Small prey species’ behaviour and welfare: implications for veterinary professionals

Abstract

People have obligations to ensure the welfare of animals under their care. Offences under the UK Animal Welfare Act are acts, or failures of action, causing unnecessary suffering. Veterinary professionals need to be able to provide current, scientifically based prophylactic advice, and respect the limits of their expertise. The ethical concept of a life worth living and the Five Freedoms are core to welfare. Behaviour is a central component, both influencing and influenced by physical health. Owners frequently misunderstand the behaviour of small prey mammals and how to meet their needs. This review provides insight into the physical‐social (external) and the cognitive‐emotional (internal) environments of small prey mammals, contextualised within an evolutionary perspective. This is extrapolated to captivity and practical suggestions given for meeting behavioural freedoms and enhancing client understanding and enjoyment of their animals, thereby improving welfare.

A Survey of Rabbit Handling Methods Within the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland

“…It is encouraging to note that the majority of respondents recorded handling for health checking and many recorded handling for grooming procedures, both of which are activities that may have positive long-term health and welfare benefits for the rabbits as they enable health concerns to be identified early. Likewise, there was some indication that participants recognized that as prey animals, rabbits may find handling aversive (McBride, 2017). Few respondents described cuddling or petting as reasons for handling rabbits.…”

“…No information has been provided on rabbits' general previous experiences with human approach and feeding, which may block learning of less frequent approaches associated with scruffing (Kamin, 1969). More importantly, the suggestion that "compliance" equates with "reduced fear" does not account for any effect of learned helplessness (Maier & Seligman, 1976), tonic immobility (McBride, 2015), or stress-induced analgesia (Butler & Finn, 2009) and behavioral inhibition due to increased vigilance (McBride, 2017(McBride, , 2017a.…”

“…Purposeful engendering of appetitive classical and operant associations to potentially fear-inducing human interactions through training has been promoted by many including McBride (2000McBride ( , 2017 and Crowell-Davis (2007) for rabbits and other small prey species (Hurst & West, 2010). As for other species, early experiences are fundamental to later emotional resilience and behavior.…”

“…As rabbits are a terrestrial prey species, being picked up is likely an innately stressful experience for them (McBride, 2017). However, handling kept rabbits is important for several reasons, including health checking for sore hocks (pododermatitis) and myiasis (blowfly strike).…”

Guidelines for Inspection of Companion and Commercial Animal Establishments

“…All animals ought to be able to express a natural range of behaviors including free movement, locomotion, climbing, play, and burrowing where appropriate for the species ( 44 , 57 , 60 – 65 ). For some species, sociality is an essential feature of their biology, which may mean that appropriate social groups must be maintained ( 66 ).…”