Welfare Assessment of Invertebrates: Adapting the Animal Welfare Assessment Grid (AWAG) for Zoo Decapods and Cephalopods
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Key finding:
The use of decapods (such as lobsters and crabs) and cephalopods (such as octopuses and cuttlefish) by humans for food, experimentation and education (e.g., in zoos and aquariums) is on the increase. Growing evidence that these species have feelings and can experience emotions has highlighted the need for a tool to monitor the welfare of these species in captivity. This study adapted a welfare monitoring tool, the Animal Welfare Assessment Grid, that has been successfully used with a variety of mammal and bird species, for use with decapods and cephalopods. This tool was then trialed at a zoological institution (Marwell Zoo, UK) and, for the first time, a public aquarium (National Marine Aquarium, UK), with the intention of showing how data collected on invertebrates in a zoological environment can be both efficiently and easily applied to implement positive welfare. This study highlights how evaluating the welfare impact of management processes using animal-based indicators can lead to improved welfare outcomes.
Links to Open Access Publications or DOI:
Citation:
Narshi, T.M.; Free, D.; Justice, W.S.M.; Smith, S.J.; Wolfensohn, S. Welfare Assessment of Invertebrates: Adapting the Animal Welfare Assessment Grid (AWAG) for Zoo Decapods and Cephalopods. Animals 2022, 12, 1675.
