Stunning and animal welfare from Islamic and scientific perspectives

The transformation of an animal into pieces fit for human consumption is a very important operation. Rather than argue about halal slaughter without stunning being inhumane or stunning being controversial from the Islamic point of view, we discuss slaughter, stunning and animal welfare considering both Islamic and animal welfare legislation requirements. With the world Muslim […]

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Squid have nociceptors that display long-term sensitisation and spontaneous activity after bodily injury

Bodily injury in mammals often produces persistent pain that is driven at least in part by long-lasting sensitization and spontaneous activity (SA) in peripheral branches of primary nociceptors near sites of injury. While nociceptors have been described in lower vertebrates and invertebrates, outside of mammals there is limited evidence for peripheral sensitization of primary afferent […]

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The effect of keel fractures on egg production, feed and water consumption in individual laying hens

1. A total of 165 Lohmann brown laying hens were obtained from a commercial farm that consisted of 105 with keel fractures and 60 without keel fractures. 2. After a 4-d period of acclimatisation, hens were individually housed and provided with ad libitum food and water for a 24-h period. The number of eggs laid, […]

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Bringing compassion to the ethical dilemma in killing kangaroos for conservation – comment on “Conservation Through Sustainable Use” by Rob Irvine

Ethical debate on the killing of kangaroos has polarised conservation and animal welfare science, yet at the heart of these scientific disciplines is the unifying aim of reducing harm to non-human animals. This aim provides the foundation for common ground, culminating in the development of compassionate conservation principles that seek to provide mechanisms for achieving […]

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Development, validation and reliability of a web-based questionnaire to measure health-related quality of life in dogs

OBJECTIVES: To describe the development, preliminary validation and reliability testing of a shortened web-based form of GUVQuest, a structured questionnaire to measure health-related quality of life in dogs. METHODS: The original 109 items were reduced using expert judgement and factor analysis. Validity was established by factor analysis and in a subsequent field trial using a […]

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