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      The Effect of Virtual Fencing Stimuli on Stress Responses and Behavior in Sheep

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          Abstract

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          Virtual fencing is a new technology that uses audio signals and electrical stimuli to spatially control animals without the need for fixed fencing. It involves avoidance learning whereby the animals learn to respond to an audio cue (conditioning stimulus) to avoid receiving an aversive electrical stimulus (unconditioned stimulus). The audio cue is used to warn the animal that it is approaching the boundary and should be benign and not perceived as aversive to the animal. While a positive punishment stimulus is necessary for learning, it should not be so aversive to the animal that it impinges on its welfare. This study aimed to determine how the stimuli used in virtual fencing are perceived by the animal when they are first encountered. The audio and electrical stimuli were compared to other commonly encountered stimuli in normal sheep production systems, including a barking dog and a restraint procedure. The physiological and behavioral responses of sheep indicated that sheep were no more adversely impacted by virtual fencing stimuli than they were by other commonly encountered stimuli. The least to most aversive treatments were: Control < Beep < Barking Dog < Electrical stimulus < Restraint.

          Abstract

          To understand the animal welfare impact of virtual fencing stimuli (audio cue ‘beep’ and electrical stimulus) on naïve sheep, it is necessary to assess stress responses during the animal’s first encounters with these stimuli. Eighty Merino ewes were exposed to one of the following treatments ( n = 16 animals per treatment): Control (no stimuli), beep, dog bark, manual restraint, and electrical stimulus. Collars were used to apply the audio and electrical stimuli. The restraint treatment showed an elevated cortisol response compared with the control ( p < 0.05), but there were no differences between the other treatments and the control. There were no differences between treatments in vaginal temperature ( p > 0.05). For behaviors, the sheep receiving the bark and beep treatments were more vigilant compared to the control ( p < 0.05), there were more aversive responses observed in the electrical stimulus treatment compared to the control. Together, the responses showed that the beep stimuli were largely benign, the bark stimuli was minimally aversive, the electrical stimuli was acutely aversive, and the restraint was moderately aversive. These data suggest that, for sheep, their first exposure to the virtual fencing stimuli should be perceived as less aversive than a commonly used restraint procedure.

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          The stress-induced hyperthermia paradigm as a physiological animal model for anxiety: a review of pharmacological and genetic studies in the mouse.

          This paper reviews the function, brain mechanisms and pharmacology of stress-induced hyperthermia (SIH) in a broad context. Hyperthermia itself is induced by all stressful stimuli and can be found across numerous species, including humans. As a model for anxiety, the process of insertion of a rectal probe increases temperature ranging from about 0.5-1.5 degrees C in 10-15min is called SIH. This temperature increase can be blocked by anxiolytic drugs. The methodological as well as pharmacological aspects of the group- (G-SIH) and singly housed (SIH) version of the paradigm are described in detail. Also, an overview is presented about studies using the SIH procedure in genetically modified mice together with the potential interference with immunological induction of a febrile response. The paper also presents data that highlight some of the limitations of the SIH procedure for use of drugs like nicotine, which contain particular characteristics such as short in vivo half-life, and/or disturbance of thermoregulation. The advantages and disadvantages of the SIH procedure as a physiological model of anxiety are discussed.
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            Effects of predictability on the welfare of captive animals

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              Vigilance by female Dall's sheep: interactions between predation risk factors

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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Animals (Basel)
                Animals (Basel)
                animals
                Animals : an Open Access Journal from MDPI
                MDPI
                2076-2615
                21 January 2019
                January 2019
                : 9
                : 1
                : 30
                Affiliations
                [1 ]School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2350, Australia; danila.marini@ 123456csiro.au (D.M.); fcowley@ 123456une.edu.au (F.C.); caroline.lee@ 123456csiro.au (C.L.)
                [2 ]Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Agriculture and Food, Locked Bag 1, Armidale, NSW 2350, Australia; sue.belson@ 123456csiro.au
                Author notes
                [* ]Correspondence: tellisa.kearton@ 123456csiro.au ; Tel.: +612-6776-1414
                Author information
                https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8062-7337
                https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1082-6848
                Article
                animals-09-00030
                10.3390/ani9010030
                6356644
                30669563
                7bd32a95-e73b-41ee-9163-2cf8136d8fa1
                © 2019 by the authors.

                Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

                History
                : 04 December 2018
                : 18 January 2019
                Categories
                Article

                animal welfare,avoidance learning,behavior,body temperature,cortisol,ear postures,electric shock,livestock,stress,vigilance

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