Bioelectric Dressing Supports Complex Wound Healing in Small Animal Patients.

It is well documented that physiological electric fields provide the earliest signals necessary to initiate cell proliferation, migration, and ultimately reepithelialization of wounds. Additionally, electricity is known to exert an antimicrobial effect. An electric field-generating wound dressing designed to mimic physiological electric fields has not been described in the small animal clinic. This article retrospectively reviews the use of a microcell battery-impregnated bioelectric dressing (BED) in 5 small animal patients with complex wounds. For each patient, product application and wound healing progress was monitored and documented over several weeks. Despite the severity of the wounds and being at high risk for infection, all presenting wounds treated with BED achieved complete closure within 4 weeks without becoming infected or requiring grafting. These cases provide early evidence that the use of the BED is feasible in a small animal clinic and may support healing while providing topical, nonantibiotic activity against wound pathogens.

Investigating Potential Effects of the Contraceptive Implanon on the Behavior of Free-Ranging Adult Female Barbary Macaques.

In recent years, the use of hormonal contraception in captive, free-ranging, and wild mammal populations has increased, but the effects on these nonhuman animals' behavior and the associated welfare impacts remain poorly understood. This study of free-ranging adult female Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) at Trentham Monkey Forest compared females implanted with the progestin-only contraceptive Implanon to those not receiving contraception. Females with contraceptive implants had higher rates of self-scratching and spent more time self-grooming (2 behavioral indexes of anxiety) than those without implants. They also directed more aggression at others, spent more time receiving grooming and traveling, and spent less time giving grooming and resting. No significant differences between the 2 groups of females were seen for time spent foraging. These results suggest that Implanon had a number of effects on Barbary macaques, although these need to be considered in light of the significant benefits afforded by the use of this contraceptive. The findings of this study provide important information to those evaluating the relative welfare costs and benefits of alternative methods of population control in this and other species.