Faecal Cortisol Metabolites as an Indicator of Adrenocortical Activity in Farmed Blue Foxes

• Published in: Animals
• Main Authors: Eeva A. Ojala, Mika Kurkilahti, Anne Lene Hovland, Rupert Palme, Jaakko Mononen
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021
• Subjects: faecal glucocorticoid metabolites; Vulpes lagopus; Veterinary medicine; SF600-1100; Zoology; QL1-991; Eia
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11092631; https://doaj.org/article/e770bc995bad4d978f013a1b093c6cb6

Welfare studies of blue foxes would benefit from a measurement of faecal cortisol metabolites (FCMs) as a non-invasive, physiological stress parameter reflecting hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis activity. Before implementation, a species-specific validation of such a method is required. The...