Photo by Jodi McKee via Getty Images
Watching a dog struggle with separation anxiety can be tough on pet parents too.
Dog adoptions and sales soared during the pandemic, when many people were spending most, if not all, of their time at home. Now as case numbers decline and vaccination rates rise, people are starting to venture out more and offices are beginning to open up once again. The return to work is going to be an adjustment for us humans and for our pets too.
Animals who were used to being home alone during the day pre-Covid-19 may adapt more easily to this transition than those who were born or adopted in the last year or so.
Center for Animal Welfare Science’s virtual symposium to discuss lessons learned from COVID-19
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. The 2021 CAWS Virtual Symposium, set for May 19-20, will focus on understanding how the pandemic has influenced perceptions about the human-animal bond. “One Welfare: What has COVID-19 taught us about balancing human and animal interests?” will also explore the effects of the pandemic on animal welfare, human health and well-being.
“There have been relatively few animal behavior and welfare meetings lately because of COVID-19, especially ones that cover these topics,” said Candace Croney, director of the Center for Animal Welfare Science (CAWS) and a professor of animal behavior and well-being who holds a joint appointment in the College of Veterinary Medicine and the College of Agriculture at Purdue University. “The symposium is an excellent opportunity to bring together people with livestock interests and those with companion animal interests, as well
A file photo of pigs in a field in Scotland. American researchers have taught pigs how to play videogames. Reuters
Pigs are able to play video games. Birds have innate GPS systems. Octopuses feel empathy. Are humans really so much more intelligent than animals?
Hamlet, Omelette, Ebony, and Ivory are four gamers in a category all their own. Researchers at Purdue University in Indiana, US taught the four pigs to manipulate a joystick with their snouts and demonstrated that they are able to associate the movement of their eyes with the cursor on the screen. The results of the study have just been published in
Pigs can learn to manipulate joystick and react to video game screen, researchers say
Omelette, Hamlett, Ebony and Ivory, the pig subjects in a Purdue University study, were able to use a joystick to play a multilevel version of a game that loosely resembles Pong.
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