We’re Ruã Daros, João Costa, Marina von Keyserlingk, Maria Hötzel,
Heather Neave and Daniel Weary. We recently published a study in PLOS
ONE that found dairy calves experience emotional effects when undergoing
routine procedures, such dehorning – AUA!
Abstract
Hi Reddit, Our names are Ruã Daros, João Costa, Marina von Keyserlingk,
Maria Hötzel, Heather Neave and Daniel Weary. We are researchers from
the University of British Columbia in Canada and the Universidade
Federal de Santa Catarina in Brazil. Our research focuses on animal
welfare, how to use changes in behaviour to make inferences about the
quality of life that animal’s experience. We recently published a study
entitled “Separation from the Dam Causes Negative Judgement Bias in
Dairy Calves” in PLOS ONE. Young farm animals, including dairy calves,
are often separated from the dam far earlier than what occurs under
natural conditions. Farms animals are also sometimes subjected to
painful procedures like hot-iron dehorning. The aim of this study was to
better understand the effects of these routine procedures on the
emotions of animals. One way to investigate mood states is to look for
evidence of judgement biases. We tested for cognitive biases in calves
before and after separation from the cow and dehorning, and found
diminished responding to intermediate, ambiguous stimuli (evidence of a
pessimistic response) following both physical pain and social loss. This
paper illustrates one approach to investigating emotional states in
animals, and draws parallels in the emotional experience of physical and
social pain. We will be online at 1pm EST (10am PST), and we look
forward to hearing your questions about our work! Please also follow us
in Twitter @ubcAWP.