David Arney | Estonian University of Life Sciences (original) (raw)

Papers by David Arney

Scandinavian Journal of Laboratory Animal Science, 2023

This paper is a report of discussion, between responsible persons involved in animal research pro... more This paper is a report of discussion, between responsible persons involved in animal research project evaluation throughout the Nordic region, on the activities, issues and problems encoun-tered with evaluating project applications for experimental work involving the use of animals. Harmonization of the actions of responsible authorities in the evaluation of animal experi-mental projects is encouraged by policy makers at the European level, and the possibilities to encourage this are discussed. While the processes of evaluation and the composition of the committees are broadly similar across the region there are also differences. Applications are often made with insufficient attention, with sometimes too much non-essential information (for example details on molecular biology) given which tends to mask the important question of ‘what is actually proposed to be done to the animals?’. Better guidance and simplification of the application process, in particular simplification of information required in the application document, may improve this. Lack of training was identified as a common problem, although training sources are available which could be used. The inclusion of persons with experimental design and statistical expertise is recommended. It is concluded that it would be to the benefit of each committee if there were communication between the committees in the Nordic states, to share best practice and flag common errors and problems. Report

Applied Animal Behaviour Science, Jul 1, 2021

Abstract The threat to sheep welfare of heat stress when pastured outdoors in the summer, particu... more Abstract The threat to sheep welfare of heat stress when pastured outdoors in the summer, particularly without access to shade, has been underinvestigated. This may be of importance not only in hot climates, but also during the summer months in cooler climates. This study considered whether, in the moderately warm conditions of a northern European summer, sheep will access shade of they have access to it, and if sheep with no access to shade in a northern European summer show behaviours indicative of poor welfare, including measures of panting scores and other indicators of heat stress. There were twelve sheep in each of the groups, the control group (NS) or the treatment group with the possibility to access shade (SH). Respiration rates and panting scores were recorded for each sheep in each group twice each day. Other behaviours were also recorded at the individual animal level. In the SH group, the numbers of sheep in the shaded areas were also noted. Climatic data on observation days was collected. Respiration rates were significantly higher at higher panting scores (p

Supplementary Materials: Figure S1: Percentage of ewes outdoors dependent on ambient temperature.... more Supplementary Materials: Figure S1: Percentage of ewes outdoors dependent on ambient temperature. One point corresponds to one photograph, black lines denote the linear relationship (corresponding correlation coefficients with p-values are presented in the lower right corner of the figures) and the red lines indicate the potential non-linear relationship fitted with a LOWESS curve (locally weighted scatterplot smoothing); Figure S2: The wind chill values depending on the percentage of ewes outdoors. For each group of observations the empirical distribution of wind chill values is presented (solid black line), grey boxes mark the area with the middle 50% of values (inter quartile range), black bold lines denote the wind chill medians by groups and dotted horizontal lines indicate the overall mean; small horizontal lines denote single observations; Figure S3: Presence of humidity and wind chill values depending on the percentage of ewes outside. The two columns of graphs correspond to the observations made on the separate farms and the four rows of figures show the climate conditions when ≤70%, 71–80%, 81–90% or 91–100% of the ewes were outside; larger red dots denote the average wind chill and humidity values; Figure S4: Left-hand drawings: Percentage of ewes outdoors dependent on the direction of the wind. One point corresponds to one photograph and the red lines indicate the mean percentage of ewes outside, estimated with the LOWESS algorithm (locally weighted scatterplot smoothing). Right-hand pictures: location of paddocks in the terrain and their exposure to winds (Land Board, Web Map Application, https://xgis.maaamet.ee/maps/XGis? app_id=UU82A&user_id=at&LANG=2&WIDTH=1060&HEIGHT=918&zlevel=0,552500,6505000; https://xgis. maaamet.ee/ maps/XGis?app_id=UU82A &user_id=at&LANG=2&WIDTH=1060&HEIGHT=918&zlevel= 10,600339.625,6456813.28); Table S1: Data of observational studies and climate parameters.