Developed model for easier animal welfare assessment- with examples from dairy cows in loose housingAnimals in captivity are completely dependent on human care. If captive animals are prevented from exhibiting their natural behavior, they may suffer. Animal welfare inspectors, who insure that the animal welfare legislation is followed, use a checklist to assess the situation in the husbandry. This checklist contains only two levels of assessment, which may result in a lack of detail in the assessment of the husbandry. The objective of this report was to develop a more detailed model that provides an overview of the situation in husbandry.

This essay deals with the political upheavals which occurred in Japan with the Meiji Restoration of 1868 and its impact on the Samurai Class. This transitional period in Japanese history is portrayed in the film The Last Samurai from 2003, and it's the comparison between this Hollywood production and the current research on the subject on which this essay focuses. Two key figures who are portrayed in the film are Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise), an American soldier from the Indian Wars of the 1860/70s who travels to Japan to quell the Samurai rebellion but ends up in captivity; only to learn their codex of honor and way of life and eventually become a Samurai himself. The other character calls himself Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe) and becomes the representative of the Samurai's struggle for their existence. Their friendship and cultural exchanges will remain a cornerstone throughout the film.

Exotic small animals that are commonly kept as pets include aquarium fish, cage and aviary birds, rodents, rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), reptiles and amphibians. These different kinds of animals, even species within the same class, may differ markedly from each other regarding physiology and requirements. Although these species are common in both Swedish households and in pet trade, many animal keepers have a lack of knowledge about the origin and requirements of their pets. This is a cause of several health problems seen in animals which are held in captivity. In Sweden, the county administrative boards perform all animal welfare controls.

The Swedish ostrich production started about thirteen years ago and still there are no Swedish recommendations regarding ostriches? space requirements. The European Council give recommendations and the Swedish Board of Agriculture (SJV) has a proposal, but so far the producers follow Danish regulations regarding space requirements. The Swedish Animal Welfare Agency are about to set standards for the ostriches? space requirements, and therefore the Swedish ostrich producers, together with The Federation of Swedish Farmers (LRF) ask for a scientific background to these decisions. This thesis is a preliminary study at the prospect of a future experiment on which factors important for ostriches? space requirements and welfare will be examined more thouroughly.

I Centralasien lever det utrotningshotade djuret snöleopard (Panthera uncia). Antalet vilda snöleoparder beräknas ligga under 7000 individer. Snöleoparden brottas med ett antal olika hot i det vilda, med risk att det leder till utrotning. Djuret jagas av tjuvjägare, delvis för sin fina päls, men också för att använda ben och tänder till medicin. Människans utbredning leder till mindre områden för snöleoparden att hitta byten på, samt att den dödas i vedergällning om den skulle anfalla boskapsdjur.

This paper is a compilation of some of the important viral zoonosis that can be passed from apes and simians (simian and prosimian) to man. Viral zoonoses are viral diseases that can be passed from animals to humans. The paper will also provide a better insight of the risks workers and visitors to the zoo can be exposed to. The viruses that this paper is focused on is herpes Bvirus, simian T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (STLV), simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), Ebola virus, Marburg virus, yellowfever virus, monkeypoxvirus and hepatitis B virus. The choice of viruses is based on how infectious they are and how pathogenic they are.

The purpose of this work was that with the help of a literature review have a single document with information on how the various species: brown bear (Ursus arctos), lynx (Lynx lynx) and the wolf (Canis lupus) living in the wild. The aim was also to show which stereotypic behaviours these different species have in zoos and the enrichments that is already being used and to make suggestions and recommendations on enrichment based on animal behaviour ecology. In zoos, some species thrive well while others have propositions to propagating problems, poor health and stereotypic behaviors. The brown bear, lynx and wolf, live both in the wild and in zoos in Sweden. As these animals have different ways of living in the wild, it is important to accommodate to each species, the way they are kept in zoos in accordance with their behavioural ecology.Brown bears are omnivorous and solitary living species with large energy needs so that they spend most of their day to actively feeding but also rest.

The standard housing of farmed mink provides little opportunities for them to behave naturally and abnormal behaviours such as stereotypic behaviour and tail biting may occur. To prevent abnormal behaviours animals in captivity are often provided with different kinds of enrichments. The aim of this study was to investigate what kind of enrichment farmed mink use when they have several kinds to choose from and to observe if abnormal behaviours can be decreased with a larger cage and a more multifaceted environment. Totally 20 silver blue, 10 months old female mink were kept in traditional cages (80x30x40 cm) for 7 days and in larger cages (195x80x40 cm) with several types of enrichments for 7 days. The enrichments were wire net- and wooden shelves, wire net- and plastic cylinders, water bath, plastic ropes, branches, straw and tennis balls. One-zero scan sampling on behaviour and choice of place were performed during 3 hours and 20 minutes prior to feeding during 7 days per treatment in April 2004.

The quest to determine if non-human animals have emotional lives similar to man goes a long way back and is yet to result in a clear answer. The aim of this particular literature study is to determine whether or not the African elephant may host feelings of empathy and display altruistic behaviour. In search for an answer to this question, scientists have chosen to first evaluate the cognitive abilities of said species. They have done this through the testing of tool use, mirror self-recognition, memory and the ability to coordinate with another when performing a task etc. It is generally thought, that in order for complex emotion to exist within an individual, cognition, as an awareness of the self and others, must first be present.