Animal welfare research

Investigating the methods and outcomes used when measuring the welfare of animals
A common pheasant, or Phasianus colchicus
Animal welfare is highly dependent on what animals feel (their emotional/affective state). Measuring animal emotion can be challenging because we cannot know for sure about the subjective experiences of other species.
Dr Katherine Herborn develops methods to score behaviour, stress and emotional state in both captive and wild animals, using thermal imaging, acoustic monitoring and video analysis as non-invasive, animal-centred tools for assessing welfare. 
Dr Mark Whiteside is interested in the welfare of pheasants at all stages of their life (early development and post release), and in particular how we can use physiological, behavioural and cognitive indicators to determine how best to measure their welfare. 
Dr Joanna Newbolt is working on how we can assess the welfare of zoo animals in a consistent manner, using a scheme that can be used easily by zoo staff.
Professor Mark Briffa Briffa is interested in the sentience of decapods, and how we define and research sentience, and has provided advice to the government on their inclusion in the Animal Welfare Act.
PhD student Ari Drummond (supervisor Mark Briffa) is working on improving the welfare and husbandry of crustaceans in the lab and marine ornamental industry.
Grey seal

Potential projects

Assessing welfare in grey seals using non-invasive measures of stress (Dr Katherine Herborn)

Key papers

Our key research papers relating to animal welfare

  • Herborn KA, McElligott AG, Mitchell MA, Sandilands V, Bradshaw B & Asher L 2020 'Spectral entropy of early-life distress calls as an iceberg indicator of chicken welfare' Journal of The Royal Society Interface 17, (167) 20200086-20200086 , DOI Open access
  • Langley EJG, van Horik JO, Whiteside MA, Beardsworth CE, Weiss MN & Madden JR 2020 'Early‐life learning ability predicts adult social structure, with potential implications for fitness outcomes in the wild' Journal of Animal Ecology 89, (6) 1340-1349 , DOI
  • Madden JR, Santilli F & Whiteside MA 2020 'The welfare of game birds destined for release into the wild: a balance between early life care and preparation for future natural hazards' Animal Welfare 29, (1) 1-18 , DOI
  • James C, Asher L, Herborn K & Wiseman J 2018 'The effect of supplementary ultraviolet wavelengths on broiler chicken welfare indicators' Applied Animal Behaviour Science 209, 55-64 , DOI Open access
  • Mellor E, Brilot B & Collins S 2017 'Abnormal repetitive behaviours in captive birds: a Tinbergian review' Applied Animal Behaviour Science , DOI Open access