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Study reveals how cows indicate feelings using their ears
cow
"Understanding animal emotions is crucial if we are to improve animal welfare as emotions play a major role in an animal’s mental well-being."

Understanding emotions crucial to improving animal welfare

New research into how to measure the emotional state of cows has suggested that it may be possible to tell how a cow is feeling from the position of its ears. It also reveals that, like our pets, cows display visible signs of pleasure at being stroked.

Nearly 400 observations of 13 cows were taken by scientists at leading animal welfare charity World Animal Protection.

The study showed that when cows were stroked for five minutes, an experience that put the cows into a calm and relaxed state, the cows performed either a backward ear posture or a hanging ear posture, where the ear fell loosely, perpendicular to the head. This contrasts with the more usual position of the ear before and after stroking of either upright or forwards.

Previous studies have suggested that ear position may provide clues to how sheep and pigs are feeling, however this is the first study to look at whether cows display similar traits.

Helen Proctor from World Animal Protection said: “Although these results need further validation using different stimuli, they do indicate that the use of ear postures may provide a quick, non-invasive and low-cost measure to assess the emotional state of dairy cows.
 
“Because emotions are defined as short lasting, it is possible that ear postures may provide both an immediate indicator of the cow’s emotional state and may also be indicative of a longer lasting mood state. 

"Understanding animal emotions is crucial if we are to improve animal welfare as emotions play a major role in an animal’s mental well-being. Research into positive emotions must therefore continue, and reliable indicators of positive emotions need to be developed and applied in practice so that animal welfare can continue to improve.”

It is hoped that the study will be of use to the dairy industry in their programmes and understanding of their cows. 

Can ear postures reliably measure the positive emotional state of cows? is published in Applied Animal Behaviour

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Vets to run marathon for World Animal Protection

News Story 1
 Two recently graduated veterinary surgeons will be running the London Marathon in April to raise money for the charity World Animal Protection.

Alex Bartlett and Maeve O'Neill plan to run the race together if they are given the same start times.

Dr O'Neill said: "You're always limited in what you can do to help animals, so it is nice to raise money for a charity that helps animals around the world."

Dr Bartlett added: "I have never run a marathon before and am excited to run my first one for such a good cause!"

Both Dr Bartlett and Dr O'Neill have fundraising pages online. 

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News Shorts
BSAVA releases new Guide to Procedures

The British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) has published a new edition of its Guide to Procedures for Small Animal Practice.

It has added four new procedures; cystostomy tube placement, endotracheal intubation, point-of-care ultrasound and wet-to-dry dressings.

BSAVA says that it is an essential step-by-step guide to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures performed in practice. The textbook includes new images and illustrations, as well as high-definition videos for use prior to procedures.

Nick Bexfield and Julia Riggs, editors of the new edition, said: "We have built upon the success of the previous editions by responding to the feedback received from the BSAVA readership, and hope this new guide helps to further increase the confidence and accuracy with which these procedures are performed."

Print copies are available in the BSAVA store, with a digital version in the BSAVA library.