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Animal welfare, ethics, and one health

Guest Editors:
Izhar Hyder Qazi: Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, Pakistan
Gemma Walmsley: University of Liverpool, United Kingdom


BMC Veterinary Research welcomed submissions to our Collection on Animal welfare, ethics, and one health.

The concept of animal welfare has its origins in organizations with the aim of preventing all forms of cruelty to animals. The subject was developed with considerations of animals used in research, but has since expanded into a wider consideration of overall quality of life for all animals that have contact with humans.

Meet the Guest Editors

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Izhar Hyder Qazi: Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, Pakistan

Izhar Hyder Qazi, veterinarian by training, holds doctorate in Animal Science and is currently serving as a full-time faculty at SBBUVAS Sakrand, Pakistan. Dr. Qazi’s research interests include a wide-breadth of topics in the field of animal production and health, animal welfare, one health perspective, and food security through sustainable animal production. He has experience of teaching science communication, covering peer-to-peer communication through journal articles and oral presentations, and communication of science to community and industry to encourage change. He is keenly engaged in bringing change in the overall landscape of teaching and research, and to improve the Animal Science and Veterinary education in the Sindh province of Pakistan. Dr. Qazi envisions using his expertise and research to develop clean, green and ethical systems of Animal Production.
 

Gemma Walmsley: University of Liverpool, United Kingdom

Gemma Walmsley is a Senior Lecturer in Veterinary Neurology at the University of Liverpool and a recognised RCVS and EBVS® European Specialist in Veterinary Neurology. She has an interest in comparative neuromuscular disease and the application of 3Rs (replacement, reduction and refinement) principles to animal models for myopathy research. 

About the collection

BMC Veterinary Research welcomed submissions to our Collection on Animal welfare and ethics.

The concept of animal welfare has its origins in organizations with the aim of preventing all forms of cruelty to animals. The subject was developed with considerations of animals used in research, but has since expanded into a wider consideration of overall quality of life for all animals that have contact with humans.

This collection aimed to gather insights into a wide range of topics related to animal welfare, behavior and ethics (at all levels i.e., from lab to farm) and one health concept.

We invited submissions of original research articles, study protocols, narrative reviews and opinion articles that investigate all facets of theoretical, basic and applied research on domestic, companion, farm and wild animals, and also laboratory and animals in captivity. Health and welfare have always been part of the same story, therefore, multidisciplinary studies having strong connection between “animal welfare and one health” concept were also considered for this collection.

Some of the areas of interest included but were not limited to:

  • Animal Welfare-All aspects
  • Link between animal welfare and animal production
  • One health and One welfare concepts
  • Assessment of the animal welfare (Innovative approaches and technologies)
  • Impact of husbandry, management, housing practices, and transportation
  • Studies related to environmental and social enrichment for lab, companion, and farm animals
  • Affective state of laboratory animals
  • Sentience
  • Studies related to emotional wellbeing and cognitive abilities of animals
  • Pain perception
  • Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement (3Rs)
  • Behavioral issues in companion and working/servicing animals
  • Studies focusing on ethical issues around the use of animals in research and experimentation
  • Studies highlighting cultural and societal implications on animal welfare and behavior
  • Studies focusing on impact of changes in climate or land-use on animal habitats
  • Ethics, Laws and Policymaking

We hope this collection stimulates further discussion and research on animal welfare and contributes to the development of more ethical and sustainable practices in animal use and care.

Image credit: Pixabay/Pexels

  1. Studies on equine air transport practices and consequences are scarce. This prospective study aimed to describe horse and air journey details and practices, document how horse behavior and health changed durin...

    Authors: Martina Felici, Naomi Cogger, Leonardo Nanni Costa, Christopher Bruce Riley and Barbara Padalino
    Citation: BMC Veterinary Research 2024 20:158
    Content type: Research Published on:

  3. Millions of working equids provide socio-economic support for many low-income communities worldwide. With the prevalence of harness-related wounds reported as higher than 60%, this study aims to describe the e...

    Authors: Mathilde S. Merridale-Punter, Belay Elias, Abel L. Wodajo, Charles M. El-Hage, Hanna Zewdu, Reta Tesfaye, Gizachew Hailegebreal, Teshale Sori, Anke K. Wiethoelter and Peta L. Hitchens
    Citation: BMC Veterinary Research 2024 20:113
    Content type: Research Published on:

  4. Due to the increasing prevalence of equine non-infectious respiratory disease, the air contamination in equine housing (Stables A-C) and training facilities (indoor riding arenas A - C) was investigated. The a...

    Authors: Izabela Rodzyń, Katarzyna Karpińska, Hanna Bis-Wencel, Łukasz Wlazło, Mateusz Ossowski, Katarzyna Strzelec, Sebastian Jaguszewski and Bożena Nowakowicz-Dębek
    Citation: BMC Veterinary Research 2024 20:78
    Content type: Research Published on:

  5. Deciding which environmental enrichment is used in mouse caging is often subjective, with cost frequently prevailing over welfare benefits, including aggression and anxiety. While many devices introduced to en...

    Authors: Bret R. Tallent, L. Matthew Law and Jonathan Lifshitz
    Citation: BMC Veterinary Research 2024 20:69
    Content type: Research Published on:

  6. The study aimed to assess the clinical utility of a multiparametric approach to measure the impact of bilateral ultrasound-guided rectus sheath blocks (RSB) on heart rate, serum cortisol concentrations, and pa...

    Authors: Maria Chiara Alterisio, Fabiana Micieli, Giovanni Della Valle, Ludovica Chiavaccini, Giancarlo Vesce, Paolo Ciaramella and Jacopo Guccione
    Citation: BMC Veterinary Research 2023 19:191
    Content type: Research Published on:

  7. Porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) is a novel coronavirus that causes enteric diseases in pigs leading to substantial financial losses within the industry. The absence of commercial vaccines and limited research...

    Authors: Bingzhou Huang, Yao Huang, Lishuang Deng, Tong Xu, Zhijie Jian, Siyuan Lai, Yanru Ai, Ling Zhu and Zhiwen Xu
    Citation: BMC Veterinary Research 2023 19:171
    Content type: Research Published on:

  8. Introducing new goat breeds or transferring adult goats from farms to slaughterhouses requires transportation, which can engender adverse effects, such as oxidative stress, pathological cell apoptosis and auto...

    Authors: Ruini Peng, Fan Gao, Yunhai Hu, Kangli Li, Ben Liu, Wenya Zheng, Xue Yang, Wei Hu, Lucheng Zheng, Qingcan Fan and Manxin Fang
    Citation: BMC Veterinary Research 2023 19:117
    Content type: Research Published on:

Submission Guidelines

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This Collection welcomes submission of Research Articles,  Case Reports and Study Protocols. Before submitting your manuscript, please ensure you have read our submission guidelines. Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Snapp. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection, please select "Animal welfare and ethics" from the dropdown menu.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Guest Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Guest Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.