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The gradual vocal responses to human-provoked discomfort in farmed silver foxes

The gradual vocal responses to human-provoked discomfort in farmed silver foxes Vocal indicators of welfare have proven their use for many farmed and zoo animals and may be applied to farmed silver foxes as these animals display high vocal activity toward humans. Farmed silver foxes were selected mainly for fur, size, and litter sizes, but not for attitudes to people, so they are fearful of humans and have short-term welfare problems in their proximity. With a human approach test, we designed here the steady increase and decrease of fox–human distance and registered vocal responses of 25 farmed silver foxes. We analyzed the features of vocalizations produced by the foxes at different fox–human distances, assuming that changes in vocal responses reflect the degrees of human-related discomfort. For revealing the discomfort-related vocal traits in farmed silver foxes, we proposed and tested the algorithm of “joint calls,” equally applicable for analysis of all calls independently on their structure, either tonal or noisy. We discuss that the increase in proportion of time spent vocalizing and the shift of call energy toward higher frequencies may be integral vocal characteristics of short-term welfare problems in farmed silver foxes and probably in other captive mammals. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png acta ethologica Springer Journals

The gradual vocal responses to human-provoked discomfort in farmed silver foxes

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Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © 2010 by Springer-Verlag and ISPA
Subject
Life Sciences; Behavioral Sciences; Zoology; Evolutionary Biology
ISSN
0873-9749
eISSN
1437-9546
DOI
10.1007/s10211-010-0076-3
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Vocal indicators of welfare have proven their use for many farmed and zoo animals and may be applied to farmed silver foxes as these animals display high vocal activity toward humans. Farmed silver foxes were selected mainly for fur, size, and litter sizes, but not for attitudes to people, so they are fearful of humans and have short-term welfare problems in their proximity. With a human approach test, we designed here the steady increase and decrease of fox–human distance and registered vocal responses of 25 farmed silver foxes. We analyzed the features of vocalizations produced by the foxes at different fox–human distances, assuming that changes in vocal responses reflect the degrees of human-related discomfort. For revealing the discomfort-related vocal traits in farmed silver foxes, we proposed and tested the algorithm of “joint calls,” equally applicable for analysis of all calls independently on their structure, either tonal or noisy. We discuss that the increase in proportion of time spent vocalizing and the shift of call energy toward higher frequencies may be integral vocal characteristics of short-term welfare problems in farmed silver foxes and probably in other captive mammals.

Journal

acta ethologica – Springer Journals

Published: May 11, 2010

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