Birte L Nielsen – författare

Praise for Assessing Animal Welfare “This exciting book addresses the most complex and challenging questions head-on, providing the conceptual tools and empirical benchmarks necessary to stimulate a great leap forwards in animal welfare science.”—Professor Christine Nicol, Royal Veterinary College, UK “… a very timely book on a subject of emerging and highest importance in animal welfare science… It is written in an easily accessible, yet scholarly thorough language and will therefore be of great interest to anyone concerned about animal welfare, laypeople and scientists alike.”—Professor emeritus Per Jensen, Linköping University, Sweden “Throughout the book it is emphasized that affective states should be studied rigorously before drawing conclusions, and the authors provide guidance through text examples and illustrations on how to achieve this. Overall, this book is a must-read for animal welfare students and researchers regardless of their career stage.”—Dr Irene Camerlink, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland “An essential resource that will shape how animal welfare is taught, studied, and interpreted for years to come.”—Dr Carly Moody, UC Davis California, US “This urgently needed book addresses a core ongoing challenge in animal welfare science: how to validate indicators of animal affective states. It brings together clear explanation of the theoretical background with a comprehensive review of current indicators, to help practitioners choose the best indicator (or set of indicators) for their context. It’s accessible even to non-specialists, with effective use of examples and diagrams throughout. An essential resource for anyone working in animal welfare.”—Dr Heather Browning, University of Southampton, UK “…not just scientifically authoritative but also an unapologetic, elegant, accessible and joyful portrayal of the core work of those dedicated to understanding and improving the welfare of other animals.”—Professor Ngaio Beausoleil, Massey University, New Zealand

Evidence-based, yet entirely practical, this important new text builds upon the basics of neuroscience to describe the links between olfaction and animal behaviour, and the effects of odours in animal welfare. Animals use smells in a multitude of ways: to orientate themselves, to create social bonds, to recognise food, to initiate reproduction, and to avoid predators and imminent threats such as fire. Starting from the scientific basis of olfaction and odour perception, the book covers pheromones and behavioural tests, before describing the role of olfaction in feeding behaviour, reproduction, disease detection, and animal housing. The book: · is written in an evidence-based way, yet with an easy-to-understand style, making it accessible to non-experts · focuses on animals managed by humans, i.e. farm, zoo, lab and companion species · is illustrated by in-depth research examples of many different species This is a captivating introduction to the world of smells, suitable for advanced students, researchers, and teachers of applied ethology, animal welfare and veterinary science.

Contemporary, thought-provoking yet utterly practical, this book provides an introductory text covering the use and misuse of behaviour tests applied to animals. By including illustrative examples from a variety of species, the book inspires the animal scientist to think about what a given behavioural test can be used for and how the results can be interpreted. This text includes: the dos and don'ts of running behaviour tests and interpreting the results; many clear, simple illustrations which make the information readily accessible, down to earth, practical advice yet a thorough, evidence-based approach; information on behaviour tests for a whole range of species from companion, farm, zoo, laboratory and wild animals; succinct yet comprehensive text, designed to be read cover to cover and stimulate further reading. This book is an essential item in the researcher's toolkit when embarking on and devising any animal behaviour test and is valuable to students, established researchers, teachers and practitioners of applied ethology, animal welfare science, and veterinary science.