Assessing the Welfare of Captive Group-Housed Cockroaches, <i>Gromphadorhina oblongonota</i>
The welfare of invertebrates under human care is of growing concern, particularly with the increasing interest in insect farming as an environmentally sustainable means of producing food. Additionally, individual welfare monitoring systems can be time-consuming and impractical for larger groups, par...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/21/3351 |
| _version_ | 1797632264552579072 |
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| author | Danielle Free Sarah Wolfensohn |
| author_facet | Danielle Free Sarah Wolfensohn |
| author_sort | Danielle Free |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The welfare of invertebrates under human care is of growing concern, particularly with the increasing interest in insect farming as an environmentally sustainable means of producing food. Additionally, individual welfare monitoring systems can be time-consuming and impractical for larger groups, particularly when individual animals are difficult to identify. It is, therefore, imperative to develop a validated system for monitoring terrestrial invertebrate welfare at a group level. The Animal Welfare Assessment Grid (AWAG) is an objective welfare-monitoring tool that has been approved for use with a wide range of species. This study modified the AWAG for large group-level welfare assessments and successfully trialled it on a terrestrial invertebrate species, a group of captive male <i>Gromphadorhina oblongonota</i>. The modified template evaluated the group’s welfare by scoring changes to 12 factors that could be tracked over time. The results highlight that the welfare of <i>G. oblongonota</i> is likely to be influenced by environmental and social factors, and inform practical improvements in <i>G. oblongonota</i> care that will result in improved welfare. The findings also demonstrate an efficient way to assess the welfare of invertebrates at the group level, and given the recent UK legislation (Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill, 2022) plus the emerging interest in invertebrate farming, our findings hold timely significance. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T11:34:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4fdc2fd7dda14cfa9583c2c5d108751d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T11:34:34Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-4fdc2fd7dda14cfa9583c2c5d108751d2023-11-10T14:57:49ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152023-10-011321335110.3390/ani13213351Assessing the Welfare of Captive Group-Housed Cockroaches, <i>Gromphadorhina oblongonota</i>Danielle Free0Sarah Wolfensohn1Marwell Wildlife, Winchester SO21 1JH, UKSchool of Veterinary Medicine, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7AL, UKThe welfare of invertebrates under human care is of growing concern, particularly with the increasing interest in insect farming as an environmentally sustainable means of producing food. Additionally, individual welfare monitoring systems can be time-consuming and impractical for larger groups, particularly when individual animals are difficult to identify. It is, therefore, imperative to develop a validated system for monitoring terrestrial invertebrate welfare at a group level. The Animal Welfare Assessment Grid (AWAG) is an objective welfare-monitoring tool that has been approved for use with a wide range of species. This study modified the AWAG for large group-level welfare assessments and successfully trialled it on a terrestrial invertebrate species, a group of captive male <i>Gromphadorhina oblongonota</i>. The modified template evaluated the group’s welfare by scoring changes to 12 factors that could be tracked over time. The results highlight that the welfare of <i>G. oblongonota</i> is likely to be influenced by environmental and social factors, and inform practical improvements in <i>G. oblongonota</i> care that will result in improved welfare. The findings also demonstrate an efficient way to assess the welfare of invertebrates at the group level, and given the recent UK legislation (Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill, 2022) plus the emerging interest in invertebrate farming, our findings hold timely significance.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/21/3351Animal Welfare Assessment Grid (AWAG)group welfareinvertebratesentiencecockroachquality of life |
| spellingShingle | Danielle Free Sarah Wolfensohn Assessing the Welfare of Captive Group-Housed Cockroaches, <i>Gromphadorhina oblongonota</i> Animals Animal Welfare Assessment Grid (AWAG) group welfare invertebrate sentience cockroach quality of life |
| title | Assessing the Welfare of Captive Group-Housed Cockroaches, <i>Gromphadorhina oblongonota</i> |
| title_full | Assessing the Welfare of Captive Group-Housed Cockroaches, <i>Gromphadorhina oblongonota</i> |
| title_fullStr | Assessing the Welfare of Captive Group-Housed Cockroaches, <i>Gromphadorhina oblongonota</i> |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessing the Welfare of Captive Group-Housed Cockroaches, <i>Gromphadorhina oblongonota</i> |
| title_short | Assessing the Welfare of Captive Group-Housed Cockroaches, <i>Gromphadorhina oblongonota</i> |
| title_sort | assessing the welfare of captive group housed cockroaches i gromphadorhina oblongonota i |
| topic | Animal Welfare Assessment Grid (AWAG) group welfare invertebrate sentience cockroach quality of life |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/21/3351 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT daniellefree assessingthewelfareofcaptivegrouphousedcockroachesigromphadorhinaoblongonotai AT sarahwolfensohn assessingthewelfareofcaptivegrouphousedcockroachesigromphadorhinaoblongonotai |