Key Notes on Animal Behaviour and Welfare

Welfare as Objective Assessment

• Subjective experiences of animals
• Includes both negative and positive experiences

5 Freedoms of Animal Welfare

Dimensions of Animal Welfare

Study of Animal Behaviour

• Observed in dairy cows in experimental settings
• Effects of feeding schedules on synchronization

• Societal Concerns: High demand for sustainability; 82.3% of Europeans rated farm animal welfare poorly (Eurobarometer 2005)
• Economic Consequences: Poor animal welfare leads to decreased production (e.g., distress from harsh vocalizations)
• Ethical Considerations: Animals have intrinsic value; precautionary principle

• Understanding convergence of three domains: Biological functioning, Affective state, and Natural living
• Disconnection affects overall well-being

• Definitions: Complex state with five components (Feeling, Cognition, Action, Expression, Physiology)
• Primary Emotions: Shared with humans (e.g., Happiness, Sadness)
• Secondary Emotions: More complex and socially dependent (e.g., Guilt, Jealousy)

• Mood states influence decision-making
• Testing involves assessing latencies for ambiguous stimuli

• Different processing of stimuli in visual fields feeds into emotional responses
• For example, tail wagging in dogs indicates emotional state (Right for positive, Left for negative)

• Cognitive bias test for assessing valence and emotional states
• Lateralization effects demonstrated in animal behaviours (e.g., chicks adjusting to threats)

• Understanding emotions: Definitions, Measurement methods (Cognitive Bias, Lateralization)