Elephant welfare can be assessed using two indicators

APRIL 1, 2020

by University of Turku

Across the world, animals are kept in captivity for various reasons: in zoos for education and research, in research facilities for testing, on farms for meat and other products, and in people's homes as pets. Maintaining good animal welfare is not only important for ethical reasons; poor welfare can impact human wellbeing and the economy. But how do we assess how animals are feeling?

One way to assess animal wellbeing is to look at stress levels. Vets typically use two biological measures of stress: stress hormone levels and white blood cell ratios. In mammals—including humans—the most important stress hormone is cortisol. When animals are faced with danger, cortisol is produced to help prepare the body for a challenge. However, if high stress and cortisol are experienced constantly, they can impact an animal's health.

In addition to cortisol, scientists can also look at the ratio of two types of white blood cells, heterophils (or neutrophils) and lymphocytes. These cells play an important role in the immune system of mammals, and after animals have experienced a stressful event, their ratio is typically high.

Researchers at the University of Turku, Finland, wanted to find out if these two biological measures of stress were correlated and whether animals with high levels of cortisol also had a high heterophil to lymphocyte ratio. They measured cortisol and heterophil to lymphocyte ratios in 120 Asian elephants from a semi-captive population of working timber elephants in Myanmar. The researchers also weighed each elephant, as body weight is a good indicator of general health.

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Cat collars provide big benefits for low risk

A new study has challenged the belief that cat collars are 'risky', showing that collars can actually enhance the welfare of our feline friends.

The study's lead author, Associate Professor Michael Calver of Murdoch University, said some owners are reluctant to put a collar on their cat, as required by new Western Australian laws that came into effect in November 2013.

"Some fear that their pets could be significantly injured if the collar became snagged on an object, or if a cat's teeth or paws were caught in it," he said.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2014-01-cat-collars-big-benefits.html#jCp

Fishery observers face bribes, harassment, threats, intimidation, and even injury or death

WWF and the Association of Professional Observers call for measures against IUU fishing

September 2013. WWF and the Association of Professional Observers (APO) are calling on the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), for urgent measures to protect the health, safety, and welfare as well as promote the professionalism of at-sea observers assigned to fishing vessels as a way to reduce illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing. Member states of the WCPFC, including Japan, China, the European Union and the United States, will meet in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia, to discuss problems related to IUU fishing and conserving and managing tuna in the region.

Both organizations expressed concerns over anticipated declines in funding for the observer programme and observer support and asked the WCPFC and associated scientific and management support agencies to improve operational standards to ensure robust observer programmes.

"If we want to prevent IUU fishing and secure the sustainability of our fisheries for future generations, our fisheries observer programmes must be well-organised and sufficiently resourced. Fisheries management agencies simply cannot conduct adequate assessments of the fish stocks without reliable scientific data provided by observers," said Alfred Cook, tuna manager for WWF. "Moreover, the fisheries observers must be well-compensated as well as adequately protected to do their jobs well," he added.

Fisheries observers play a critical role in ensuring the sustainability of fisheries resources through the extensive information they collect on the harvest of fish stocks globally, including impacts on marine habitat and sensitive bycatch species. They also perform an extremely important monitoring function that helps deter and prosecute IUU fishing.

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Enhancing Zoo Elephant Welfare

Sep. 10, 2013 — A ground-breaking study announced today revealed that analyzing the daily lives of zoo elephants -- ranging from when and how they are fed to how they spend their time both at night and during the day -- provides new, scientifically based information that zoos can use to improve the welfare of their elephants. "Using Science to Understanding Zoo Elephant Welfare" is the largest and most comprehensive, multi-institution study ever conducted to collect and assess data on the welfare of any species in North American zoos.

Representatives of the 27-member study team, which includes independent consultants, zoo professionals and faculty from three universities, presented results from the three-year, independent study today at the national Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) annual meeting attended by zoo professionals from throughout North America. The study is funded by an $800,000 leadership grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) awarded to the Honolulu Zoo Society and administered by Kathy Carlstead, Ph.D. Study team members and dozens of research assistants from widely varied disciplines developed quantitative measures to assess elephant welfare indicators. A sample of the volumes of data collected included: 110,000 pages of medical records, 2,700 hours of video, 6,135 serum samples, 7.8 million GPS data points and 6,571 fecal samples collected from 40,000 pounds of elephant dung.

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