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- Title
Object Play as a Positive Emotional State Indicator for Farmed Spotted Paca (Cuniculus paca).
- Authors
Lima, Allison F. de; Lima, Stella G. C.; Nogueira-Filho, Sérgio L. G.; Held, Suzanne D. E.; Mendl, Michael; Nogueira, Selene S. C.
- Abstract
Simple Summary: The spotted paca (Cuniculus paca) has been legally bred by small-scale producers in Brazil as an alternative source of protein. Although captive breeding of this species is considered relatively easy and promising for farmers, little is known about its welfare in captivity. Therefore, using boomer balls to induce object play, we investigated whether object play behavior can be used as a positive emotional state indicator for spotted pacas by examining whether it correlated with other pre-validated positive welfare markers, such as affiliative behavior and low amplitude bark vocalizations. As expected, we found that boomer balls stimulated play. At the same time, the spotted pacas showed more affiliative and exploratory behaviors, with decreased occurrence of agonistic interactions. We also found an increase in barking with low mean amplitude when the paca were provided with boomer balls. Object play behavior thus seems to be a promising non-invasive indicator of positive emotional state in this species because it was associated with an increase in low amplitude barks and more affiliative behavior. As object play can also improve welfare, stimulating its expression, through the provision of boomer balls, should be encouraged on spotted paca farms. We aimed to assess whether object play can be used as a positive emotional state indicator for farmed spotted pacas (Cuniculus paca) by examining its association with other positive welfare markers including affiliative behavior and low-amplitude vocalizations. We submitted six groups of spotted pacas (one male/two females per group) (N = 18) to an ABA experimental design (A1/A2: without ball; B: with three boomer balls). Object play behavior occurred only during phase B (mean = 35.5 s, SE = 6.4). The spotted pacas spent more time in affiliative and exploratory behaviors and less time engaging in agonistic interactions during phase B than in both control phases (A1 and A2) (p < 0.05). Moreover, the spotted pacas emitted more low-amplitude bark vocalizations during phase B than during either control phase (p < 0.05), and such vocalizations have previously been shown to indicate a positive affective state and low arousal level. Because the expression of object play was associated with a decrease in aggression, an increase in affiliative behavior, and an increase in low-amplitude barking, we suggest that object play can be used as a non-invasive indicator of positive emotional state in this species.
- Subjects
BRAZIL; EMOTIONAL state; CURIOSITY; BABY boom generation; EMOTIONS in animals; EXPERIMENTAL design
- Publication
Animals (2076-2615), 2024, Vol 14, Issue 1, p78
- ISSN
2076-2615
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3390/ani14010078