Animal Welfare and Bioethics

What is bushmeat?

In Asian and African countries, meat resources = local meat (wild animals such as monkeys) - this is a crisis because there can be a presence of HIV and ebola in monkey meat

Which is the difference between animal well-being and animal welfare (J. Tannenbaum)?

Well being = animals short-term state

Welfare = long term good of the animal

Why animal welfare is complex?

There are different scientific definitions of animal welfare : cultural, moral, religion

A unique subject area that combines scientific measures, ethics and law

Animal science involves more than veterinary medicine, computer science, agriculture, wildlife, engineering, architecture, communication, marketing

Define sentience animal

The capacity of humans and other animals to have feelings / emotions they experiences (pleasant or unpleasant)

Probably all vertebrates, some invertebrates (squid, octopus and possibly some crustaceans)

Based on scientific evidence from neuroscience, behavioral sciences and cognitive ethology

What is anthropomorphism?

Attribution of human motivation, characteristics, or behavior to inanimate objects, animals, or natural phenomena

Ex: saying your cat is jealous of your dog

Why death is related to animal welfare?

Death is not a part of animal welfare but the way of death is, because it can be a source of suffering

How an animal dies: euthanasia/slaughter can become a welfare concern

High mortality rates can be an indicator of poor welfare

What are the three approaches when considering animal welfare

Physical Aspect

Mental Aspect

Naturalness

What is the physical Aspect

The welfare of an animal is its state as regards to its attempts to cope with its environment

"An animal is in a poor state of welfare only when its physiological systems are disturbed to the point that survival or reproduction are impaired

Mental Aspect

o Neither health nor lack of stress not fitness is necessary and or sufficient to conclude that an animal has good welfare...

welfare is dependent upon what animals feel

Feelings also have an adaptive value

Negative: escape immediate harm

ex= Hot burner reflex

Positive: promote long term benefit: animals stay in situations that promote those feelings

ex= Animals staying in a pack because it promotes safety

What is naturalness?

In principle, we disapprove a degree of confinement of an animal which necessarily frustrates most of the major activities which make up its natural behavior

Not only will welfare mean control of pain and suffering, it will also entail nurturing and fulfillment of the animals nature which I call telos

• Inner Motivation

How you can define animal welfare according to the animal's physical and psychological aspects?

Welfare is a combination of an animals physical health and physiological well being

Physical health: involves appropriate nutrition, exercise, social groupings, veterinary care, environmental conditions

Physiological Well Being: involves addressing animals' motivational needs providing animals with choice and control, matching the environment to animals natural adaptations, encouraging animals to develop and use their cognitive abilities

What is OIE?

World Organization for Animal Health (OIE)

Intergovernmental organization responsible for improving animal health worldwide

• Permanent relations with 45 other international/ regional organizations

Regional and sub-regional offices on every continent

Discuss the OIE statement about animal welfare.

Animal welfare means how an animal is coping with the conditions in which it lives

An animal is in a good state of welfare if (as indicated by scientific evidence) he/she is healthy, comfortable, well nourished, safe, able to express innate behavior, and if he/she is not suffering from unpleasant states such as pain, fear and distress

Good animal welfare requires disease prevention and veterinary treatment, appropriate shelter, management, nutrition, humane handling and humane slaughter/killing

Basically a summary and condention of AVMA statement

What are the 5 freedoms?

Hunger and thirst

Thermal discomfort

Pain, injury, disease

Express normal behavior

Fear and distress

What is the Brambell Report?

December 1965 in London

Report of the technical committee to enquire into the welfare of animals kept under intensive livestock husbandry systems

Farm animals should have the freedom to stand up, lie down, turn around, groom themselves, and stretch their limbs (Brambles 5 Freedoms)

Direct result was the Farm Animal Welfare Committee and the Farm Animal Welfare Council

Why animals are involved in religion?

Animals were used as sacrifices in religion to seek blessings for festivals and to appease gods

o Santeria

o The pigs of God festival in Taiwan

Cats were a sacred animal in Egypt

What are some examples of animals used as dieties?

Shiva

Vishnu- manifests in many forms

Ganesh- elephant god

Hanuman- monkey god

Aditi- mother of all the gods

How are animals considered in Hinduism?

Reverence for life: humans are not more significant than other living beings

Cow is sacred

Belief in reincarnation: not killing animals is important for personal purity to prevent punishment

Slaughter of cattle is illegal in most states, so most of the cattle are transported long distances in order to be slaughtered...brings up a welfare issue of their transportation

How are animals considered in Buddhism?

Humans are not more significant than other living beings

Compassion for all life: holiness: ahimsa

Belief in reincarnation

Thailand's Tiger Temple Controversy—drugging tigers as a tourist attractions

How are animals considered in Judaism?

Cruelty to animals is prohibited

Responsibility to be kind to animals and show compassion required not to kill them

Human life has more value than animal life and any evidence of harm to animals must be evaluated against whether alternates would still meet human needs

Jewish law prohibits neutering of pets, it does not prohibit owning a pet that is already neutered; law does not apply to female pets however neutering of female pets is prohibited by general laws against causing suffering of animals

What are the guidelines for eating animals in Judaism?

Only certain parts of certain animals

Animal must be healthy without prior injury

Method of restraint not specified and humane handling required

Kosher animal: ruminant and have split hooves (cows, sheep, deer)

Pigs are not kosher- pork is number one forbidden food

How are animals considered in christianity?

Humans created in gods image; human life has more value than animal

Humans are rational, but animals cannot reason therefore humans can use animals they just must treat them kindly

Diet: self purification: abstaining from red meat or animal products is required on certain days

How are animals considered in Islam?

Humans are different from animals because we can make moral judgments: moral obligation to animals

Can use animals for food, clothing, and transport but must treat them kindly

Humane Treatment of animals: not killing for sport, giving pack animals adequate food and rest, keeping of dogs is prohibited

What is halal?

permissible meat in islam

What is haram?

harmful meat in islam; pork

What is Jewish slaughter called?

Shechita

Explain Jewish slaughter

Specifically trained slaughter man (shocket) who is trained in the laws of shechita, anatomy and physiology, and has apprentices with a shocket

Uses a single stroke of a very sharp smooth instrument called a chalaf (kosher knife) which must sever the trachea, esophagus, carotid artery, and jugular vein...but not tear the tissues

Shocket must inspect to see that the killing was done correctly (animal was allowed to bleed out) and that the animal did not suffer from any abnormality that would deem it non kosher

Stunning before the cut is not permitted

What is slaughter in islam called?

halal

Describe islamic slaughter

Slaughterer must be a sane adult Muslim, who must say the name of god before the cut (should be a male...women are not allowed)

Kill by cutting the throat with a single continuous back and forth motion of sharp knife that will not tear the wound

Must sever at least three of the: trachea, esophagus, carotid, jugular

Do not sharpen the knife in the animals presence- because it could cause distress

Some Muslim authorities permit stunning at or just before the cut

In islamic slaughter the animal must:

Be treated well before killed

Not see other animals being killed

Not be in an uncomfortable position

Be allowed to bleed out to death by exsanguination

What is Trichinella spiralis?

Helminth parasite that causes muscle damage and pain in people

Localized in muscles

This parasite completes its life cycle when pigs live in close contact with people and eat human feces or poorly cooked human waste

What is Taenia solium?

Tapeworm

This parasite completes its life cycle when pigs live in close contact with people and eat human feces or poorly cooked human waste

What is Ahimsa?

Do not cause injury to any living being (vegetable, insect)

Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism

Discuss the position of Confucius about animals. (china)

Confucius believes that animals are first and foremost PROPERTY, and the rules of human behavior ( ritual, benevolence, morals, etc) do not apply

However one should sympathetically love animals and respect them. In fact, suffering of animals is a source of distress in humans

Discuss the position of Native Americans about animals.

The native people tend to see nature as animated by the spirit (holistic approach)

They usually accept some principle of respect for animals, while permitting the respectful killing and consumption of them (buffalo hunting ceremonies)

What is pthagoreum's theory on animals?

we are similar to animals so we should not eat them

What was aristotle's position on animals?

Animals have sense perception but lack reason, fall below humans in the natural hierarchy "ladder or nature" therefore appropriate resources for human purposes

First individual to try to classify animals

What were the Stoics position on animals?

Animals are not rational therefore we do not need to worry about whether we are treating them fairly

What was plutarch's position on animals?

Animals may not be rational but we should still be kind to them

What was porphyry's position on animals?

Animals deserve moral consideration because they can feel distress

FIRST statement that can be associated with a sentient animal

Who was one of the first vegetarians?

What is the Ladder of Nature?

The hierarchy in which Aristotle ranked humans and animals

What is The Cruelty to Animals Act 1876?

Set limits on the practice of, and instituted a licensing system for animal experimentation

What is the Brown Dog affair?

Controversy about vivisection (surgery on life) from 1903-1910

Prompted by when a professor performed an illegal vivisection, before an audience of 60 medical students, on a brown terrier dog - adequately anaesthetized, according to Bayliss and his team; conscious and struggling, according to the Swedish activists. The procedure was condemned as cruel and unlawful by the National Anti-Vivisection Society.

What is the Animal Defense and Anti-Vivisection Society?

England 1903

Lizzy Lind af Hageby and Nina Douglas- Hamilton

campaign against animal testing for any purpose

Who was Lizzie Lind af Hageby?

was a Swedish-British feminist and animal rights advocate who became a prominent anti-vivisection activist in England in the early 20th century

Who wrote "The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals"?

Charles Darwin

Concerning genetically determines aspects of behavior

Animals express emotions including suffering; a certain state of mind will elicit certain behavior and suffering

Why "The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals" was important?

It is an important landmark in the history of book illustration

List people who played a significant role in bringing to the public animal welfare issues (1900-2000)

Lizzy Lind af Hageby

Nina Douglass Hamilton

Temple Grandin

Ruth Harrison

Dian Fossey

Jane Goodall

What is Animal Welfare Science?

A mandate science as that which is used for the purpose of making policy

The worlds first professor of animal welfare science was Donald Broom at Cambridge University in 1986

What is a mandate science?

that whose purpose is making policy

Who is Donald Broom?

The worlds first professor of Animal Welfare Science at Cambridge University

What is ISAE?

International Society for Applied Ethology

Applied Animal Behaviour Science is the official journal of ISAE.

leading association for people interested in the behaviour and welfare of confined or domesticated animals, including companion, farm, zoo, and managed wild animal species

Why OIE is important for animal welfare?

Because it takes the lead internationally on animal welfare

What are the 2 sectors of the OIE?

Terrestrial Animal Health Standards Code: 7 animal welfare standards

Aquatic Animal Health Standards Code : 2 animal welfare standards

What is FAO?

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

The Gateway to Farm Animal Welfare: It is a virtual multi-stakeholder knowledge exchange platform

FAO hosts the platform on its website and manages the flow of information

Main goals are: the eradication of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition; the elimination of poverty and the driving forward of economic and social progress for all; and, the sustainable management and utilization of natural resources, including land, water, air, climate and genetic resources for the benefit of present and future generations.

Why FAO is important for animal welfare?

Development agencies that fail to take animal welfare into account may miss important opportunities to improve the lives of people who depend on animals for their livelihood. In addition, compliance with animal welfare standards can promote improved technology and open access to international markets for products from less developed countries

Which is the Veterinarian's role in animal welfare?

Infectious Disease prevention and eradication

o New vaccines and treatments

Importance of Behavior

o Clinical signs

o Behavior as an indicator of emotional state

Define domestication (Price, 2002).

The process by which a population of animals becomes adapted to man and to the captive environment by some combination of genetic changes occurring over generations and environmentally induced developmental events recurring during each generation

Discuss the emotional bond.

Relationship over time: mutually beneficial: obligation is for us to treat them well

Attachment Theory: we are social, emotional beings and need to communicate and empathize with others

Define the human attachment theory?

Special emotional relationships that involve an exchange of comfort care and pleasure

Early attachment styles: established in childhood through the infant/caregiver relationship

o Early experiences in childhood have an important influence on

What is the innate attachment behavioral system in human infants?

Proximity seeking- the desire to be near the people we are attached to

Separation distress- anxiety in the absence of the attachment figure

Secure base- the attachment figure acts as a base of security from which the child can explore the surrounding environment

Safe haven: returning to attachment figure for comfort and safety in the face of a fear or threat

Define the attachment hierarchy concept.

Multiple attachments are organized in a hierarchal fashion

Ones collection of attachment relationships arranged according to whom the individual prefers to orient various attachment behaviors

A child with 3 different caregivers (mom dad nanny) will have specific attachment relationship with each caregiver based on how specific caregiver responds to the child when its in need

Hierarchy expands as children reach adolescence: siblings, peers, romantic partners

Discuss the family development theory

Families have life cycle stages and significant social roles depend on the stage

The role and function of an animal is a source of affection and attachment in families and may become emotional substitutes for children and spouses to provide emotional support

Define the social support theory.

Social support is the information that leads a person to believe that they are cared for, loved, esteemed, valued, and a member of a social network

Social support can be conceptualized within different types (emotional, instrumental, appraisal, informational) measures (perceived, actually given, available, satisfaction and sources ( friends, family, significant others)

Define companion animal

Animals kept by humans for company, amusement, physiological support, extrovert display and all of the other functions that humans need to share with animals of other species

Companions who will not take emotional or psychological advantage of the person and will for the most part, stay faithful

What theories explain the role and values of pets in our lives?

Family Development Theory

Social Support Theory

Define livestock.

Any domestic species of cattle, sheep, swine, goats, llamas, or horses which re normally and have historically been kept and raised on farms in the US and used or intended for use as food or fiber or for improving animal nutrition, breeding, management, or production efficiency, or for improving quality of food or fiber

Also includes animals such as rabbits, mink, chinchilla, when they are used solely for purposes of meat or fur and animals such as horses or llamas when they are used solely as work or pack animals

Are horses livestock or companion?

Depends on geographic area and use

Describe the cognitive dissonance theory

The inner conflict:

Handlers, caretakers, farmers may feel/have a bond with utlity animals

This conflict about the relationship with the animals: different way of animal use (killing them or causing them pain or distress)

Conflicting views or motivations

o Unpleasant emotions that lead to change behavior or attitudes to avoid or overcome

o Rituals to win approval of hunted animals

o Separation of roles: women raise men kill

What are "sentient commodities"?

Farm animals= sentient commodities

Persons working with breeding animals tend to express varying degrees of emotional ATTACHMENT, whilst those preparing livestock for slaughter express varying degrees of emotional DETACHMENT

Describe the compassion fatigue/burnout.

The emotional exhaustion caused by the stress of caring for traumatized or suffering animals or people

Increased suicide rate in the veterinary field

What is Compassion Fatigue?

when rescue- caretaking strategies are unsuccessful leading to caregiver feelings of distress and guilt (inability to change course in a painful situation)

What is burnout?

when assertiveness- goal achievement intentions are not met ) inadequate resources

List the three major factors affecting human attitude and behavior towards animals.

PSYCHOLOGICAL: cognitive dissonance, attitudes, personality, experiences, empathy, mood

SOCIOLOGICAL: job conditions, time pressure, personal circumstances

PHYSICAL: design of housing / infrastructure

Discuss each of the major factors affecting human attitude and behavior toward animals.

Human Behvaior (handling and interactions)

o Early experience and positive emptions

o Later experience and negative emotions

History of interactions over time: animal can make predictions about the caregiver and vice versa

Genetics: natural levels of curiosity

Do animals have emotions

Video showed that caudate nucleus lit up in dogs just like it does in humans

Describe the theory of planned behavior

Human behavior is guided by an individuals behavioral intentions and behaviors are shaped by his./her attitude torwards the behavior (consequences of the behavior) subjective norms (normative expectation of others) and perceived behavioral control (presence of facts that may facilitate of impede performance of the behavior

A positive attitude toward cattle leads to positive human interactions and better animal handling

Discuss the benefit of human-animal bond for people.

Health

Promotes socialization

Emotional and cognitive development in children

Disabled or restricted humans

• Animal Assisted Therapy: team oaf professionals that set a goal as to when the animal can step in

• Animal Assisted Activity: going to interact with an animal with no goal

What is animal abuse

Behavior performed by an individual with the deliberate intention of causing harm, pain, suffering, distress, and or death to an animal with the understanding that the animal is motivated to avoid that harm

What is the motivation for animal abuse?

Witnessed or practiced as a child : the link

• The relationship between bullying and animal abuse in adolescences: the importance of witnessing animal abuse

To control the animal

To retaliate against a person

To control or threaten a person

Neurochemical component

Which is the difference between animal abuse and neglect?

Abuse: intentional

Neglect: failure to provide minimum standards of care

Define animal hoarders.

Owning more than the number of typical companion animals

Fail to provide minimum care: death from starvation

Denial of inability to care for all animals

Persistence of collecting animals: prisoners of love

May have mental health problems : compulsive behavior disordered attachment

What is ethics?

•Ethics are a part of everyday life

Ethics is the study of right and wrong at the most basic level

Ethics is a branch of philosophy with the study of logic (why) beyond moral values (right vs wrong)

What is animal ethics?

Term used to describe the study of human-nonhuman relations

The subject matter includes: animal rights, animal welfare, animal law, specisim, human exceptionalism (like anthropocentrism), animal cognition, wildlife conservation, the moral status of nonhuman animals, the concept of nonhuman personhood, the history of animal use, the theories of justice

How ethical theories can help?

To help organize the thoughts when deciding which moral action to take

To help understand better other peoples moral position

What are the three common moral questions people have asked?

What Outcome should I aim for?

What am I required to do?

What should I do as a virtuous person?

List the major three ethical theories related to the three common moral questions:

What Outcome should I aim for :consequentialism (consequence ethics)

What am I required to do : deontology (duty ethics)

What should I do as a virtuous person : virtue ethics (virtue theory)

Define and discuss consequentialism (Consequence Ethics).

You should act to bring about the best results for consequences

A goal directed theory

The end justifies the means

Consequence ethics

Define and discuss deontology (Duty Ethics).

You should do whatever is your duty, even if by doing it you harm yourself or other by suffering the consequences

"For the king and the country"

your obligation is more important than the outcome of your action

Define and discuss virtue ethics (Virtue Theory).

Making good ethical decision based on being a virtuous person and holds that possessing admirable personal qualities (compassion, kindness, respect, tolerations, honesty, courage) makes you virtuous

All the qualities of being human to influence your ethical considerations

Modern virtue ethics does not emphasize specific moral traits but says you should be virtuous in all the aspects of your life and be a good person all the time

Who said " the end justifies the means"

Niccolo Machiavellli

Which are the major criticisms of Animal Ethics?

Just subjective

-Not just private aggreements: general agreement on "right" and "wrong"

-Moral values and prevalent ethical theories hold societies together

-Wide agreement between different ethical theories and between different cultures "do unto others as you would have them do unto yourself" ETHICAL THEORIES HAVE SYSTEMATIC LOGICAL REASONING

Just preferences

-No rational defense

-Not binding for others

-Preference values vs. moral values

It is better to get out protein from peas than animals vs: We ought to avoid eating animals and get our dietary protein from peas instead

Ethical theory and moral justification

• Reasons leading to a conclusion

List the major points supporting that animals do not require moral status

We have no duties torwards animals because:

Unlinke homosapiens animals cannot think

They lack sufficient consciousness

They do not have a soul therefore they do not require any sort of moral consideration

Therefore they cannot reciprocate any moral consideration : Peter Carruthers- animals have mental states but are not conscious of them so they cannot suffer; Narveson: we do not have dities to animals because they cannot enter into contracts, we must reat them well because harming them would be an indirect harm to other humans with whom we do have contracts

List the major points supporting that animals require moral consideration.

THEY CAN SUFFER

Babies: people with disabiites, have moral status

o They cant speak, reflect, or reciprocate moral consideration but they can suffer

o Animals can suffer too therefore they deserve moral consideration

Jeremy Bentham

o Acts are judges on the utility of the consequences (suffering or pleasure)

o Modern science: animals can suffer

THEY HAVE INTRINSIC VALUE:

o Each animal matters for his or her own sake

o Animal's lives matter to them, they seek to survive and make choices

o Animals are sentient therefore we owe them treatment that respects these attributes; we have duties to them and should not inflict suffering in order to benefit others

DEONTOLOGICAL

o Emphasis on principles guiding behavior rather than outcomes

o Treat people, and animals as ends in themselves not in means to ends

Who was Harry Harlow? What was the Harlow's experiment?

Contact comfort with baby rhesus monkeys; babies preferred a soft comfortable mom over a wire cold mom that provided food

List the major five ethical theories related to animal welfare

Contractarian (contract)

Utilitarian (consequence)

Animal Rights

Relational Views

Respect for Nature

Define and discuss the contractarian theory.

Morality is based on agreement

Mutual agreements or contracts between people

Moral duties: terms and conditions mutual cooperation

Animals cannot enter into contracts: no language no reason

Anthropocentric view: humans are the center of the universe

o We can use animals as we need for our benefit

o We must treat animals well in order to preserve our contract with others (consumers demand, general public attitude, to improve the quality of animal research)

What is anthropocentrism?

Humans are the center of the universe

Define and discuss the utilitarianism.

Your action is right if it increases the happiness, pleasure, and good of the greatest number of people

Maximize good outcomes: the greatest good for the greatest number

Maximizing human and animal welfare