Fear and distress

Question 1

bramble report findings and results

Answer 1

-we accept that animals can experience emotions such as rage, fear, apprehension, frustration and pleasure
-turned into the five freedoms

Question 2

fear

Answer 2

(state) and emotional response to the perception of immediate danger

Question 3

fearfulness

Answer 3

(trait) characteristic of an individual, susceptibility to fear

Question 4

who experiences fear

Answer 4

all individuals can experience it but some may be more fearful then others

Question 5

stress

Answer 5

not all stress is bad

Question 6

eustress

Answer 6

good stress (going to the gym)

Question 7

distress

Answer 7

-bad (thunderstorm)
-but manageable levels can increase resilience

Question 8

anxiety

Answer 8

reaction to a potential threat (anticipation)

Question 9

frustration

Answer 9

-inability to achieve a desired goal
-can result in anger, annoyance, disappointment
-ie. rodent digging a hole that keeps filling

Question 10

who was stress first studied by

Answer 10

-Walter cannon, early 1900s
-came up with the flight and fight response

Question 11

fear and anxiety

Answer 11

=stressor
-primary emotion affecting animal welfare

Question 12

fear and anxiety responses

Answer 12

-physiological and behavioural reactions-> preparing the animals to respond
-individuals vary in fearfulness: affected by genes and experiences

Question 13

fear and stress physiology

Answer 13

-the stress response: sympathetic nervous system/neuroendocrine
-two main responses (axes):
-sympathetic-adrenal medullary (SAM)(fight or flight:epi, norepi)
-hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) (CRH-ACTH-glucocorticoids(eg cortisol))

Question 14

HPA-axis

Answer 14

-stressor (physical/emotional)
-hypothalamus<–>brain stem
CRH
-anterior pituitary
ACTH
-adrenal gland (cortex)
GCs cortisol (glucocorticoids)
-target organs and systems

-neg feedback loop; reduction in CRH and ACTH
-pos feedback loop; increase in CRH and ACTH

Question 15

SAM-axis

Answer 15

-stressor (physical/emotional)
-brain stem<–>hypothalamus
-spinal cord
sympathetic neurons
-adrenal cortex (medulla)
adrenaline
-target organs and tissues

Question 16

acute stress main hormone

Answer 16

adrenaline

Question 17

chronic stress hormones

Answer 17

cortisol

Question 18

SAM is a rapid neural response what hormones and where do they come form this

Answer 18

-adrenaline from the adrenal medulla
-noradrenaline from the adrenal medulla and sympathetic nervous system

Question 19

things seen from the sympathetic nervous system

Answer 19

-dilate pupils
-no effect on tear glands
-weak stimulation of salivary flow
-accelerated heart, constricts arterioles
-dilates bronchi
-inhibits stomach mobility and secretion, inhibits pancreas and adrenals
-inhibits intestinal mobility
-relaxes bladder
-stimulates ejaculation

Question 20

things seen form the parasympathetic nervous system

Answer 20

-constricts pupils
-stimulates tear glands
-strong stimulation of salivary flow
-inhibits heart, dilates arterioles
-constricts bronchi
-stimulates stomach motility and secretion, stimulates pancreas
-stimulates intestinal motility
-contracts the bladder
-stimulates an erection

Question 21

function of fear

Answer 21

-fear is a negative emotion that is adaptive: fear responses protect the animal form injury
-function: animals in the wild benefit from fear
-increased awareness/vigilance, protection from/avoidance of predation

Question 22

behavioural responses to fear include

Answer 22

-aggression
-avoidance/escape
-freezing
-these responses provide energy to cope

Question 23

fear in a domestic environment

Answer 23

is less adaptive ie. wild chickens fly to trees, barn go to a corner and pile

Question 24

acute fear in domestic animals (example)

Answer 24

-poultry piling, claw injuries, suffocation

Question 25

chronic fear in domestic animals

Answer 25

reduced growth, feed conversion

Question 26

different kinds of things that cause fear in domestic animals

Answer 26

-novelty: changes in environment -human interaction: lack of regular handling -domestication: most are calm, some are fearful -intensive systems: controlled, predictable environment, leads to overreaction

Question 27

fear (acute and chronic) consequences in domestic animals

Answer 27

-energy wastage, reduced growth -delayed maturation -poor reproduction -handling stress, injury -injury, pain, weak immunity -increased death loss/disease susceptibility

Question 28

measuring fear: novel object test (NOT)

Answer 28

-behavioural test -assesses fear and exploratory behaviour directed towards "novel object" -animals tested singly or in groups -novel object is introduced into the centre of the pen -less fearful animals are faster to approach and make contact -measures time, objective, if animal is not able to move may not work

Question 29

measuring fear: human approach test (HAT)

Answer 29

-behavioural test -measures level of feat associated with humans -handler enters the pen and remains stationary -less fearful animals are faster to approach and make contact -measurements? time, objective, movement

Question 30

measuring fear: novel arena test (NAT)

Answer 30

-open field test -measures fear and exploratory behaviour in a novel area -animal enters the pen and is observed over set time period -rodents' entry into the centre squared indicates lack of fear -increased defecation rate?

Question 31

fear and human contact in dairy cattle

Answer 31

-response reduced with increased contact between stock person and cows -introverted, confident stockpersons had calmer, more productive cows -the presence of an aversive handler (who hit or used a prod on cows over a 5-day period) increased the residual milk (milk not collected at milking)

Question 32

vigilance behaviour (dairy cows)

Answer 32

-evolved for detection and avoidance of predators -now used as a measure of fear -time spent 'vigilant' (head up/not eating) -in novel or familiar location -in presence of dog or unfamiliar person -in the presence of gentle or aversive handler -how ever in some cases could be curiosity

Question 33

measuring fear: tonic immobility in poultry

Answer 33

-'death feigning or 'playing possum' -parasympathetic response

Question 34

measure of fear: startle/freeze responce

Answer 34

-time to resume activity following startle -e.g. loud noise

Question 35

measuring fear: eye white in cattle

Answer 35

measuring the amount of white in the ox's eyes

Question 36

measuring fear: elevated plus maze

Answer 36

-exploration of open maze arms -less stressed in solid walls then transparent

Question 37

measure of fear: chute test in cattle

Answer 37

measure how hard the cow tries to get out

Question 38

physiological measures of fear and stress

Answer 38

-respiration rate -heart rate (BPM); heart rate variability (HRV) -epinephrine, norepinephrine (SAM) -ACTH, cortisol (HPA) -CPK (CK): creatine kinase in blood- released from muscle following strain or bruising -blood lactate: physical exertion, product of anaerobic glycolysis -glucose in blood, glycogen in muscle or liver

Question 39

cortisol

Answer 39

-the "stress hormone" -most commonly used physiological measure of "welfare" but results are inconsistent and herd to interpret

Question 40

why can using cortisol levels for measures of welfare be hard to interpret

Answer 40

-levels are not consistent: follows diurnal rhythm -increased in responce to excitement AND stress -different effects of acute vs chronic stress -high individual variation associated with temperament -sampling processes cause stress affecting results -feedback mechanism

Question 41

stress and meat quality

Answer 41

affected by pre-slaughter stress and handing

Question 42

acute stress and meat quality

Answer 42

-increased temperature, lower pH -lighter colour, increased drip loss -lead to PSE meat (pale, soft, exudative)

Question 43

long term stress and meat quality

Answer 43

-fatigue -depletes energy stores in muscle -leads to DFD (dark, firm, dry)

Question 44

what is a common dilemma for alleviation of stress

Answer 44

-do we adapt the environment to suit the animal? ie low-stress housing and management -or do we change the animal to suit the environment (breeding, selection and culling) -ideally use multiple approaches: -environmental enrichment: reduce neophobia -regular human interaction/positive handling -selective breeding- cull 'wild' or fearful animals