conservation legislation and management planning are considered.Item Ethological and procedural assessment of ballistics euthanasia for stranded cetaceans(Elsevier B.V., 2025-02-12) Boys RM; Beausoleil NJ; Stockin KAEuthanasia may be necessary at cetacean stranding events to end suffering. To ensure a humane death, verification of unconsciousness must be undertaken following application of the killing method. However, only limited information is reported on individual euthanasia events, including how unconsciousness and/or death is assessed. Here, we describe current practices for euthanising stranded cetaceans in New Zealand by analysing video footage of fourteen ballistics events involving various species. Specifically, we detail the ballistics procedures applied and the behavioural responses of the animals. Additionally, we sought to understand how animal unconsciousness was evaluated following each event by surveying the personnel involved. Video recordings ranged in length from 25 to 480 s after the initial shot and involved 14 cetaceans: one Cuvier's beaked whale, one pygmy sperm whale, one bottlenose dolphin, four pilot whales and seven false killer whales. Unconsciousness criteria were typically not observed being verified in the videos analysed, despite markspersons stating that death occurred in < 1 minute for most animals. Number of shots applied to an animal ranged from 1–3. Key behaviours indicative of unconsciousness included a continuously slack lower jaw and epaxial muscle relaxation. Based on behavioural observations, 66.7 % of animals for which an estimate could be made (n = 12) were likely unconscious within 30 s of the initial shot; half of these were likely unconscious within 10 s. The remaining animals appeared conscious for 30 s after the initial shot, and half of these were likely still conscious after one minute. Ten animals displayed post-shot behaviours suggestive of voluntary control, including tail lifting, beyond the point of presumed death reported by markspersons. The lack of verification of unconsciousness in most animals (12/14) hinders our ability to understand how these behaviours may correlate with awareness and thus welfare impacts of shooting. While the application of ballistics appeared to follow current national recommendations, mandated procedures for verifying death were rarely observed. We recommend exploring the reasons for this finding, to ensure that such procedures are appropriately undertaken, and welfare compromise minimised.Item Worms and welfare: Behavioural and physiological changes associated with gastrointestinal nematode parasitism in lambs.(Elsevier B.V., 2023-10-27) Hempstead MN; Waghorn TS; Gibson MJ; Sauermann CW; Ross AB; Cave VM; Sutherland MA; Marquetoux N; Hannaford R; Corner-Thomas RA; Sutherland IAParasitism with gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) is a worldwide issue impacting negatively on animal production, health, and welfare. Therefore, early diagnostic signs of parasitism are required to allow for timely interventions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the behavioural and physiological changes in lambs associated with GIN infection. We used 30, 8-month-old Romney-cross wethers, that were administered anthelmintics until faecal egg counts (FEC) were zero and housed in an indoor facility. The study lasted 9 weeks, which comprised a 3-week pre-treatment, and a 6-week treatment phase. Lambs were randomly assigned to one of two treatments (n = 15/treatment) trickle-dosed with: 1) 1500 infective third stage larvae (L3) three days/week for 6 weeks (27,000 total L3; challenged), or 2) water 3 days/week for 6 weeks (control). Within each pen there were 5 pairs of lambs (balanced for liveweight), with each pair comprising a challenged and control lamb. Blood, faecal, and saliva samples were collected 1 week pre-treatment and weekly for 6 weeks of treatment. Behaviour was observed (e.g., feeding, lying, standing) from video-camera recordings using scan sampling every 5 min for 8 h, 1 day pre-treatment and on the day immediately prior to physiological sampling across the 6-week treatment phase (7 days in total). Accelerometers were attached to each lamb to continuously monitor behaviour from 3 weeks pre-treatment and for the remainder of the study. Liveweight, body condition, faecal soiling and faecal consistency scoring were performed weekly as was lipidomic analysis of plasma samples. From week 2 of treatment, challenged lambs spent less time feeding and more time lying than control lambs until week 5 of treatment (P ≤ 0.01). At week 3 of treatment, elevated lipids (mainly triglycerides and phospholipids), loose faeces and faecal soiling around the anus were observed in challenged lambs compared with controls (P ≤ 0.05). From week 4 of treatment, FEC were elevated in the challenged compared to control lambs (P ≤ 0.05). There was also lower liveweight gain at 4 and 5 weeks of treatment in the challenged lambs compared with control lambs (P ≤ 0.05). These results show a clear timeline of changes in behaviour (e.g., feeding and lying), lipids such as triglycerides, and digestive function (e.g., faecal soiling) suggestive of GIN subclinical disease, which show promise for use in future studies on early identification of subclinical GIN parasitism in lambs.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 Review: The Five Domains model and promoting positive welfare in pigs(Elsevier B.V. on behalf of The Animal Consortium, 2022-06-16) Kells NJPublic concern for the welfare of farm animals has increased over recent years. Meeting public demands for higher animal welfare products requires robust animal welfare assessment tools that enable the user to identify areas of potential welfare compromise and enhancement. The Five Domains model is a structured, systematic, and comprehensive framework for assessing welfare risks and enhancement in sentient animals. Since its inception in 1994, the model has undergone regular updates to incorporate advances in animal welfare understanding and scientific knowledge. The model consists of five areas, or domains, that focus attention on specific factors or conditions that may impact on an animal's welfare. These include four physical/functional domains: nutrition, physical environment, health, and behavioural interactions, and a fifth mental or affective state domain. The first three domains draw attention to welfare-significant internal physical/functional states within the animal, whereas the fourth deals with welfare-relevant features of the animal's external physical and social environment. Initially named "Behaviour" Domain 4 was renamed "Behavioural Interactions" in the 2020 iteration of the model and was expanded to include three categories: interactions with the environment, interactions with other animals and interactions with humans. These explicitly focus attention on environmental and social circumstances that may influence the animal's ability to exercise agency, an important determinant of welfare. Once factors in Domains 1-4 have been considered, the likely consequences, in terms of the animal's subjective experiences, are assigned to Domain 5 (affective state). The integrated outcome of all negative and positive mental experiences accumulated in Domain 5 represents the animal's current welfare state. Because the model specifically draws attention to conditions that may positively influence welfare, it provides a useful framework for identifying opportunities to promote positive welfare in intensively farmed animals. When negative affective experiences are minimised, providing animals with the opportunity to engage in species-specific rewarding behaviours may shift them into an overall positive welfare state. In domestic pigs, providing opportunities for foraging, play, and nest building, along with improving the quality of pig-human interactions, has the potential to promote positive welfare.Item Examining the role of human perceptions during cetacean stranding response in New Zealand(Elsevier Ltd, 2022-11) Stockin KA; Pawley MDM; Jarvis RM; Boys RMCetacean strandings often elicit significant media attention and public engagement. However, how human perceptions of such events may influence decision-making during strandings response is poorly understood. To address this, we undertook an online questionnaire targeting stranding relevant/interested parties in New Zealand, Aotearoa to understand perceptions around stranding events and response. Participants responded to questions and statements using the 5-point Likert scale to explore human perceptions and expectations of intervention, decision-making, animal welfare and survival prognosis during strandings. Responses were analysed based on level of experience and role at stranding events using descriptive and multivariate statistics. A total of 268 respondents completed the questionnaire; most stated that human intervention is necessary to assist animals during strandings. However, 43% of respondents indicated that they did not know what affect intervention may have on the animals. Notably, participants felt that human intervention was more likely to improve survival (26%) than welfare (19%). Importantly, experienced responders appeared more welfare complacent, prioritising survival for strandings response decision-making. Respondents from the legislative agency responsible for strandings in New Zealand, indicated that public sentiment may take precedence over welfare considerations when considering euthanasia. Our results highlight a disjunct between perceptions of welfare and survival, despite these variables being inextricably linked. This may be cause for concern in highly publicised strandings events where management decisions are more likely influenced by public sentiment. Comprehensive animal assessments that are informed both by animal welfare and survival prognoses are required to ensure the best outcomes for stranded cetaceans.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 The influence of social and psychological factors on practices and performance of Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) endurance rider-owner-trainers in Aotearoa/New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Animal Science at Massey University, Manawatū, Aotearoa/New Zealand(Massey University, 2021) Webb, Hilary JaneSince 1998, governance of endurance horse riding in Aotearoa/New Zealand was aligned with the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) to enable regular participation in world championships. These aspirations were facilitated by a high-performance programme. Despite this support, New Zealand riders performed poorly in FEI-level competitions within New Zealand and at world championships. This research aimed to understand factors that influenced the practices and performance of endurance riders in FEI-level competition within New Zealand. A qualitative methodology was chosen for the ability to understand meaning from participants’ perspectives, to understand context, and to identify unanticipated influences in this under-researched subject. Twenty-three purposively selected participants contributed data to four studies during the 2016–17 endurance riding season in New Zealand. A survey and an observational study collected participants’ self-reported descriptions of practices. Pre- and post season interviews explored participants’ motivations, competitive orientations, experiences, and perspectives. The complementary results from all studies showed that the performances of rider-owner-trainer participants were logistically, psychologically, and socially constrained. Amateur status limited time, money, and number of horses so participants rode slowly to avoid harming their horse and not achieving their goals. Performances were constrained by autonomous forms of motivation that drove risk averse practices and a task-focused competitive orientation that emphasised horsemanship over winning. Finally, through modelling, compliance, and comparison, the small, closely connected endurance riding community reinforced a conservative ethos that stigmatised harming horses. Based on the understanding of performance constructed in this research, adaptive performance strategies, autonomy-supportive coaching and greater use of sport science tools were recommended to enable riders to be comfortable with risk and riding at speed. Inadequate training could not be dismissed as a reason for poor performances, therefore further work was suggested to explore variation and periodisation in training programmes. The results suggest the qualitative methodology could provide contextual understandings of practices and performance in other countries where horse welfare suffers from competitiveness. The results also bring into question the relevance of the FEI for New Zealand riders because, although competitive, participants’ style of endurance riding emphasised intrinsic enjoyment, their own and their horses’ well-being, and persistence in their sport of choice.Item Enhancing multiagency collaboration in animal welfare emergency management : a dissertation presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctorate of Philosophy in Emergency Management at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand(Massey University, 2021) Squance, Hayley EttaMultiagency collaboration is fundamental to effective emergency management, yet little is known about what impacts collaboration between stakeholders in the human-animal interface in emergencies. This doctoral research sought to address this gap by investigating the issues impacting multiagency collaboration in animal welfare emergency management (AWEM) and by considering if New Zealand’s AWEM framework is fit-for-purpose. An action research and qualitative methods approach was used, incorporating focus groups, semi-structured interviews and document reviews related to three events (2017 Port Hills fire, 2017 Eastern Bay of Plenty floods and 2019 Pigeon Valley fire). Participants included 73 responders from 19 organisations. Data was analysed using thematic analysis. The data analysis has led to identifying four interrelated themes describing key factors influencing interagency collaboration during emergency response: 1) emergency management context, 2) behaviour in emergencies, 3) the knowledge base of responders and 4) connection, the latter being critical to improving collaboration in AWEM. The findings highlight how professional silos and a failure to understand the importance of human-animal-environment (h-a-e) interdependencies has resulted in AWEM being largely disconnected from emergency management overall. This thesis proposes the adoption of a One Welfare (OW) framework to develop a transdisciplinary approach to emergency management in which all stakeholders acknowledge the importance of h-a-e interdependencies and work to implement a framework to support this. This thesis offers five strategies, tested and refined in the local context, to address One Welfare implementation challenges and to ensure that animals are truly integrated into emergency management: legislation and policy changes, including human-animal-environment interface interactions as business as usual, improving knowledge through interprofessional education and training, incorporating OW champions, and recognising the role of animals as vital conduits into communities. This is the first known examination of the effectiveness of multiagency collaboration within the New Zealand AWEM framework and the first proposal for OW as a mechanism to integrate animals in all components of the emergency management framework. An ‘Aotearoa One Welfare’ approach will support a shift from a focus on individual emergency management domains towards a transdisciplinary approach that acknowledges the interdependencies of the h-a-e interface, a range of knowledge systems (including indigenous knowledge) and, ultimately, optimises outcomes for AWEM in New Zealand.