Farm animal behaviour and welfare

Question 1

List some of the possible factors that influence animal behaviour (phenotype)?

Answer 1

• Evolution
• Evolutionary pressure on population
• Ecology
• Genetics
• Prenatal biology
• Prenatal environment
• Hormones
• Acute hormones
• Learning
• Chronic hormones
• Releasing stimuli: Visual, olfactory, taste, sound, vibration etc.
• Neurobiology

Question 2

What are the two major categories of learning?

Answer 2

Non-associative learning
 Response to a single stimulus
 Habituation -> decrease in the response through repeated exposure
 Sensitisation -> increase in the response through repeated exposure

Associative learning
 A relationship between at least two stimuli
 Classical conditioning
 Operant conditioning

Question 3

Explain the difference between classical and operant conditioning.

Answer 3

Classical: A type of learning in which an unconditional stimulus is paired with a neutral stimulus.
Operant: A method of learning that employs rewards and punishments for behaviour. Through operant conditioning, an association is made between a behaviour and a consequence (whether negative or positive) for that behaviour.

Question 4

Explain the process of associative learning in cattle responding to an electric fence vs a virtual fence.

Answer 4

Electric fence
 Unconditioned stimulus = physical shock -> negative reinforcement
 Conditioned stimulus = the fence itself
 Response = avoidance

Virtual fence
 Aims to contain them
 Pairing of an audio tone with a GPS shocker
 Conditioned stimulus = audio cue -> when the animal gets close to the boundary
 Unconditioned stimulus = shock -> negative reinforcement
 Response = avoidance
 Cattle associate the audio cue with being close to a boundary -> over time when they hear the sound they wont continue in that direction and therefore will stay within the boundaries or the virtual fence

Question 5

What are stress and welfare dependent on?

Answer 5

These factors are dependent on how an animal perceives its environment

Question 6

Does predictability and controllability always mean good welfare for animals?

Answer 6

No, predictability and controllability do not necessarily correlate with good welfare. For example, an animal in a barren environment.

Question 7

Give some examples of associative learning in farm animals

Answer 7

• Learning to use automatic milking systems
• Learning to open gates to access something thats of value to them (food or scratcher)