This study aimed to describe management practices that may compromise the welfare of unweaned dairy calves on 29 dairy farms in Chile, and identify factors associated with diarrhea and respiratory disease (n = 700 calves). Evaluations were divided into protocol-, facility-, and animal-based measurements. Calf diarrhea and respiratory disease data were analyzed using logistic regression models. Management practices identified as risk factors for poor calf welfare were: relying on the mother to provide colostrum (48.0% of the farms); using restrictive milk feeding (65.5%), and unpasteurized waste milk (51.7%); giving water after 30 days of age (17.2%); disbudding without analgesia (89.6%) or anesthesia (79.3%); lacking euthanasia protocols (61.5%). Factors significantly (p < 0.05) associated with increased odds of diarrhea were: cleaning the calves’ bed once a week and 2–3 times a week compared with every day, using milk replacer and untreated waste milk compared with treated waste milk (pasteurized or acidified), animals scored dirty in the calf cleanliness score compared with clean animals, and greater herd size. Factors significantly associated with increased odds of respiratory disease were: less pen space allowance (<1.8 m²), farms that did not check colostrum quality, and animals that scored dirty and moderately dirty compared with clean calves. These results suggest the need to improve specific management practices associated with reduced welfare and health in dairy calves in Chile.

Social relationships are based on our ability to put ourselves in the place of others, and from there to react appropriately and logically. This empathic ability can be extended to other species, based on the human ability to develop techniques to understand and communicate with animals. In education, the benefits of training professionals with ethical and empathic tools are known. Gender, diet, past experiences, and other factors can modify a person's levels of empathy toward humans and animals, and a relationship exists between both types of empathy. The aims of this study were to investigate some determinants of the level of empathy and to gain insight into the possible correlation between human–animal and human–human empathy. For this, the Animal Empathy Scale and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index by Davis were applied through an electronic survey system to freshmen and final-year students (n=452) from five schools of veterinary medicine in Chile. The correlation between the empathy scores of both instruments and their association with individual factors were studied using Spearman's correlation, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and the Kruskal–Wallis test. The results suggest that both instruments correlate significantly, and that gender, year of study, diet, and area of interest have a significant association with the score for empathy toward animals. This research shows that individual characteristics and changes that occur during veterinary training can affect students' attitudes toward animals.

The domestic cat (Felis catus) has become a worldwide threat to wildlife. The potential impact of owned cats on wildlife in Chile has not been documented at a large scale. The purpose of this study was to investigate the number and type of prey that owned cats bring back in Chile and its relation with responsible ownership practices. An online survey was distributed to 5216 households that included questions about the type of pet, responsible ownership practices, and in the case of cats, the type of prey they brought home. Descriptive statistics as well as univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were applied. The results showed that 94.3% of respondents had a pet, and from these, 49.9% had at least one cat. A total of 84.1% of owners reported that their cats had brought back prey. Birds were the most common type of prey, followed by mammals and insects. Not being registered with a microchip, not having a litter box, living in a house with access to a garden, not having a hiding place for the cats, and having free access to the outdoors significantly increased the odds of cats bringing back prey. Body condition score or providing ad libitum food to cats did not have an effect on bringing prey.

A positive relationship between handlers and animals in farm systems is essential because the human-animal relationship has implications for welfare and productivity. For this reason, on-farm animal welfare assessment protocols often include the behavioral response of animals to humans to measure the quality of the human-animal relationship. The existing literature has described this relationship as being multifactorial in nature. In the current study, we aimed to investigate the potential influence of farm management and infrastructure characteristics, calf manager traits, and intrinsic features of dairy calves on the human-animal relationship. To this end, an escape test was conducted with 698 calves on 30 dairy farms in Chile. This test measured the calf's response to the active approach of an unfamiliar human (and was scored from 0 [fearful] to 4 [friendly]). The explanatory variables used to predict calves' response in the escape test were grouped according to the following categories: (1) farm management and infrastructure (e.g., calf-dam separation age, space allowance); (2) calf manager (e.g., attitudes, behavior, and background); and (3) calf (e.g., breed, sex, age). We concluded that calf managers with additional jobs on the farm, no training, low job satisfaction, a greater proportion of negative contacts, and more negative attitudes were predictive of fearfulness in the escape test. Holstein breed (compared with Holstein and Jersey crossbreeds) was associated with greater odds of fearful calves. Our study confirms the association between animals' fear and handlers' features, which can potentially be used to select employees on a farm. Understanding the factors that influence fear responses in calves may highlight ways to improve the relationship between animals and humans.

Considering the interconnections between human well-being, animal welfare, and the environment, this study aimed to investigate the impacts of drought and the COVID-19 pandemic on small-scale goat farmers’ well-being and their perception of goats’ welfare following the One Welfare framework. Using a telephone survey, close-ended questions, and Likert scales, we assessed the impacts of drought and the COVID-19 pandemic on human well-being and animal welfare in the Coquimbo region of Chile. The DASS-21 questionnaire was used to evaluate farmers’ mental health. Goat farmers perceived the scarcity of water and food for animals as factors that negatively affected animal productivity and welfare and caused an increase in farmers’ stress levels. Farmers who had not been visited by a veterinarian showed higher levels of stress than those who received one visit during the year (M = 10 vs. 2, p = 0.025). Additionally, farmers who perceived better welfare of their animals showed lower levels of depression (r_s = −0.17, p = 0.048), anxiety (r_s = −0.21, p = 0.016), and stress (r_s = −0.33, p < 0.001). These findings emphasize the importance of addressing farmers’ mental health and veterinary support as crucial aspects to ensure both goat welfare and farm productivity.

The human–animal relationship is crucial for animal welfare. Gentle handling enhances pigs’ comfort while rough handling causes fear and stress. This study examined how different human–animal relationship qualities affect the behavior and heart rate variability (linear and non-linear parameters) of 36 nursery pigs. Over six weeks, pigs experienced positive (n = 12), minimal (n = 12), or negative (n = 12) human handling. Their responses to handlers were then assessed in an experimental arena with four phases: habituation, exposure to the handler standing and sitting, and forced interaction. Pigs subjected to negative handling exhibited increased fear-related behaviors, spending less time in contact with the handler. They also exhibited heightened stress responses, with greater LF/HF ratio and Lmean values compared with positively handled pigs. Conversely, gently handled pigs displayed affiliative behaviors, accepting more strokes, and higher parasympathetic activation, indicated by greater RMSSD/SDNN and SampEn values, suggesting a more positive affective state. Minimally handled pigs exhibited some behavioral similarities to gently handled pigs, although physiological data indicated that the interaction was likely more rewarding for the gently handled pigs. These results emphasize the impact of human–animal relationships on pig welfare and highlight the value of incorporating non-linear heart rate variability parameters in such evaluations.