Intro to Animal Welfare and Bioethics

“well-being”

refers to the animals’ short-term state

“welfare”

refers to the long-term good of the animal

3 areas of concerns in animal welfare

1. Is the animal “functioning” well? (i.e., healthy, productive, etc.)

2. is the animal feeling well? (i.e. no pain)

3. Is the animal able to perform natural/species-behaviors that are thought to be important to them? (i.e. grazing)

3 approaches when considering animal welfare

physical, mental, & aspects of naturalness

physical aspect of animal welfare

→ the animals attempts to cope with its environment

→ physiological systems

mental aspect of animal welfare

→ welfare is dependent upon what animals feel

→ feelings (emotional states) also have adaptive value:

• negative: escape immediate harm

• positive: promote long-term benefit

naturalness or natural behavior in animal welfare

→ “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”

the synthesis of animal welfare

→ welfare is a combination of an animal’s physical health and psychological well-being

→ physical health involves the appropriate nutrition, exercise, social groupings, veterinary care, environmental conditions

→ psychological 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

The five freedoms

1. Freedom from hunger and thirst

2. Freedom from (thermal) discomfort

3. Freedom from pain, injury, and disease

4. Freedom to express normal behavior

5. freedom from fear and distress

The Five Domains

→ is a framework that allows for a distinction to be made between the physical factors that affect an animal’s welfare and the overall mental state

→ (1) Nutrition, (2) Physical Environment, (3) Health, (4) Behavioral Interactions (w/ environment, other animals and/or humans) = Domain 5: Mental/affective state

welfare assessments → resource and animal-based measures

→ resource: “input”: an animal, environment, management

→ animal-based measures: “output”: health/production, physiology, behavior

animal welfare indicators

→ heathy, well nourished, comfortable, safe, expression of innate behavior, free from pain/fear/distress

how is animal welfare measured?

Health, Behavior, physiological response, productivity