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Mind your language! Lessons from the application of an English published version of a Japanese horse personality instrument to a French population (2024)
Journal Article
Ricci-Bonot, C., Romero, T., Nicol, C., & Mills, D. S. (2024). Mind your language! Lessons from the application of an English published version of a Japanese horse personality instrument to a French population. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 273, 106237. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2024.106237

Replicability is a fundamental tenet of the scientific method and scientific reporting, but there is a preponderance to publish scientific research in English to increase international recognition, regardless of the country of origin of the research.... Read More about Mind your language! Lessons from the application of an English published version of a Japanese horse personality instrument to a French population.

Dental disease in companion rabbits under UK primary veterinary care: frequency and risk factors (2024)
Journal Article
Jackson, M., Burn, C., Hedley, J., Brodbelt, D., & O'Neill, D. (2024). Dental disease in companion rabbits under UK primary veterinary care: frequency and risk factors. Veterinary Record, https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.3993

Background-
Some prior evidence has suggested rabbits with lop ear and brachycephalic skull conformations have higher dental disease risk. This retrospective cohort study reports the frequency and conformational risk factors for primary-care veterin... Read More about Dental disease in companion rabbits under UK primary veterinary care: frequency and risk factors.

Lifting laboratory rats: a survey of methods, handlers’ reasons and concerns, and rat behavioural responses (2023)
Journal Article
Burn, C., Camacho, T., & Hockenhull, J. (2023). Lifting laboratory rats: a survey of methods, handlers’ reasons and concerns, and rat behavioural responses. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 268, Article 106077. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2023.106077

Lifting mice by the tail is of animal welfare and scientific concern, but rat lifting methods are little researched, potentially differing from mice. Using an online questionnaire we explored different methods for lifting laboratory rats, alongside h... Read More about Lifting laboratory rats: a survey of methods, handlers’ reasons and concerns, and rat behavioural responses.

The Gordon Memorial Lecture: Laying hen welfare (2023)
Journal Article
Nicol, C. (2023). The Gordon Memorial Lecture: Laying hen welfare. British Poultry Science, 64(4), 441-447. https://doi.org/10.1080/00071668.2023.2211891

reference tests remain a useful tool in the assessment of laying hen welfare and have been used to establish what types of resources and enrichments are most likely to meet the birds’ needs. Evidence on the underlying structure of bird preference sug... Read More about The Gordon Memorial Lecture: Laying hen welfare.

Expert assessment of the impact of ship-strikes on cetacean welfare using the Welfare Assessment Tool for Wild Cetaceans (2023)
Journal Article
Rae, F., Nicol, C., & Simmonds, M. (2023). Expert assessment of the impact of ship-strikes on cetacean welfare using the Welfare Assessment Tool for Wild Cetaceans. Animal Welfare Journal, 32, Article e18. https://doi.org/10.1017/awf.2023.7

Human activities are increasingly impacting our oceans and the focus of attention tends to be on their environmental impacts, rather than consequences for animal welfare. Global shipping density has quadrupled since 1992. Unsurprisingly, increased le... Read More about Expert assessment of the impact of ship-strikes on cetacean welfare using the Welfare Assessment Tool for Wild Cetaceans.

Applying clinical audit for quality improvement in canine dystocia cases seen at a UK primary-care emergency practice (2023)
Journal Article
O'Neill, D., Leicester, L., Reid, A., Marshall, R., & Gilbert, S. (2023). Applying clinical audit for quality improvement in canine dystocia cases seen at a UK primary-care emergency practice. Veterinary Record, https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.2485

Background: The paucity of published veterinary clinical audits suggests that
clinical audit is an under-used tool for quality improvement (QI) in the veterinary
profession. Therefore, a continuous QI process was designed and
implemented at a UK m... Read More about Applying clinical audit for quality improvement in canine dystocia cases seen at a UK primary-care emergency practice.

Piling behaviour in British layer flocks: Observations and farmers' èxperiences (2022)
Journal Article
Winter, J., Stratmann, A., Toscano, M. J., Cardwell, J. M., & Nicol, C. J. (2022). Piling behaviour in British layer flocks: Observations and farmers' èxperiences. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 253, Article 105686. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2022.105686

Smothering of laying hens, defined as death due to suffocation when hens tightly pile together in layer barns, is a well-known problem affecting the British loose-housed layer industry. However, knowledge about mechanisms contributing to piling in Br... Read More about Piling behaviour in British layer flocks: Observations and farmers' èxperiences.

A Systematic Review of equid welfare at slaughter: existing evidence and evaluation of animal welfare indicators (2022)
Journal Article
Fletcher, K. A., Limon, G., Whatford, L., Grist, A., Knowles, T., & Gibson, T. (2022). A Systematic Review of equid welfare at slaughter: existing evidence and evaluation of animal welfare indicators. Livestock Science, 263, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2022.104988

Guidance surrounding equine slaughter varies globally and lacks published evidence, limiting practical application, causing industry confusion and potentially compromised welfare. Existing research in this field was systematically reviewed, with gaps... Read More about A Systematic Review of equid welfare at slaughter: existing evidence and evaluation of animal welfare indicators.

Assessing Animal Welfare: A triangulation of preference, judgement bias and other candidate welfare indicators (2022)
Journal Article
Paul, E., Browne, W., Mendl, M., Caplen, G., Trevarthen, A., Held, S., & Nicol, C. (2022). Assessing Animal Welfare: A triangulation of preference, judgement bias and other candidate welfare indicators. Animal Behaviour, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.02.003

To assess the welfare of captive animals, validated measures – so called “welfare indicators” - are required. We used a triangulation approach to investigate the extent to which different measures converged to provide corroborating evidence of welfar... Read More about Assessing Animal Welfare: A triangulation of preference, judgement bias and other candidate welfare indicators.

A tunnel is not enough: Mice benefit from in-cage provision of a communal shelter as well as a handling tunnel (2021)
Journal Article
Burn, C., & Popat, R. (2021). A tunnel is not enough: Mice benefit from in-cage provision of a communal shelter as well as a handling tunnel. Animal Technology and Welfare, 20, 203-210

Mouse shelters can provide mice with security, help them thermoregulate, offer darkness to prevent damage to their eyes and enable climbing and gnawing opportunities. For laboratory mice, there is a vast array of commercially available cage furniture... Read More about A tunnel is not enough: Mice benefit from in-cage provision of a communal shelter as well as a handling tunnel.

Handling mice using gloves sprayed with alcohol-based hand sanitiser: acute effects on mouse behaviour (2021)
Journal Article
Burn, C., Lopez Salesansky, N., Wells, D., Whitfield, L., & Chancellor, N. (2021). Handling mice using gloves sprayed with alcohol-based hand sanitiser: acute effects on mouse behaviour. Animal Technology and Welfare, 20, 11-20

Alcohols are commonly used in laboratory animal facilities to disinfect hands, equipment and laboratory environments. The effect on mice is unknown, so we observed male and female C57BL/6J and BALB/c mice during and after handling with nitrile gloves... Read More about Handling mice using gloves sprayed with alcohol-based hand sanitiser: acute effects on mouse behaviour.

Does Providing Hiding Spaces for Zebrafish in Large Groups Reduce Aggressive Behaviour? (2020)
Journal Article
Czeszyk, A., Burn, C., & Russell, C. (in press). Does Providing Hiding Spaces for Zebrafish in Large Groups Reduce Aggressive Behaviour?. The Journal of Young Investigators, 38(5), 43-56. https://doi.org/10.22186/jyi.38.5.43-56

There are extensive studies investigating the effects of enrichment on the welfare and behaviour of commonly used laboratory animals. However, when it comes to zebrafish, Danio rerio, there is limited knowledge available regarding what type of enrich... Read More about Does Providing Hiding Spaces for Zebrafish in Large Groups Reduce Aggressive Behaviour?.