Abstract

This talk will discuss;

i)use of glucocorticoids (i.e cortisol/corticosterone) as indicators of stress and animal welfare

ii)measurement of these parameters in faeces and saliva and how these relate to long and short term stress

iii)caveats associated with these techniques (eg diet, social status, gender differences).

The talk will be illustrated with examples of how we have used non-invasive measurement of glucocorticoids to determine animal welfare in a variety of situations (eg zoo, wild, lab and farm animals).

The animal welfare unit at Central Science Laboratory (York) specialises in the use of non-invasive indices of stress. We employ these techniques in research programmes related to a variety of welfare issues and also offer a commercial service for the measurement of stress and reproductive hormones. Our studies cover a range of species and situations and have included animals in the wild (e.g. wild boar, foxes, rats), zoo (e.g. rhinos, parrots, tamarins), farm (e.g pig, sheep), laboratory (e.g. rat) and the home (e.g. dogs).