WBI Studies Repository (WellBeing International)
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LovellJarret
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Communing with Crows
No full textThe article Communing with Crows recounts Jennifer Sullivan\u27s evolving relationship with a family of crows in Lenox, Massachusetts, highlighting their mutual recognition, synchronized routines, and the crows\u27 role in teaching their offspring to forage for treats during her daily walks
Alternatives to Animal Testing and the 2020 Lush Awards
No full textThe cosmetics company Lush recently announced its 2020 Lush Prizes. The program bestows awards on scientists and animal advocates for advancing the science and also the cause of alternatives to the use of animals in chemical safety testing. WBI co-founder Andrew Rowan was named this year’s recipient of the Andrew Tyler Award
What Should Vegetarians and Vegans Feed Their Pets?
Get PDFMost dogs (97%) and cats (99%) eat pet food that contains some meat. The pets of vegans were less likely to be fed pet food with meat. Ten percent of vegan cat owners and 30% of vegan dog owners raised their pets on plant-based pet foods
Celermajer
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Mikhalevich2
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Sea wrack delivery and accumulation on islands: factors that mediate marine nutrient permeability
Get PDFSea wrack provides an important vector of marine-derived nutrients to many terrestrial environments. However, little is known about the processes that facilitate wrack transport, deposition, and accumulation on islands. Three broad factors can affect the stock of wrack along shorelines: the amount of potential donor habitat nearby, climatic events that dislodge seaweeds and transfer them ashore, and physical characteristics of shorelines that retain wrack at a site. To determine when, where, and how wrack accumulates on island shorelines, we surveyed 455 sites across 101 islands in coastal British Columbia, Canada. At each site, we recorded wrack biomass, species composition, and shoreline biogeographical characteristics. Additionally, over a period of 9 mo, we visited a smaller selection of sites (n = 3) every 2 mo to document temporal changes in wrack biomass and species composition. Dominant wrack species were Zostera marina, Fucus distichus, Macrocystis pyrifera, Nereocystis luetkeana, Pterygophora californica, and Phyllospadix spp. The amount of donor habitat positively affected the presence of accumulated biomass of sea wrack, whereas rocky substrates and shoreline slope negatively affected the presence of sea wrack biomass. Biomass was higher during winter months, and species diversity was higher during summer months. These results suggest that shorelines with specific characteristics have the capacity to accumulate wrack, thereby facilitating the transfer of marine-derived nutrients to the terrestrial environment
Musical Dogs: A Review of the Influence of Auditory Enrichment on Canine Health and Behavior
Get PDFMusic therapy yields many positive health outcomes in humans, but the effects of music on the health and welfare of nonhuman animals vary greatly with the type of music played, the ethology of the species, and the personality and learning history of individual animals. One context in which music therapy may be used to enhance animal welfare is to alleviate stress in domestic environments. Here, we review studies of the effects of music exposure on dogs as a case study for the implementation of music therapy in veterinary medicine. Nine reports of experimental testing for the therapeutic effects of music on dogs were found, with most of these studies focusing on changes in behavior. Overall, exposure to classical music appears to have a calming influence on dogs in stressful environments, with no additional benefit observed from any music purposely designed for dogs (specifically “Through a dog’s ear”). Given the cost effectiveness and ease of implementation, music therapy holds promise in veterinary medicine and animal welfare. However, to address precise research questions, further studies must use clearly defined characteristics of stimulus music in the experimental design, and consider the variability of each individual animal’s physical characteristics and past experience in the selection of candidates
Recognising the Sentience of Animals in Law: A Justification and Framework for Australian States and Territories
Get PDFScientific research is clear that most animals are sentient. This means that they have the capacity to subjectively perceive or feel things such as happiness and suffering. At present in Australia, animal sentience is, to some degree, implicitly recognised in animal welfare legislation that is in operation in all state and territory jurisdictions. This legislation criminalises human cruelty towards some animals because of the capacity such action has to cause animal pain and suffering. There is growing public concern in Australia, however, that such legislation does not adequately protect animals from pain and suffering. The Australian Capital Territory (‘ACT’) has recently responded to this concern by passing amendments to the Animal Welfare Act 1992 (ACT), which makes it the first Australian jurisdiction to explicitly recognise animal sentience. The ACT amendments follow international precedent. This article analyses this novel development in the law’s recognition of animal sentience. It considers the extent to which the ACT legislation is likely to enhance the protection of animals and whether it should be a paradigm, in this respect, for other Australian jurisdictions. It argues that the ACT amendments, while largely symbolic, are a welcome development, and other Australian jurisdictions should follow suit. Nevertheless, further legislative change to increase protections for animals is also required
Can Pets Really Help Fight America\u27s Obesity Epidemic?
Get PDFAn obesity epidemic is currently sweeping America as adult obesity rises from 11% of the population in 1990 to 40% in 2018. It has been claimed that pet ownership, particularly dog ownership might lower obesity rates. But a Japanese review of 25 research reports on the topic, covering over 200,000 subjects, found that there was no noticeable impact of pet ownership on obesity rates