Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
4.9
2.7
Journals
Animals
Special Issues
Integrating Ethics and Ethology in Laboratory Animal Welfare Research
share announcement

Integrating Ethics and Ethology in Laboratory Animal Welfare Research

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Welfare".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 2 June 2025 | Viewed by 2367

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Augusto Vitale

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Center for Behavioural Science and Mental Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
Interests: animal welfare; ethics of research; primatology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Giuliano Grignaschi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Animal Care Unit, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
Interests: animal welfare; ethics of research; alternative methods

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Since the publication of The Principles of Humane Experimental Technique by William Russell and Rex Burch in 1959, the quality of experimental data has been considered to go hand-in-hand with animal welfare. The quality of life of experimental animals is now understood by the scientific community as both a scientific and an ethical issue.

One of the possibilities of assuring an adequate level of welfare of experimental animals is to respect species-specific ethological and ecological needs. Bernard Rollin was the one who specifically indicated the respect of the "telos" of a particular individual (its identity as a member of a particular species) as a pre-requisite for an ethically inclined use of animals for human needs.

This attention to a species’ natural ethogram leads to the acquisition of more "ecological" data in minimizing the effects of the artificial environment of a laboratory.

In this Special Issue, we would like to welcome contributions from colleagues who have embraced such philosophy and have successfully applied an ethological perspective when realizing their experimental protocols.

Dr. Augusto Vitale
Dr. Giuliano Grignaschi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • 3Rs
  • animal experimentation
  • animal welfare
  • captive studies
  • ethics of research
  • ethology
  • quality of research

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

13 pages, 1479 KiB  
Article
Short Immobilization in a Sling Does Not Lead to Increased Salivary Cortisol Levels in Pigs
by Sara Puy, Marta Giral and Dolores C. García-Olmo
Animals 2024, 14(19), 2760; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14192760 - 24 Sep 2024
Viewed by 544
Abstract
The goal of the present study was to evaluate the potential stress developed in farm hybrid pigs and miniature laboratory pigs briefly restrained in a sling, by measuring salivary cortisol levels. The study was performed in 20 healthy pigs grouped into three groups: [...] Read more.
The goal of the present study was to evaluate the potential stress developed in farm hybrid pigs and miniature laboratory pigs briefly restrained in a sling, by measuring salivary cortisol levels. The study was performed in 20 healthy pigs grouped into three groups: group HYB-F: hybrid female pigs (n = 12), housed at the CREBA facility (Lleida, Spain); group MIN-F: Specipig® miniature female pigs (n = 4), housed at the CREBA facility; group MIN-M: Specipig® miniature male pigs (n = 4), housed at the Almirall facility (Barcelona, Spain). Upon arrival, the animals were enrolled in a social habituation and training program, which included habituation to a restraint sling. The sling was a stainless steel structure with a canvas hammock which had four openings for placing the animal’s feet. The assessment of stress levels in the sling was carried out by measuring cortisol levels in saliva samples. Five saliva samples were collected from each animal over 4 days: Sample 1 (basal sample): taken after animals perceived the presence of the technicians in the pen; Sample 2: taken after animals saw the sling in the pen; Sample 3: taken when animals were in the sling; Sample 4: taken 1 min after the previous one; Sample 5: taken after animals were released back on the floor. In group HYB-F, five animals (5/12) showed strong resistance and could not be restrained in the sling on at least one day. All animals in the groups of miniature pigs could be restrained on all the days. Within each group, the manipulation phase did not affect salivary cortisol levels. Likewise, salivary cortisol levels did not change significantly across days in either group. In conclusion, salivary cortisol levels did not increase when pigs were lifted and briefly restrained in the sling, even though some of them (in particular, the hybrid pigs) showed apparent signs of stress. The lack of correlation between such apparent stress and salivary cortisol levels might be because the vocalizations and movements were not really signs of stress, but simply a way of releasing discomfort, learned in the process of socialization and habituation. In light of this unexpected conclusion, further studies are needed to collect other physiological and behavioral data to clarify what actually happens when pigs are restrained in a sling. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrating Ethics and Ethology in Laboratory Animal Welfare Research)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 3540 KiB  
Article
The Future Is Not Bright: Evaluation of Rat Preferences for Color and Intensity of Light
by Melissa Swan, Aidan Horvath, Rebecca K. Pritchett, Amanda J. Barabas, Debra Hickman and Brianna N. Gaskill
Animals 2024, 14(14), 2045; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14142045 - 12 Jul 2024
Viewed by 1379
Abstract
Light is a key factor influencing the welfare of laboratory rodents, but little is known about their optimal lighting condition. It i common knowledge that rats prefer dim light, so bright light is mitigated with red-tinted shelters or cages, which alter both the [...] Read more.
Light is a key factor influencing the welfare of laboratory rodents, but little is known about their optimal lighting condition. It i common knowledge that rats prefer dim light, so bright light is mitigated with red-tinted shelters or cages, which alter both the color and intensity of light. Because both aspects are altered, the contribution of each feature to rodent preference is unknown. Further, it is unknown if this preference is influenced by previous experience. We hypothesized that rats would prefer lower light intensity and that their preferences would be influenced by their housing environment. Breeder pairs of rats were randomly separated into four treatments groups: red 200 lux, red 25 lux, clear 200 lux, and clear 25 lux. The breeders’ offspring were tested three times in an apparatus that offered access to each environment, and their preferences were analyzed. Generally, the rats preferred the lower-lux environments and showed no color preference. However, the rats from the clear, 200 lux cages, preferred clear caging and only showed a preference for 25 lux conditions during the second and third preference tests. These results suggest that the light intensity, more than color, should be considered when designing rodent housing and testing facilities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrating Ethics and Ethology in Laboratory Animal Welfare Research)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-2
Back to TopTop