Efficacy of Procaine, With and Without Epinephrine, Compared to Lidocaine in Local Anesthesia for Calves Before Thermocautery Disbudding.

Within the European Union, the use of lidocaine in food-producing animals is restricted due to concerns over human safety. This study compared the clinical effectiveness of procaine, with and without epinephrine, against lidocaine in pain alleviation during thermocautery disbudding in xylazine-sedated calves. The efficacy of local blocks was assessed through needle pricks, and the behavioral reactions to disbudding were scored.

Behavioral and emotional co-modulation during dog-owner interaction measured by heart rate variability and activity.

Behavioral and physiological synchrony facilitate emotional closeness in attachment relationships. The aim of this pseudorandomized cross-over study was to investigate the emotional and physiological link, designated as co-modulation, between dogs and their owners. We measured the heart rate variability (HRV) and physical activity of dogs belonging to co-operative breeds (n = 29) and their owners during resting baselines and positive interaction tasks (Stroking, Training, Sniffing, Playing) and collected survey data on owner temperament and dog-owner relationship.

Reasons for admission and rehabilitation rates of various wildlife species in Finland.

Wildlife rehabilitation is a common part of animal-protection work. In Finland wildlife care is usually based on volunteer work and no licensing or training is required. Wildlife casualties are also treated professionally in some contexts such as zoos.

Neutralisation techniques used by defendants charged with animal welfare offences in Finland.

Animal welfare offences encompass a heterogeneous range of crimes, including violence and various forms of negligence toward animals' needs. However, there is limited understanding of the offenders' rationalisations concerning their criminal behaviour against animals, despite this information being essential for enhancing the prevention of these crimes. Our data comprised 1,443 judgements in animal welfare offences in Finland between January 2011 and May 2021.

Euthanasia and the rehabilitation of wildlife casualties in Finland: decision-making varies depending on the background education of the caregivers.

Caring for wildlife casualties is a common aspect of animal-protection work. The range of care options of wildlife in Finland vary from professional zoos to voluntary members of the public. There are complex ethical concerns to be considered in deciding whether an injured animal should be treated or euthanized.

Histopathological findings in a pilot study of dairy calves disbudded with hot cauterization or caustic paste.

We describe the histological tissue damage and compare the healing process in 16 dairy calves disbudded at a mean age of 6 days by cauterization or alkaline caustic paste application. Biopsies were taken 2 days (T2) and 2 weeks (T14) after disbudding from sedated calves treated with local anaesthetic and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. At T2, the cauterized horn buds generally had eosinophilic coagulative necrosis of the epidermis and superficial dermis, bordered basally by a neutrophilic demarcation zone.

Wintertime pharmacokinetics of intravenously and orally administered meloxicam in semi-domesticated reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus).

Objective: To investigate the pharmacokinetics of orally and intravenously (IV) administered meloxicam in semi-domesticated reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus).

Study Design: A crossover design with an 11 day washout period.

Animals: A total of eight young male reindeer, aged 1.

Animal Welfare Control-Inspection Findings and the Threshold for Requesting a Police Investigation.

An increasing proportion of animal welfare violations in Finland are related to companion animals. However, only a small number of these issues are investigated or prosecuted. The aims of this study were (i) to describe the inspection findings and the resulting actions of the official municipal veterinarians in the Finnish Capital Region and (ii) to identify the factors that predict their submissions of investigation requests to the police.

A comparison of sedative effects of xylazine alone or combined with levomethadone or ketamine in calves prior to disbudding.

Objective: To compare the sedative effects of intramuscular xylazine alone or combined with levomethadone or ketamine in calves before cautery disbudding.

Study Design: Randomized, blinded, clinical trial.

Animals: A total of 28 dairy calves, aged 21 ± 5 days and weighing 61.

Invited review: Lying time and the welfare of dairy cows.

Adequate time lying down is often considered an important aspect of dairy cow welfare. We examine what is known about cows' motivation to lie down and the consequences for health and other indicators of biological function when this behavior is thwarted. We review the environmental and animal-based factors that affect lying time in the context of animal welfare.

The First Rehoming of Laboratory Beagles in Finland: The Complete Process from Socialisation Training to Follow-up.

The fate of experimental animals represents an ethical dilemma and a public concern. In the EU, allows the rehoming of former experimental animals instead of euthanasia. However, to our knowledge, there are no previous reports of rehoming Beagles in Finland.

Evaluation of Criminal Sanctions Concerning Violations of Cattle and Pig Welfare.

EU legislation requires the violations of animal welfare standards to be sanctioned. Our aim was to evaluate criminal sanctions concerning violations of cattle and pig welfare on Finnish farms. We analyzed 196 court cases heard in Finnish district courts from 2011 to 2016.

Veterinarians Experience Animal Welfare Control Work as Stressful.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the job satisfaction of official veterinarians working in the field of animal welfare control and identify both positive features and challenges of their work. An electronic questionnaire was designed to evaluate job satisfaction. The questionnaire was responded to by 73 of the 98 Finnish official veterinarians working in the field of animal welfare control.

Assessment of Welfare Problems in Finnish Cattle and Pig Farms Based on Official Inspection Reports.

The competent authorities of the Member States of the European Union are required to perform animal welfare inspections on livestock farms. The data obtained from these official inspections performed in Finnish cattle and pig farms in 2010-2015 were used with the aim of estimating the prevalence of the most common non-compliances and identifying underlying risk factors. The prevalence of non-compliant cattle and pig farms was 24.

Rapid eye movement sleep time in dairy cows changes during the lactation cycle.

The importance of rest and sleep is well established; we know, for example, that lack of sleep impairs immune function in rats and increases pain sensitivity in humans. However, little is known about sleep in dairy cows, but a lack of rest and sleep is discussed as a possible welfare problem in cattle. A first step toward a better understanding of sleep in dairy cows is to quantify the time cows spend awake and asleep in different stages of lactation.

Salivary IgG levels in neonatal calves and its association to serum IgG: an observational pilot study.

The diagnosis of inadequate transfer of colostrum immunoglobulin G (IgG) to calf serum, often known as failure of passive transfer (<10 g/L IgG1 at 24 to 48 h), necessitates blood sampling from the calf and in some instances the presence of a veterinarian. Sampling saliva is both less invasive and easy for the producer. Previous research has shown that quantification of saliva IgG is possible in juvenile and adult cattle.

Animal Ethical Views and Perception of Animal Pain in Veterinary Students.

Veterinary students face several ethical challenges during their curriculum. We used the Animal Ethics Dilemma to study animal ethical views of Finnish veterinary students, and also asked them to score the level of pain perception in 13 different species. Based on the 218 respondents, the utilitarian view was the dominating ethical view.

First-night effect on sleep time in dairy cows.

In human sleep studies, the probability of discomfort from the electrodes and the change in environment usually results in first-night recordings being discarded. Sleep recordings from the first night in human subjects often differ in amount of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep and the overall sleep architecture. This study investigated whether recordings of sleep states in dairy cows also show a first-night effect.

Nasal Oxytocin Treatment Biases Dogs' Visual Attention and Emotional Response toward Positive Human Facial Expressions.

The neuropeptide oxytocin plays a critical role in social behavior and emotion regulation in mammals. The aim of this study was to explore how nasal oxytocin administration affects gazing behavior during emotional perception in domestic dogs. Looking patterns of dogs, as a measure of voluntary attention, were recorded during the viewing of human facial expression photographs.

Daily lying time, motion index and step frequency in dairy cows change throughout lactation.

Lying behaviour in dairy cows has the potential to be used for welfare assessment or problem detection, but knowledge about variation in normal lying behaviour is scarce. Accelerometer data were collected at four Danish farms from 366 Holstein dairy cows in loose-housing systems in 2008 and 2009. Daily lying time decreased steeply during early lactation to a minimum around four weeks after calving, followed by a steady increase towards the end of lactation.

Teaching Tip-Studying to Become a Veterinarian: A Course for Student Support.

During the last decade, concerns over veterinary students' stress have been expressed in several studies, and the need for student support has become evident. In addition, the importance of professional and personal identity development in veterinary curricula has been widely recognized. There is a need to integrate academic and professional skills instruction with training in personal-life balance.

Managing undocked pigs - on-farm prevention of tail biting and attitudes towards tail biting and docking.

Background: Tail biting is a common and serious welfare problem in pig production, causing large economical losses. Tail docking is performed routinely in most EU countries to reduce the tail biting risk. However, tail docking is painful, and does not prevent tail biting totally.

Dogs Evaluate Threatening Facial Expressions by Their Biological Validity--Evidence from Gazing Patterns.

Appropriate response to companions' emotional signals is important for all social creatures. The emotional expressions of humans and non-human animals have analogies in their form and function, suggesting shared evolutionary roots, but very little is known about how animals other than primates view and process facial expressions. In primates, threat-related facial expressions evoke exceptional viewing patterns compared with neutral or positive stimuli.

Empathic veterinarians score cattle pain higher.

The treatment of cattle pain often relies upon veterinarians. The aim of this study was to qualify the influence of veterinarians skills, attitudes, and empathy on cattle pain assesment and consequently disbudding pain management. A web-based questionnaire was sent to Finnish veterinary students in either the preclinical or clinical stage, and also to production-animal practice oriented veterinarians.