Christian Nawroth

This one took a while, but we’re happy to finally have it out!

We were wondering how prevalent different Open Science practices are in applied ethology. To find out, check this pre-proof version that is already available.

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Join us for the 4th Synergy Webinar on Animal Welfare!

🎙 “What can rats teach us about positive animal welfare with a focus on play and tickling?”
👤 With Prof. Alistair Lawrence
📅 25 February 2026 | 13:00 CEST

🔗: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

📰✨ Our Feature Paper of the Month! ✨📰

This month's highlight: "Vocalisations in farm animals: A step towards positive welfare assessment" by Karin Laurijs, Elodie Briefer, Inonge Reimert, and Laura E. Webb.

📖 Read more: doi.org/10.1016/j.ap...

Exploring open science in applied ethology: practice and attitudes among researchers - BMC Research Notes BMC Research Notes - In light of the replication crisis, transparency is critical for impactful research. This is particularly relevant for animal-based research fields, like Applied Ethology,...

Exploring open science in applied ethology: practice and attitudes among researchers | BMC Research Notes | Springer Nature Link https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13104-026-07685-x

Replication studies: a win-win for early-career training and behavioral ecology Replicating previous research builds confidence that results are real and meaningful. But close replications are rare due to limitations in resources and d

How do we know our research results are REAL? We replicate them! Most folks agree but lament on how hard it is to publish these replications.

My dearest gentle reader, lament no more! Delighted to unveil: Replication Studies, a new section of Behavioral Ecology 1/

academic.oup.com/beheco/artic...

This one took a while, but we’re happy to finally have it out!

We were wondering how prevalent different Open Science practices are in applied ethology. To find out, check this pre-proof version that is already available.

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

LIFT’s very own podcast ‘Lifting Animals’ Lives’ is finally here! Our first episode with Dr Laura Webb, Assistant Professor at Wageningen University & Vice Chair of the COST Action, is now live. Happy listening!

Link to RSS website: rss.com/podcasts/lif...

Link to YouTube: youtu.be/pIEGkFBHA0M

UFAW Centenary Conference 2026 celebrating 100 years of animal welfare science, held June 23-25 at Senate House, University of London and online. A photo of Senate House is included in the graphic.

📢 Deadline approaching!

There are only a few days left to submit your abstract for UFAW's Centenary Conference 2026. Submissions close on 6 February.

Don't miss your chance to speak at our biggest event to date ➡️ https://ow.ly/na8g50Y7xeB

#ScienceForAnimalWelfare #AnimalWelfare

January board game stats - not a bad start to 2026! @bgstatsapp.bsky.social

The ISAE 2026 congress website is now officially open!
isae2026delhi.in

Abstract submission is also open, please visit the website to learn more about deadlines and topics.

#ISAE2026 #ISAEcongress #appliedethology

Local specialists’ experience and skills in animal behaviour studies: insights from wild chimpanzee field assistants Abstract. The study of wild animal behaviour and cognition has greatly benefited from the foundational work of local specialists (LSs), particularly field

Local specialists’ experience and skills in animal behaviour studies: insights from wild chimpanzee field assistants

royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...

First paper of 2026 just got accepted! 🚨🎆

Un estudio con participación española revela capacidades cognitivas inéditas en el ganado Una vaca demuestra por primera vez un uso flexible de herramientas y desafía lo que sabemos sobre la cognición animal ...

Una #vaca demuestra por primera vez un uso flexible de #herramientas y desafía lo que sabemos sobre la cognición animal
@goatswhostare.bsky.social 

Online survey for dog owners on cold and heat stress and its implications for dog welfare (in English or Portuguese): survey.vetmeduni.ac.at/index.php/83...

Please share, participation is anonymous, and we hope to identify indicators and risk factors of thermal stress in dogs

No bull: This Austrian cow has learned to use tools First evidence for tool use in cattle includes a skill previously seen only in humans and chimpanzees

About a decade ago, a baker in a small mountainous village in southern Austria noticed his cow doing something unusual... My latest for @science.org about the first documented case of tool use in cattle!

Cow Tools!

We have lived alongside cows for nearly 10,000 years.
We breed them and exploit them

It is now, only now, that we have discovered THEY CAN USE TOOLS

Here I describe our study

(paper) www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... in @currentbiology.bsky.social
with @auersperga.bsky.social

Terrific work! 👏👏👏

Our new paper (with @biotay.bsky.social) is out and on the cover story of @currentbiology.bsky.social !!!! Veronika, a Carinthian mountain cow flexibly uses a “multi-purpose tool” to scratch herself. A video and more information will follow in the comments.
www.cell.com/current-biol...

Flexible use of a multi-purpose tool by a cow Osuna-Mascaró and Auersperg report flexible, multipurpose tool use in a cow, expanding the known range of mammalian tool users and underscoring overlooked cognitive capacities in livestock.

Absolutely terrific study! Check the video footage in the ESM!

www.cell.com/current-biol...

Is dogs’ tendency to follow human misleading communicative cues influenced by humans’ auditory perspective? - Animal Cognition Studying Theory of Mind in non-verbal populations requires designing tasks that address the distinction between responding based on directly perceivable cues and additionally inferring others’ mental ...

Is dogs’ tendency to follow human misleading communicative cues influenced by humans’ auditory perspective?

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Chimpanzees’ working memory is not affected by the presence and activity of zoo visitors - Animal Cognition Animal Cognition - Cognitive research in non-human primates is increasingly conducted in zoos, where zoo visitors are likely to be present and observe the testing sessions. Previous zoo research...

Chimpanzees’ working memory is not affected by the presence and activity of zoo visitors

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Smart Ungulates: What Sheep and Goats' Performances in a Reversed‐Reward Contingency Task Tell Us About the Evolution of Cognitive Flexibility This study shows that young goats outperform sheep in the reversed-reward contingency task, which is a cognitive test requiring both inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility. The results highligh...

Smart Ungulates: What Sheep and Goats' Performances in a Reversed-Reward Contingency Task Tell Us About the Evolution of Cognitive Flexibility

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

🚨 Dairy farmers needed – urgent input requested! 🚨

We urgently need responses from dairy cattle producers for a survey on Positive Animal Welfare (PAW), carried out within our action (WG3).

🔗 Survey links (choose your language) are in the replies!

Loving this scene 😍🐐

Wie schlau sind die Tiere, die wir essen? - 42 - Die Antwort auf fast alles - Die ganze Doku | ARTE Ein großer Teil der Tiere auf unserem Planeten sind Nutztiere. Dabei sind Schweine, Ziegen, Hühner und Co. klüger als vermutet. Das genau zu beweisen, ist allerdings gar nicht so einfach. Dass Nutztiere überhaupt kognitive Fähigkeiten haben, darüber wiederum besteht kein Zweifel. Was bedeutet das für die Nutztierhaltung?

🔢 42 ist die Antwort auf alles.
Aber ganz sicher nicht auf die Frage:
Wie schlau sind die Tiere, die wir essen?
ARTE „42 – Die Antwort auf alles“ mit Forschung unserer AG Verhalten & Tierwohl am FBN & Dr. Christian Nawroth
👉 https://shorturl.at/D1l0J

A flyer for the UFAW Centenary Conference 2026. A photo of Senate House, London, is shown, as is the UFAW logo in white. The text reads: 100 years of Science for Animal Welfare. Senate House, University of London, UK and Online, 23-25 June 2026.

📢 Registration & abstract submission are now open for UFAW’s Centenary Conference 2026.

As UFAW marks its centenary, we invite you to join this 3-day conference to explore the latest developments in #animalwelfarescience.

Further details and submissions: scienceforanimalwelfare2026.org

ASAB Important Upcoming Dates. ASAB Spring Conference 2026 (logo of gorilla with baby on back) Bristol 23rd-25th March. Feb 1: Conference travel grants due Feb 1: Abstracts due Feb 19: Registration ends Animal Behaviour in the Anthropocene ECBB 2025 (logo of various animals in a reflected city). Cambridge 1st-4th September. Jan 31: Symposia submission deadline March 14: Abstracts due March 31: Early bird registration ends April 1: Developing country travel grants due June 1: Conference travel grants due

Take note! 📝 There are a lot of important dates coming up for #ASABSpring2026 and #ECBB2026 🗓️

More information here: www.asab.org/conferences-...

Goats who stare at wolves - identifying natural response stimuli for an affect-driven attention bias test in small ruminants https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.03.692016v1

Domestic goats can follow the direction of human voices to solve a hidden-object task https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.08.692563v1