Animal Welfare: Intro + The legal protection of animals

What is the difference between animal welfare and animal rights?

1. Animal Welfare is a human responsibility that encompasses all aspects of animal well-being

2. Animal Rights is a philosophical view that animals have rights similar or the same as humans - that animals are not ours to use for food, clothing, entertainment, or experimentation. Animal welfare allows these uses as long as “humane” guidelines are followed.”

Explain the Concept of the five freedoms + updated version

1. Freedom of hunger and thirst

   • Good nutrition: Provide ready access to fresh water and a diet to maintain full health and vigour

2. Freedom from discomfort

   • Good environment: Provide shade/shelter or suitable housing, good air quality and comfortable resting areas

3. Freedom from pain, injury or disease

   • Good health: Prevent or rapidly diagnose and treat disease and injury, and foster good muscle tone, posture and cardiorespiratory function

4. Freedom to express normal behaviour

   • Appropriate behaviour: Provide sufficient space, proper facilities, congenial company and appropriately varied conditions

5. Freedom from fear and distress

   • Positive mental experiences: Provide safe, congenial and species-appropriate opportunities to have pleasurable experiences

What are the three violations that are processed as criminal acts?

§17 A custodial sentence not exceeding three years, or a monetary penalty shall be imposed on anyone who

1. kills a vertebrate animal without reasonable cause; or

2 or who inflicts a vertebrate animal

• significant pain or suffering through cruelty; or

• prolonged or repetitive substantial pain or suffering

Explain the Maxim law of the Animal Welfare Act

The purpose of this law is to protect the life and well-being of animals out of man's responsibility for them as fellow creatures.
No one may inflict pain, suffering or harm on an animal without reasonable cause

Explain the Animal Husbandry law of the Animal Welfare Act

Anyone who keeps, looks after or must look after an animal,

1. must feed and care for the animal appropriately for its species and needs and accommodate it in a manner appropriate to its behaviour,

2.may not restrict the animal's ability to exercise in a manner appropriate to its species in such a way as to cause it pain or avoidable suffering or harm,

3.must have the knowledge and skills necessary for the appropriate feeding, care and behavioural housing of the animal.

Give examples to § 3 Performance, Training, Force-feeding, Handling law of the Animal Welfare Act

It is forbidden,

1. to demand from an animal, except in cases of emergency, services which it is obviously unable to perform because of its condition or which are obviously beyond its strength,

2. to feed an animal by the use of force (Foie gras), unless this is necessary for health reasons (tubing calves),
   

3. to use a device which, by the direct action of electricity, substantially restricts the behavior of an animal appropriate to its species, in particular its movement, or forces it to move and thereby causes the animal not inconsiderable pain, suffering or damage, unless this is permitted by federal or state regulations,

Explain the Interventions law of the Animal Welfare Act

1. No painful procedure may be performed on a vertebrate animal without anesthesia. Anesthesia of warm-blooded vertebrates as well as of amphibians and reptiles shall be carried out by a veterinarian. Castration of piglets is the only exception

2. Anesthesia shall not be required for

- the dehorning or prevention of horn growth of bovine animals under six weeks old,
- for shortening the tail of piglets under four days old
- for shortening the tail of lambs under eight days old by means of elastic rings,

Why should cows be disbudded?

• Protection against injuries in animals and handling -> Safer management

• Husbandry of cows with horns needs more space and knowledge how to manage cows with horns

What are the arguments against disbudding cows?

• Social communication with horns

• Harm to calves while disbudding or dehorning

• Alternative: genetically hornless cattle

• EU-Organic: should not be carried out routinely – or is forbidden by some labels

• Disbudding without proper anaesthesia leads to pain and suffering in calves -> local anaesthesia is recommended -> should be done by veterinarians