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All Outputs (22)

Case Report: Acute lead poisoning from bullet ingestion in a captive cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) in Namibia: implications for wildlife management (2025)
Journal Article
Hauw, C., Schmidt-Küntzel, A., Basto, A., Yabe, J., McCann, N., Díez-León, M., & Marker, L. (2025). Case Report: Acute lead poisoning from bullet ingestion in a captive cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) in Namibia: implications for wildlife management. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 12, https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2025.1576760

The case study describes a suspected instance of lead poisoning in a cheetah in Namibia. While lead toxicity is well-documented in carnivorous birds, this case study is only the second of two publications on lead poisoning in cheetahs. Furthermore, w... Read More about Case Report: Acute lead poisoning from bullet ingestion in a captive cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) in Namibia: implications for wildlife management.

An Observational Study of Wood-Chewing in Mares and Their Foals Kept in Fenced Outdoor Paddocks with Variable Browsing Access (2025)
Journal Article
Bouquet, A., Nicol, C., & Díez-León, M. (2025). An Observational Study of Wood-Chewing in Mares and Their Foals Kept in Fenced Outdoor Paddocks with Variable Browsing Access. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, https://doi.org/10.1080/10888705.2025.2496496

The natural behaviour of wood-chewing (WC) in horses may, under certain conditions, become excessive or it may precede crib-biting . However, the potential causes of WC, including frustrated foraging motivation) or developmental exploratory or teethi... Read More about An Observational Study of Wood-Chewing in Mares and Their Foals Kept in Fenced Outdoor Paddocks with Variable Browsing Access.

Early-life enrichment in American mink (Neogale vison): Effects of juvenile physical enrichment on behaviour, temperament, and long-term stereotypic behaviour (2025)
Journal Article
Clark, G., Díez-León, M., & Meagher, R. (2025). Early-life enrichment in American mink (Neogale vison): Effects of juvenile physical enrichment on behaviour, temperament, and long-term stereotypic behaviour. Animal Welfare Journal, 34, https://doi.org/10.1017/awf.2024.72

A single manipulable enrichment is often introduced to the pens of farmed American mink (Neogale vison) to combat stereotypic behaviour and behaviours or temperaments associated with poor welfare (e.g. inactivity, fear, and aggression). This enrichme... Read More about Early-life enrichment in American mink (Neogale vison): Effects of juvenile physical enrichment on behaviour, temperament, and long-term stereotypic behaviour.

Pet owner perception of ferret boredom and consequences for housing, husbandry, and environmental enrichment (2022)
Journal Article
Dancer, A., Diez Leon, M., Bizley, J., & Burn, C. (2022). Pet owner perception of ferret boredom and consequences for housing, husbandry, and environmental enrichment. Animals, 12(23), Article 3262. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12233262

Boredom is a potential chronic but overlooked animal welfare problem. Caused by monotony, sub-optimal stimulation, and restrictive housing, boredom can therefore affect companion animals, particularly those traditionally caged, such as ferrets. We su... Read More about Pet owner perception of ferret boredom and consequences for housing, husbandry, and environmental enrichment.

Housing and Environmental Enrichment of the Domestic Ferret: A Multi-Sector Survey (2022)
Journal Article
Dancer, A. M., Díez-León, M., Bizley, J. K., & Burn, C. C. (2022). Housing and Environmental Enrichment of the Domestic Ferret: A Multi-Sector Survey. Animals, 12, Article 1065. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12091065

Ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) are kept and used in multiple sectors of society, but little is known about how they are housed and what environmental enrichment (EE) they may benefit from. We aimed to help guide caretakers about what housing and EE... Read More about Housing and Environmental Enrichment of the Domestic Ferret: A Multi-Sector Survey.

The effect of early experiences in barn owl (Tyto alba) behaviour. Acquisition-expression time of neophobia and filial imprinting. Implications for management and conservation (2022)
Journal Article
Lezana, L., Hernández-Soto, R., Díez-León, M., Ríos, M., Baquero, E., & Galicia, D. (2022). The effect of early experiences in barn owl (Tyto alba) behaviour. Acquisition-expression time of neophobia and filial imprinting. Implications for management and conservation. Behavioural Processes, 195, 104569. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104569

Validation of DE50-MD dogs as a model for the cognitive and biochemical defects in the brain phenotype of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (2022)
Journal Article
Crawford, A., Hildyard, J., Rushing, S., Wells, D., Diez Leon, M., & Piercy, R. (in press). Validation of DE50-MD dogs as a model for the cognitive and biochemical defects in the brain phenotype of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. eLife, https://doi.org/10.1242/dmm.049291

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), a fatal musculoskeletal disorder, is associated with neurodevelopmental problems and cognitive impairment caused by dystrophin deficiency in the brain. Dog models of DMD represent key translational tools to study... Read More about Validation of DE50-MD dogs as a model for the cognitive and biochemical defects in the brain phenotype of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Neurophysiological correlates of stereotypic behaviour in a model carnivore species (2019)
Journal Article
Diez-Leon, M., Kitchenham, L., Duprey, R., Bailey, C. D. C., Choleris, E., Lewis, M., & Mason, G. (2019). Neurophysiological correlates of stereotypic behaviour in a model carnivore species. Behavioural Brain Research, 373, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2019.112056

Stereotypic behaviour (SB) is common in animals housed in farm, zoo or laboratory conditions, including captive Carnivora (e.g. wild ursids and felids). Neurobiological data on housing-induced SBs come from four species (macaques, two rodent species,... Read More about Neurophysiological correlates of stereotypic behaviour in a model carnivore species.

Environmentally enriching American mink (Neovison vison) increases lymphoid organ weight and skeletal symmetry, and reveals differences between two sub-types of stereotypic behaviour (2016)
Journal Article
Diez-Leon, M., Bursian, S., Galicia, D., Napolitano, A., Palme, R., & Mason, G. (2016). Environmentally enriching American mink (Neovison vison) increases lymphoid organ weight and skeletal symmetry, and reveals differences between two sub-types of stereotypic behaviour. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 177, 59-69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2015.12.002

Effects of environmental enrichment on aspects of maternal behavior, and infant growth and mortality, in American mink (Neovison vison) (2016)
Journal Article
Diez-Leon, M., & Mason, G. (2016). Effects of environmental enrichment on aspects of maternal behavior, and infant growth and mortality, in American mink (Neovison vison). Zoo Biology, 35(1), 19-28. https://doi.org/10.1002/zoo.21249

In several species, stress compromises maternal behaviors that are important for infant viability (e.g. licking and grooming). Understanding how stress in captivity affects maternal behavior could therefore be beneficial, especially for carnivores in... Read More about Effects of environmental enrichment on aspects of maternal behavior, and infant growth and mortality, in American mink (Neovison vison).

Benefits of a ball and chain: simple environmental enrichments improve welfare and reproductive success in farmed American mink (Neovison vison) (2014)
Journal Article
Meagher, R. K., Dallaire, J. A., Campbell, D. L. M., Ross, M., Moller, S. H., Hansen, S. W., Diez-Leon, M., Palme, R., & Mason, G. (2014). Benefits of a ball and chain: simple environmental enrichments improve welfare and reproductive success in farmed American mink (Neovison vison). PLoS ONE, 9(11), e110589. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0110589

Can simple enrichments enhance caged mink welfare? Pilot data from 756 sub-adults spanning three colour-types (strains) identified potentially practical enrichments, and suggested beneficial effects on temperament and fur-chewing. Our main experiment... Read More about Benefits of a ball and chain: simple environmental enrichments improve welfare and reproductive success in farmed American mink (Neovison vison).

Animal welfare science: recent publication trends and future research priorities (2014)
Journal Article
Walker, M., Diez-Leon, M., & Mason, G. (2014). Animal welfare science: recent publication trends and future research priorities. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 27(1), 80-100

Animal welfare science is a young and thriving field. Over the last two decades, the output of scientific publications on welfare has increased by c. 10-15% annually (tripling as a proportion of all science papers logged by ISI’s Web of Science), wit... Read More about Animal welfare science: recent publication trends and future research priorities.