CURENT RESEARCH TOPICS

Animal behaviour in relation to animal welfare and –health

Changes in behaviour over time in reaction to environmental changes

• Influence of factors, like management and husbandry related changes, on changes in behaviour (i.e. welfare)

Behavioural representation of emotional states in animals

• Identification of factors/circumstances inducing negative or positive emotional states
• Refinement of housing conditions, handling- and training methods, experimental procedures

Behavioural methods to study cognitive capacities of animals

• Collaboration School of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln (reptile cognition and welfare)

Abnormal animal behaviour  

• Development of extended ethograms for detecting occurrence and/or prevalence of abnormal behaviours and identification of missing behavioural elements (i.e. welfare impairment)
• Collaboration with department of Farm Animal health (Behaviour & Welfare group)

Behavioural animal models

• Validation and development of behavioural animal models for emotional pathologies like pathological anxiety
• Collaboration with department of Farm Animal health (Behaviour & Welfare group)

New technology in combination with behavioural- and physiological measurements

• Validation and implementation of combined behavioural-, thermographic-, and other (non-invasive) physiological measurements of stress

Risks to animal welfare due to certain management strategies

Animal welfare management plans

• Development of plans to prevent, reduce and/or eliminate risks that might affect animal welfare negatively.

Species conservation projects

• Black grouse reintroduction project, De Hoge Veluwe National Park, The Netherlands; African painted dog conservation project, Zimbabwe.

RESEARCH COLLABORATIONS

National: Biomedical Primate Research Centre, Rijswijk; Department of Farm Animal Health and Department of Clinical Sciences of Companion Animals, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine; Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Faculty of Humanities, Utrecht University

International: Medical Faculty of the University of Cologne, Germany; School of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, UK