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The ability of pigs to cope with routine farming practices can affect their welfare. This paper is part of a series on early experiences and stress, and reports on the effects of early human contact and housing on the responses of pigs to routine husbandry practices. Using a 2 × 2 factorial design, 48 litters of pigs were raised in either a conventional farrowing crate (FC) or a loose farrowing pen (LP; PigSAFE pen) which was larger, more physically complex and allowed the sow to move freely. Piglets were provided with either routine contact from stockpeople (C), or routine contact plus regular opportunities for positive human contact (+HC) involving 5 min of scratching, patting and stroking imposed to the litter 5 days/week from 0 to 4 weeks of age. At 4 weeks of age, piglets were weaned and re-housed with controlled mixing of litters within treatment. At 4 days of age, after only 3 bouts of the handling treatment, +HC pigs showed less escape behaviour than C pigs after capture by a stockperson for vaccinations and tail docking, and shorter durations of vocalisations throughout the procedures. The  +HC pigs also showed less escape behaviour when captured by a stockperson at 3 weeks of age. The FC pigs showed less escape behaviour than LP pigs after capture by a stockperson at 4 days of age but not at 3 weeks of age. Serum cortisol concentrations were lower in FC pigs than LP pigs 2 h after weaning but not at 49 h after weaning, whereas serum cortisol concentrations were lower in  +HC pigs than C pigs at 49 h after weaning but not at 2 h after weaning. In the period from 0 to 1 h after weaning, C pigs from LP performed the most escape attempts, although escape attempts were rare overall. When being moved out of the home pen by a stockperson at 21 weeks of age, FC pigs showed less baulking than LP pigs, but there were no detected effects of human contact treatment. In conclusion, both housing system and human contact during lactation affected the stress responses of pigs to routine husbandry practices. The +HC and FC pigs appeared to cope better than C and LP pigs, based on lower responses indicative of stress including escape behaviour, vocalisations and cortisol concentrations. These findings are consistent with corresponding reductions in fear that were reported in Part 1 of this series of papers., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The development of fear and stress responses in animals can be influenced by early life experiences, including interactions with humans, maternal care, and the physical surroundings. This paper is the first of three reporting on a large experiment examining the effects of the early housing environment and early positive human contact on stress resilience in pigs. This first paper reports on the responses of pigs to humans, novelty, and social isolation. Using a 2 × 2 factorial design, 48 litters of pigs were reared in either a conventional farrowing crate (FC) where the sow was confined or a loose farrowing pen (LP; PigSAFE pen) which was larger, more physically complex and allowed the sow to move freely throughout the farrowing and lactation period. Piglets were provided with either routine contact from stockpeople (C), or routine contact plus regular opportunities for positive human contact (+HC) involving 5 min of scratching, patting and stroking imposed to the litter 5 days/week from 0-4 weeks of age. The positive handling treatment was highly effective in reducing piglets' fear of humans, based on +HC piglets showing greater approach and less avoidance of an unfamiliar person at 3 weeks of age. There was evidence that this reduction in fear of humans lasted well beyond when the treatment was applied (lactation), with +HC pigs showing greater approach and less avoidance of humans in tests at 6, 9 and 14 weeks of age. The +HC treatment also reduced piglets' fear of a novel object at 3 weeks of age, and for pigs in FC, the cortisol response after social isolation at 7 weeks of age. Rearing in FC compared to LP reduced piglets' fear of novelty at 3 weeks of age, as well as their vocalisations and cortisol response to isolation at 7 weeks of age. The FC pigs showed greater approach and less avoidance of humans compared to LP pigs at 3, 4 and 6 weeks of age, but not at 9 and 14 weeks of age. These results show that positive handling early in life can reduce pigs' fear of humans, fear of novelty and physiological stress response to social isolation. The LP pigs were reared in a more isolated environment with less overall contact with stockpeople and other pigs, which may have increased their fear responses to humans and novel situations, suggesting that different housing systems can modulate these pigs' responses., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Early experiences can have long-term impacts on stress adaptability. This paper is the last of three in a series on early experiences and stress in pigs, and reports on the effects of early human contact and housing on the ability of pigs to cope with their general environment. Using a 2 × 2 factorial design, 48 litters of pigs were reared in either a farrowing crate (FC) or a loose farrowing pen (LP; PigSAFE pen) which was larger, more physically complex and allowed the sow to move freely. Piglets were provided with either routine contact from stockpeople (C), or routine contact plus regular opportunities for positive human contact (+HC) involving 5 min of scratching, patting and stroking imposed to the litter 5 days/week from 0 to 4 weeks of age. At 4 weeks of age (preweaning), C piglets that were reared in FC had considerably lower concentrations of serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) than piglets from the other treatment combinations. Compared to C pigs, +HC pigs had fewer injuries at 4 weeks of age. There were no clear effects of human contact on BDNF concentrations or injuries after weaning, or on basal cortisol or immunoglobulin-A concentrations, behavioural time budgets, tear staining, growth, or piglet survival. Compared to FC piglets, LP piglets showed more play behaviour and interactions with the dam and less repetitive nosing towards pen mates during lactation. There was no evidence that early housing affected pigs' behavioural time budgets or physiology after weaning. Tear staining severity was greater in LP piglets at 4 weeks of age, but this may have been associated with the higher growth rates of LP piglets preweaning. There was no effect of lactation housing on growth after weaning. Preweaning piglet mortality was higher in the loose system. The findings on BDNF concentrations, injuries and play behaviour suggest improved welfare during the treatment period in +HC and LP piglets compared to C and FC piglets, respectively. These results together with those from the other papers in this series indicate that positive human interaction early in life promotes stress adaptability in pigs. Furthermore, while the farrowing crate environment deprives piglets of opportunities for play behaviour and sow interaction, there was no evidence that rearing in crates negatively affected pig welfare or stress resilience after weaning. Whether these findings are specific to the two housing systems studied here, or can be generalised to other housing designs, warrants further research., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Pigs in production systems are routinely exposed to challenging situations including abrupt weaning, painful husbandry procedures, intense contact with stockpeople, and exposure to novel social and physical environments. The resilience of pigs to these stressors has implications for animal welfare and productivity and can be affected by early life experiences. In rodents and primates, early experiences with stressors that the animal can adequately cope with confers future stress adaptability, leading to less abnormal behaviour, lower behavioural and physiological responses to stressors, and faster recovery after stress exposure. Early experiences that can affect the ability of pigs to overcome challenge include interactions with the dam, conspecifics, humans, and the overall complexity of the environment. Farrowing crates limit the sow's ability to show maternal behaviour towards piglets, and negatively affect piglet social behaviour during lactation, with less play and more manipulation of pen mates in crates than in large pens. Rearing in pens has been proposed to improve the ability of pigs to cope with routine stressors, but the evidence for this is conflicting. The early housing environment can affect general fearfulness and fear of humans, and surprisingly, most studies have shown fear responses to be greater in pigs reared pens than in crates. Given the potential for fear to affect animal welfare and productivity, more detailed research on early housing effects is needed. While there is limited evidence that early housing influences fear in the longer term, human contact early in life appears to have a more profound and sustained effect, with regular positive human interaction early in life having an enduring effect on reducing pigs' fear of humans. The practicality of positive human-pig interaction in a commercial environment needs to be examined further, but only a small amount of positive human contact early in life can improve the resilience of pigs to routine husbandry stressors. Early social experience with non-littermates reduces stress at weaning and mixing, while early weaning before 3-4 weeks of age increases abnormal behaviours. Environmental enrichment, such as foraging substrates and increased floor space, reduces abnormal behaviour in piglets, but housing in an enriched environment early in life and subsequently in a non-enriched environment can increase abnormal behaviour if these environments are dramatically different. Although the later environment can modify the influence of the early environment, overall, early life experiences can be important in shaping how pigs cope with stress in both an immediate and longer-term capacity., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The Five Domains model is influential in contemporary studies of animal welfare. It was originally presented as a conceptual model to understand the types of impact that procedures may impose on experimental animals. Its application has since broadened to cover a wide range of animal species and forms of animal use. However, it has also increasingly been applied as an animal welfare assessment tool, which is the focus of this paper. Several critical limitations associated with this approach have not been widely acknowledged, including that: (1) it relies upon expert or stakeholder opinion, with little transparency around the selection of these individuals; (2) quantitative scoring is typically attempted despite the absence of clear principles for aggregation of welfare measures and few attempts to account for uncertainty; (3) there have been few efforts to measure the repeatability of findings; and (4) it does not consider indirect and unintentional impacts such as those imposed on non-target animals. These deficiencies lead to concerns surrounding testability, repeatability and the potential for manipulation. We provide suggestions for refinement of how the Five Domains model is applied to partially address these limitations. We argue that the Five Domains model is useful for systematic consideration of all sources of possible welfare compromise and enhancement, but is not, in its current state, fit-for-purpose as an assessment tool. We argue for wider acknowledgment of the operational limits of using the model as an assessment tool, prioritisation of the studies needed for its validation, and encourage improvements to this approach., Competing Interests: PS and PH view themselves as personal friends of David Mellor, one of the developers of the Five Domains model, but they do not think the current paper can be viewed as unduly friendly towards Dr Mellor’s work. PS was previously a Section Editor at Animal Welfare and has acted as a reviewer for at least one published paper describing the Five Domains model., (© The Author(s) 2023.)

This study aimed to determine the effects of early-life physical and social enrichment on the ability of dairy heifers to integrate into a herd of mature cows. Fifty heifer calves were reared from the ages of 2-13 weeks in one of three treatments: (1) Hand-reared and group-housed in sheds (CC); (2) Hand-reared and group-housed at pasture (-S); or (3) Hand-reared and group-housed at pasture, with 3 non-familial dry cows per group (+S). At 23 months of age, these heifers were introduced in groups to small herds of cows (Cows) at pasture. Social interactions were recorded continuously for two 1-h periods. Feeding, ruminating and resting behaviours of all animals and walking, standing and lying behaviours of 36 heifers only (+S = 14, -S = 13, CC = 9) were recorded for 48 h after mixing. Heifers that were managed as calves according to the CC treatment delivered less agonistic behaviour to other heifers after mixing than those reared in the +S or -S treatments ( p = 0.002 and p = 0.041, respectively). On Day 2, +S heifers and cows spent the lowest proportion of time feeding ( p = 0.961), with -S heifers spending significantly more time feeding than cows ( p = 0.046), while CC heifers spent more time feeding than both +S heifers and cows ( p = 0.027 and p < 0.002, respectively). Increasing the complexity of the early-life environment, particularly socially, may aid heifers in integrating into groups of multiparous cows later in life and shape their lifelong social experiences with same-age conspecifics.

Owner behaviour change may be the most promising avenue to improve dog welfare. As such, understanding potential drivers of owner behaviour is critical to developing effective intervention programs. Here we examine in depth the concept of "duty of care" as a motivator of owner behaviour. Using a mixed methods approach, this study aimed to better understand the potential dimensions of duty of care, their interrelationships, and develop psychometrically valid tools to measure them in companion dog owners. This was achieved through a multi-stage process including a critical literature review, qualitative interviews (n = 13), and an online survey (n = 538). Using Schwartz's Norm Activation Model as a framework, we have developed a 30 item scale with 5 subscales; duty beliefs, problem awareness, awareness of impact, efficacy, and ascription of responsibility. These unique subscales demonstrate good internal consistency and construct validity. In addition to developing a measurement tool, this process has provided important insights into the nature of duty of care in companion dog owners, creating several avenues for future inquiry. One such finding was that many dog welfare problems may not be the result of lacking duty beliefs, but rather weaknesses in other "activation" factors such as problem awareness or ascription of responsibility. Further work is now required to understand the predictive validity of the scale and the relative influence of its different dimensions on owner behaviour and dog welfare outcomes. This will facilitate the identification of appropriate targets for intervention programs aimed at improving owner behaviour and consequently, dog welfare., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Glanville et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Societal concerns dictate the need for animal welfare standards and legislation. The public and livestock producers often differ on their views of livestock welfare, and failure to meet public expectations may threaten the "social license to operate" increasing the cost of production and hampering the success of the industry. This study examined public and producer attitudes toward common practices and animal welfare issues in the Australian red meat industry, knowledge of these practices, and public and producer trust in people working the red meat industry using an Australia-wide survey of both the general public ( n = 501) and red meat producers ( n = 200). Public participants were recruited using a random digit dialing telephone survey (Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing) while the red meat producers were randomly selected within a curated database of Australian red meat producers. After controlling for gender and age, there were marked differences ( p < 0.01) between public and producer respondents in 20 of the 27 attitude, trust and knowledge variables studied. Producers reported more positive beliefs in the conditions provided for sheep and beef cattle during sea and land transport, the husbandry practices used in the red meat industry, and red meat attributes regarding human health, environmental impact, animal use and animal welfare. Both public and producers reported similar levels of trust in conventional and commercial media and had similar beliefs about animal rights, prevention of animal cruelty and balancing the welfare of people and animals. The results indicate a polarization between the public and livestock producers in their attitudes toward animal welfare, knowledge of husbandry practices and trust in livestock people., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Coleman, Hemsworth, Hemsworth, Munoz and Rice.)

Opinion leaders (OLs) within the community may lead debate on animal welfare issues and provide a path for information to their social networks. However, little is known about OLs' attitudes, activities conducted to express their views about animal welfare and whether they are well informed, or not, about husbandry practices in the red meat industry. This study aimed to (1) identify OLs in the general public and among producers and (2) compare OLs and non-OLs' attitudes, knowledge and actions to express their views about the red meat industry. Two questionnaires, one for the Australian general public ( n  = 501) and one for Australian red meat producers ( n  = 200), were developed to identify general attitudes. From these questionnaires, OLs were identified using a two-step cluster analysis. Subsequently, a sub-sample of 19 OLs (including the public and producers) participated in a follow-up phone interview. Results disclosed some clear OLs' characteristics. Public OLs held more negative perceptions of the red meat industry and perceived they had more knowledge about husbandry procedures. However, their actual knowledge about animal husbandry was not different from non-OLs. Public OLs also used and trusted social and internet media more than did non-OLs. In the producer group, a large percentage of OLs were identified (64.0% compared to 29.1% in the public group). Producer OLs had more actual knowledge about animal husbandry and engaged in more behaviours to express dissatisfaction with the industry than non-OLs (dissatisfaction in relation to the image of the red meat industry). Unlike the public respondents, this group used conventional media more than social and internet media, and their levels of trust in all kinds of media were low. While there were clear differences, both groups believed that is important to increase communication and educate about farm practices. This may present an opportunity to develop an opinion leader intervention strategy where informed OLs could later disseminate accurate information to their social networks. Further studies should test if sustained and facilitated educational sessions between public and producer OLs can assist in increasing communication, knowledge and perhaps, may assist in achieving convergence of concerns and expectations between both groups., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Munoz, Hemsworth, Rice, Hemsworth and Coleman.)

It has been proposed that terminology on commercially available eggs can impact the manner in which the eggs are discussed and ultimately consumer support. In this paper we tested if the label of 'furnished cage' eggs is a barrier for its support in Australia. Furthermore, we examined if educational interventions could change support and the way furnished cages were discussed. Survey participants ( n = 1,157) were recruited by a stratified random sample of Australian adults. The participants were surveyed on their demographics, attitudes toward the poultry industry and animal welfare, and their egg buying behavior. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups; two control groups and two educational groups. Participants were shown one of three videos, the control groups were shown a video with general information about chickens, the educated groups were shown one of two almost identical videos that educated them on aspects of the egg-laying industry in Australia, and the welfare implications of different housing systems including furnished systems. The only difference between the two educational videos was the name given to the furnished housing system; one group was introduced to furnished cages, the other was introduced to furnished coops. Educated participants were more likely to support furnished eggs and discuss them more positively than the control groups. When asked to discuss their support for furnished systems, control group participants exposed to the term cage were more likely to discuss the impacts of caged environments than the other treatment groups. The study suggests any negative impacts of housing system terminology can be mitigated through educational interventions., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Nolan, Hemsworth, Power-Geary and Taylor.)

Animals play a significant role in the production of film and television in Australia and globally. Given this, regulating and monitoring their welfare on- and off-set is imperative. We therefore aim to compare Australia's state and territory-based legislation and regulation to those in the United States and the United Kingdom and assess regulations against the Five Domains Model of animal welfare. Historical examples of animal incidents in Australian film are used to illustrate potential deficiencies. We reviewed archived media for animal welfare incidents on and off production sets. We demonstrate a lack of uniformity, with 37.5% (3/8) of states and territories providing targeted Codes of Practice for animals in filmed media, and partially addressing behavioural interactions or mental state within the Five Domains Model. Three themes of welfare concerns were identified including incidents on-set, incidents off-set, and effects of portrayal on perception or ownership of specific species. This highlights the need for standardised national legislation and improved monitoring and regulation. Further research should quantify the number of animals used in productions, describe the type and duration of the work the animals undertake, investigate the frequency of animal welfare incidents, and explore alternative methods to the use of live animals in film and television.

This experiment studied the effects of lactation housing systems and human interaction on piglets' responses to routine stressors. Forty litters of piglets were reared in either a standard farrowing crate (FC) or a loose farrowing and lactation pen (LP; PigSAFE pen) and received either routine contact with humans (C) or regular opportunities for positive human contact (+HC; 3 min of patting, stroking and scratching 5 times/week). Behavioural and physiological responses to routine husbandry procedures, weaning, novelty and humans were studied in addition to effects on piglet growth, injuries and survival. Compared to C piglets, +HC piglets vocalised for shorter durations ( p = 0.018) during husbandry procedures and showed a lower intensity of escape behaviour during iron injection ( p = 0.042) and oral vaccination ( p = 0.026) at 3 d of age, capture at 2 wk of age ( p < 0.001), and intramuscular vaccination ( p = 0.005) at 3 wk of age. +HC piglets at 2 wk of age were faster than C piglets to approach ( p = 0.048) and interact ( p = 0.042) with a stationary unfamiliar human. Compared to LP piglets, FC piglets showed a lower intensity of escape behaviour during capture and iron administration by a stockperson at 3 d of age ( p = 0.043). FC piglets at 2 wk of age were faster than LP piglets to approach ( p = 0.005) and interact ( p = 0.027) with a novel object and approach ( p = 0.009) and interact ( p = 0.008) with an unfamiliar human. FC piglets had fewer injuries than LP piglets at 2 wk of age ( p = 0.004). +HC pigs had fewer injuries than C pigs after weaning ( p = 0.003). After weaning there were more pigs from LP than FC observed to be upright (both stationary, p = 0.002 and walking, p = 0.024), vocalizing ( p = 0.004), nosing another pig ( p = 0.035) and nosing the pen floor ( p = 0.038). There were no significant effects on neutrophil:lymphocyte ratios or plasma cortisol concentrations 1.5 h after weaning. However, 25 h after weaning +HC pigs had higher haptoglobin concentrations than C pigs ( p = 0.002), and C/LP pigs had higher cortisol concentrations than +HC/LP and C/FC pigs ( p = 0.012). There were no significant effects on piglet growth, the number of piglets born alive or the number stillborn, however there were more piglets weaned from FC than LP ( p = 0.035). The results from this experiment raise questions that require further research on the ability of pigs reared in loose pens to cope with stressors such as exposure to humans, novelty, husbandry procedures and weaning. This experiment also provides evidence that regular positive human interaction reduces pigs' fear of humans and husbandry procedures imposed by stockpeople. More research is required to determine if any of these effects are sustained long-term.

Surveys are used extensively in social research and, despite a lack of conclusive evidence of their 'representativeness,' probability internet panel (PIP) surveys are being increasingly used to make inferences about knowledge, attitude and behavior in the general population regarding a range of socially relevant issues. A large-scale survey of Australian public attitudes and behavior toward the red meat industry was undertaken. Samples were obtained using a random digit dialing telephone survey (Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing-CATI, n = 502 respondents) and a PIP survey (PANEL, n = 530 respondents) to examine differences between the two samples regarding attitudes and behavior relating to livestock use and welfare. There was little difference in demographics between the CATI and the PANEL surveys apart from highest level of education. However, there were differences between the two samples in both attitudes and behavior toward the red meat industry after controlling for education levels. The PANEL respondents gave generally more conservative responses than did the CATI respondents in the sense that they were more positive toward the livestock industries and animal welfare within these industries. Differences were also found between the respondents of the two samples regarding behavior that relates to the red meat industry, both community and consumer behavior. PANEL respondents were less engaged in community behaviors performed in opposition of the red meat industry when compared with the CATI sample. The majority of CATI and PANEL respondents were red meat eaters and there was no difference between respondents of the two samples in relation to red meat consumption, however, there were fewer vegetarians and vegans in the PANEL survey. Possible reasons for the observed differences are discussed, however, a definitive answer will depend on further research to identify the specific psychological factors that differ between samples derived from different survey methodologies., Competing Interests: The authors declare that this study received funding from Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) and the University of Melbourne. The funders were not involved in the study design, collection, analysis, interpretation of data, the writing of this article or the decision to submit it for publication., (Copyright © 2021 Hemsworth, Rice, Hemsworth and Coleman.)

The welfare of recreational horses is an important issue. Horse owner attitudes towards horse ownership are likely to influence owner behaviour in terms of horse husbandry and management practices and human-horse interactions, which in turn are likely to affect the welfare of the horse. Based on Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behaviour, this paper examines the relationships between horse owner attributes, specifically background factors (demographics, knowledge, and experience) and attitudes (beliefs) towards horse husbandry and management behaviour. Data were collected via a random telephone survey and during on-site inspections with Victorian horse owners and their horses ( n = 57), using an attitude questionnaire. Relationships were found between horse owner background factors and horse owner attitudes towards horse husbandry and management behaviour. Generally, belief variables correlated significantly with background factors that were primarily related to knowledge and experience. Further, beliefs concerning three key husbandry practices (parasite control, hoof care, and dental care) all appear to be predicted to some degree by background factors associated with knowledge and experience. Therefore, a practical recommendation may be the implementation of education and training programs aimed at improving horse owner knowledge and experience regarding effective horse husbandry and management to promote horse welfare. Clearly, further research is warranted.

Previous positive interactions with humans may ameliorate the stress response of farm animals to aversive routine practices such as painful or stressful procedures, particularly those associated with stockpeople. We studied the effects of positive handling by providing younger (parity 1-2) and older (parity 3-8) sows housed in pens of fifteen ( n = 24 pens in total) with either positive human contact (+HC) or routine human contact (control) during gestation. The +HC treatment involved a familiar stockperson patting and scratching sows and was imposed at a pen-level for 2 min daily. Measurements studied included behavioural, physiological and productivity variables. The +HC sows showed reduced avoidance of the stockperson conducting pregnancy testing and vaccination in the home pens, however the behavioural and cortisol responses of sows in a standard unfamiliar human approach test did not differ. There were no effects of +HC on aggression between sows, serum cortisol or serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor concentrations during gestation, or on the behavioural and cortisol response to being moved to farrowing crates. There were also no effects of +HC on the maternal responsiveness of sows, farrowing rate or the number of piglets born alive, stillborn or weaned. Sows in the +HC pens reduced their physical interaction with the stockpeople imposing the treatment after 2 weeks, which suggests the sows may have habituated to the novel or possible rewarding elements of the handling treatment. This experiment shows that regular positive interaction with stockpeople does reduce sows' fear of stockpeople, but does not always confer stress resilence.

Public perception of livestock industries and consumer trust in farmers can affect consumer behaviour and impact on social license to farm. Coincidental with a large random telephone survey of Australian public attitudes and behaviour towards the red meat industry, a media campaign exposing animal cruelty in live export of sheep by sea, occurred. Data collected from the nationwide survey of the public attitudes immediately before (n = 278 respondents) and after (n = 224 respondents) this media campaign was utilised in the present study to examine the effects of the media campaign on the public. In general, respondents' attitudes towards the red meat industry were positive. Independent t-tests revealed no significant differences between those respondents that completed the survey before or after the 60 Minutes programme in their concern for sheep or beef cattle welfare, attitudes to red meat farming, acceptability of the red meat industry or their trust in farmers in the red meat industry. However, prior to the media campaign, respondents believed sheep to be more comfortable when transported by boats than did respondents who completed the survey after the media campaign. More respondents after the 60 Minutes programme cited social and internet media as a source of information. Therefore, despite the wide media coverage associated with the 60 Minutes programme, these results indicate little effect on the public's attitudes towards farm animal welfare and the red meat industry. The significant impacts of the programme were reflected in increased community discussion, increased social media activity and an increase in the perceived importance of conditions aboard boats used for live sheep transport.

There is a growing interest and need for zoos to develop and implement welfare assessment tools that are practical to use and provide meaningful results that can inform management decisions. This paper presents a process that was developed to support this type of evidence-based management in zoo animal welfare. The process is configured to facilitate institutional risk assessment, using an adapted version of the Five Domains Model for animal welfare assessment. It is designed to systematically analyse information gathered from zoo personnel in order to highlight areas of welfare risk, as well as areas that are performing well and areas requiring further investigation. A trial was conducted on three zoos over three years. Results of the trial suggest the process developed is practical and effective in identifying areas of welfare risk in a wide range of species in a zoo setting. It represents a further step towards achieving high-level animal welfare in zoos by integrating animal welfare as an institutional priority. The more zoos that employ such strategies, the greater the ability of the sector to advance the welfare of the animals in their care.