Tourist perceptions, motivations and expectations when interacting with African lion () cubs.

Tourism wildlife interactions are controversial, the debate hinging largely on the compromised welfare of the animals used. Despite this, lion cub () interactions are popular, and there is a need to understand what motivates interactors to participate in the activity, their perceptions and expectations. We surveyed the attitudes of 300 visitors to three lion cub interaction facilities in South Africa.

Behaviour and welfare of African lion () cubs used in contact wildlife tourism.

Lion () cubs are used in wildlife interaction tourism but the effects on cub welfare are unknown. We assessed the behaviour of three cohorts of lion cubs, twelve animals in total, at three different interaction facilities, using continuous and scan-sampling methodologies for the entire duration of cub utilisation for human interactions. Cubs spent most time inactive (62%), particularly sleeping (38%), but also spent a substantial amount of time playing (13%) and being alert (12%).

Why Are Enrichment Practices in Zoos Difficult to Implement Effectively?

The good intentions of zoos to introduce enrichment practices that stimulate animals mentally and physically are not always achievable. Changes to the policies and procedures in organisations are difficult to fulfil for a range of reasons frequently investigated in change management literature. The implementation of these changes can be the source of ineffective attempts to generate positive interventions in organisations.

Importance of Welfare and Ethics Competence Regarding Animals Kept for Scientific Purposes to Veterinary Students in Australia and New Zealand.

Veterinarians are in a strong position of social influence on animal-related issues. Hence, veterinary schools have an opportunity to raise animal health and welfare standards by improving veterinary students' animal welfare and ethics (AWE) education, including that related to animals used for scientific purposes. A survey of 851 students in the early, mid, and senior stages of their courses at all eight veterinary schools across Australia and New Zealand was undertaken on their first day of practice (or Day One Competences) to explore how veterinary students viewed the importance of their competence in the management of welfare and ethical decision-making relating to animals kept for scientific purposes.

Public Understanding and Attitudes towards Meat Chicken Production and Relations to Consumption.

Little is known about public knowledge of meat chicken production and how it influences attitudes to birds' welfare and consumer behaviour. We interviewed 506 members of the public in SE Queensland; Australia; to determine how knowledge of meat chicken production and slaughter links to attitudes and consumption. Knowledge was assessed from 15 questions and low scores were supported by respondents' self-assessed report of low knowledge levels and agreement that their knowledge was insufficient to form an opinion about which chicken products to purchase.

Attitudes to in vitro meat: A survey of potential consumers in the United States.

Positivity towards meat consumption remains strong, despite evidence of negative environmental and ethical outcomes. Although awareness of these repercussions is rising, there is still public resistance to removing meat from our diets. One potential method to alleviate these effects is to produce in vitro meat: meat grown in a laboratory that does not carry the same environmental or ethical concerns.

The Impact of Stakeholders' Roles within the Livestock Industry on Their Attitudes to Livestock Welfare in Southeast and East Asia.

Stakeholders in the livestock industry are in a position to make critical choices that directly impact on animal welfare during slaughter and transport. Understanding the attitudes of stakeholders in livestock-importing countries, including factors that motivate the stakeholders to improve animal welfare, can lead to improved trade relations with exporting developed countries and improved animal welfare initiatives in the importing countries. Improving stakeholder attitudes to livestock welfare may help to facilitate the better welfare that is increasingly demanded by the public for livestock.

Owners' Perceptions of Their Animal's Behavioural Response to the Loss of an Animal Companion.

The loss of a companion animal is recognised as being associated with experiences of grief by the owner, but it is unclear how other animals in the household may be affected by such a loss. Our aim was to investigate companion animals' behavioural responses to the loss of a companion through owner-report. A questionnaire was distributed via, and advertised within, publications produced by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) across Australia and New Zealand, and through a selection of veterinary clinics within New Zealand.

Career Preferences and Opinions on Animal Welfare and Ethics: A Survey of Veterinary Students in Australia and New Zealand.

Historically, the veterinary profession has understood animal welfare primarily in terms of animal health and productivity, with less recognition of animals' feelings and mental state. Veterinary students' career preferences and attitudes to animal welfare have been the focus of several international studies. As part of a survey in Australia and New Zealand, this study reports on whether veterinary students prioritize animal welfare topics or professional conduct on the first day of practice and examines links between students' career preferences and their institution, gender, and year of study.

Behavioral and Physiological Responses of Calves to Marshalling and Roping in a Simulated Rodeo Event.

Rodeos are public events at which stockpeople face tests of their ability to manage cattle and horses, some of which relate directly to rangeland cattle husbandry. One of these is calf roping, in which a calf released from a chute is pursued by a horse and rider, who lassoes, lifts and drops the calf to the ground and finally ties it around the legs. Measurements were made of behavior and stress responses of ten rodeo-naïve calves marshalled by a horse and rider, and ten rodeo-experienced calves that were roped.

Reasons People Surrender Unowned and Owned Cats to Australian Animal Shelters and Barriers to Assuming Ownership of Unowned Cats.

Most cats surrendered to nonhuman animal shelters are identified as unowned, and the surrender reason for these cats is usually simply recorded as "stray." A cross-sectional study was conducted with people surrendering cats to 4 Australian animal shelters. Surrenderers of unowned cats commonly gave surrender reasons relating to concern for the cat and his/her welfare.

Differences in Moral Judgment on Animal and Human Ethics Issues between University Students in Animal-Related, Human Medical and Arts Programs.

Moral judgment in relation to animal ethics issues has rarely been investigated. Among the research that has been conducted, studies of veterinary students have shown greater use of reasoning based on universal principles for animal than human ethics issues. This study aimed to identify if this was unique to students of veterinary and other animal-related professions.

Cross-Sectional Study of Characteristics of Owners and Nonowners Surrendering Cats to Four Australian Animal Shelters.

Unwanted cats surrendered to nonhuman animal shelters are generally categorized as either "owned" or "stray." This classification is misleading because "stray" cats may include many "semiowned" cats, for which people provide care but who are not perceived as being owned. This differentiation is important because effective strategies designed to reduce cat admissions to, and euthanasia rates in, shelters rely on accurate information about cat populations contributing to shelter intake; cat semiowners will likely respond to different strategies than people with no relationship with the cats they surrender.

The First Shared Online Curriculum Resources for Veterinary Undergraduate Learning and Teaching in Animal Welfare and Ethics in Australia and New Zealand.

The need for undergraduate teaching of Animal Welfare and Ethics (AWE) in Australian and New Zealand veterinary courses reflects increasing community concerns and expectations about AWE; global pressures regarding food security and sustainability; the demands of veterinary accreditation; and fears that, unless students encounter AWE as part of their formal education, as veterinarians they will be relatively unaware of the discipline of animal welfare science. To address this need we are developing online resources to ensure Australian and New Zealand veterinary graduates have the knowledge, and the research, communication and critical reasoning skills, to fulfill the AWE role demanded of them by contemporary society. To prioritize development of these resources we assembled leaders in the field of AWE education from the eight veterinary schools in Australia and New Zealand and used modified deliberative polling.

The effect of conspecific removal on behavioral and physiological responses of dairy cattle.

Adverse social and welfare implications of mixing dairy cows or separating calves from their mothers have been documented previously. Here we investigated the behavioral and physiological responses of individuals remaining after conspecifics were removed. We conducted a series of 4 experiments incorporating a range of types of different dairy cattle groupings [experiment 1 (E1), 126 outdoor lactating dairy cows; experiment 2 (E2), 120 housed lactating dairy cows; experiment 3 (E3), 18 housed dairy calves; and experiment 4 (E4), 22 housed dairy bulls] from which a subset of individuals were permanently removed (E1, n=7; E2, n=5; E3, n=9; E4, n=18).

Effect of interactions with humans on behaviour, mucosal immunity and upper respiratory disease of shelter cats rated as contented on arrival.

Sustained positive affect may decrease vulnerability to upper respiratory infections in cats admitted to a shelter. Incidence of upper respiratory infections was examined in cats rated as Content upon admission to an animal shelter when provided with or without treatment to sustain contentment. Ninety-six cats rated as Content upon admission were provided with either human interaction, including petting, playing, and grooming, in four 10min sessions/d for 10 days or were exposed to a control treatment of a human standing in front of the cage with eyes averted for the same period.

Cat Ownership Perception and Caretaking Explored in an Internet Survey of People Associated with Cats.

People who feed cats that they do not perceive they own (sometimes called semi-owners) are thought to make a considerable contribution to unwanted cat numbers because the cats they support are generally not sterilized. Understanding people's perception of cat ownership and the psychology underlying cat semi-ownership could inform approaches to mitigate the negative effects of cat semi-ownership. The primary aims of this study were to investigate cat ownership perception and to examine its association with human-cat interactions and caretaking behaviours.

Assessing Veterinary and Animal Science Students' Moral Judgment Development on Animal Ethics Issues.

Little has been done to assess veterinarians' moral judgment in relation to animal ethics issues. Following development of the VetDIT, a new moral judgment measure for animal ethics issues, this study aimed to refine and further validate the VetDIT, and to identify effects of teaching interventions on moral judgment and changes in moral judgment over time. VetDIT-V1 was refined into VetDIT-V2, and V3 was developed as a post-intervention test to prevent repetition.

The impact of vehicle motion during transport on animal welfare.

Motion sickness is a common response in humans and some species of farm livestock during transport, but research on the impact of motion has been primarily focused on the use of animal models for humans. During livestock transportation, animals seek to minimise uncontrolled movements to reduce energy consumption and maintain posture. Road and sea transport of livestock can produce motion sickness and stress responses.

Identifying veterinary students' capacity for moral behavior concerning animal ethics issues.

Veterinarians face unique animal ethics challenges as practitioners and policy advisors to government and industry. Changing societal attitudes, cultural diversity, and the often conflicting needs and interests of patients and clients contribute to moral distress. Yet little has been done to identify veterinarians' capacity to address these animal ethics issues.

Non-invasive urine collection in the female southern hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus latifrons) with the aid of classical conditioning.

We propose that regular urine samples can be used to monitor and characterize the reproductive cycle of the wombat, but this approach has never before been attempted in a marsupial. We conducted a three stage conditioning process for non-invasive urine collection in captive female wombats, which included (1) initial habituation and observation of urination patterns; (2) classical association of a stimulus with urination and (3) urine collection with the classically-conditioned stimulus. Four of the five female wombats selected for this trial were successfully conditioned for urine collection.

Effect of gentle stroking and vocalization on behaviour, mucosal immunity and upper respiratory disease in anxious shelter cats.

Emotional, behavioural, and health benefits of gentle stroking and vocalizations, otherwise known as gentling, have been documented for several species, but little is known about the effect of gentling on cats in stressful situations. In this study, 139 cats rated as anxious upon admission to an animal shelter were allocated to either a Gentled or Control group. Cats were gentled four times daily for 10 min over a period of 10 days, with the aid of a tool for cats that were too aggressive to handle.

Development of a moral judgment measure for veterinary education.

Veterinarians increasingly face animal ethics issues, conflicts, and dilemmas, both in practice and in policy, such as the tension between clients' and animals' interests. Little has been done to measure the capacity of veterinarians to make ethical judgments to prevent and address these issues or to identify the effectiveness of strategies to build this capacity. The objectives of this study were, first, to develop a test to identify the capacity of veterinarians to make ethical decisions in relation to animal ethics issues and, second, to assess students' perceptions of the usefulness of three methods for the development of ethical decision making.

A Reproductive Management Program for an Urban Population of Eastern Grey Kangaroos (Macropus giganteus).

Traditionally, culling has been the expedient, most common, and in many cases, the only tool used to control free-ranging kangaroo populations. We applied a reproductive control program to a population of eastern grey kangaroos confined to a golf course in South East Queensland. The program aimed to reduce fecundity sufficiently for the population to decrease over time so that overgrazing of the fairways and the frequency of human-animal conflict situations were minimised.

The effect of group size on vigilance in a semi-solitary, fossorial marsupial (Lasiorhinus latifrons).

Prey species that congregate gain protection against predatory attacks and this advantage is often reflected by a reduction in vigilance behaviour by individuals in larger groups. Comparatively few studies have investigated vigilance in solitary animals, but those that have, found that vigilance increases as group size increases because of the threat posed by conspecifics and/or competition for resources. The southern hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus latifrons) is a large fossorial, nocturnal marsupial that is neither strictly solitary nor gregarious, sharing warren systems with multiple conspecifics.