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Aude is preparing her PhD thesis on the implementation of cognitive enrichment strategies in rainbow trout farming. Her supervisors are Vanessa Guesdon, Violaine Colson and Ludovic Calandreau.

Besides referring to and respecting the Five Freedoms’ principle, the notion of animal welfare now includes not only reducing negative mental states (fear and anxiety), but also the possibility for the animal to access positive emotions (joy and pleasure). In rearing conditions, fish are often subjected to unpredictable stressful events (transfers, sorting, oocyte collection and changes in lighting), making rearing conditions particularly anxiety-inducing for the animal. The fact that rainbow trout are the main continental fish species farmed in France, explains Aude’s interest in this species as part of her PhD. Her work will involve investigating whether their welfare can be improved by incorporating elements of cognitive enrichment into rainbow trout farms, thus allowing the fish to experience a certain degree of control over their environment. In this way, several behavioural observations and tests will be conducted, in order to analyze how the possibility of control (making positive or negative events predictable) can affect fish welfare.

Contact:

Aude Kleiber
Equipe CASE
ISA Lille, YNCREA Haut de France
48 Bd Vauban,BP 41290, 59014 cedex Lille
France

Mail: aude.kleiber@yncrea.fr