Category: Essays

Essay: Decreasing stress, aggression and injury in pigs housed in intensive production systems

Introduction Animal welfare issues are inherent in any intensive production system that restricts animals to an environment incompatible with their behavioural needs (D’Eath & Turner, 2009). For example, intensive husbandry practices, such as a mix of pigs in a confined space, can result in significant stress reactions and displays of […]

New findings regarding the stereotypic behaviour of “regurgitation and reingestion” in captive western lowland gorillas

Introduction “Regurgitation and reingestion” or “R/R” is defined as a retrograde movement of foodstuff from the oesophagus or stomach to the mouth, hand or floor, and its subsequent ingestion (Lukas, 1999). R/R is not part of a gorilla’s normal feeding mechanism hence it is regarded as an anomalous behaviour, indicating […]

Essay: Decreasing undesired aggression in military working dogs and improving their welfare

This essay is one of a number selected for The Veterinarian magazine Prize for Written Communication for Sydney University third-year veterinary science students. Military working dogs (MWDs) are employed worldwide to assist in law enforcement and military operations. They are trained to display controlled acts of aggression during defence situations, […]