Welfare and Behavior

The Welfare and Behavior team works to objectively measure and improve the experience of animals in relation to their management. Measuring animal welfare involves assessing aspects of animal health and basic functioning, ability to express natural behavior, and indicators of animal affective state.

The Welfare and Behavior team conducts applied research in animal behavior science and applied ethology, examining aspects of development, causation, and function of behaviors exhibited by animals managed under human care. Specific research focuses include understanding the effects of housing and management on the expression and development of feeding behavior, social behavior, and abnormal behaviors observed in livestock.

Research into animal behavior and welfare aims to evaluate and improve animal welfare with the goal to promote optimal animal outcomes. Automated, high throughput and precision evaluations of animal behavior serves as valuable indicators of how an animal is coping in its environment and accommodating motivated behaviors through animal management to predict animal welfare.

Welfare and Behavior Faculty: 

Dr. John Arthington
Dr. Albert De Vries
Dr. Emily K. Miller-Cushon
Dr. Corwin D. Nelson
Dr. Carissa Wickens