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Understanding Animal Welfare Concepts: Science, Ethics, Law

Deep dive into animal welfare principles including science, ethics, and law. Explore concepts like physical, mental, and natural welfare, needs, death's role in welfare, and anthropomorphism. Investigate the welfare status of cats and dogs and the impact of human care on animals. Delve into key definitions, hierarchy of needs, and the relationship between welfare and death.

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Understanding Animal Welfare Concepts: Science, Ethics, Law

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  1. Animal welfare introduction Module 1

  2. Summary of content • Science, ethics and law • Mental, physical and natural welfare • Concept of needs • Welfare and death • Anthropomorphism

  3. Learning objectives • To appreciate the difference between welfare science, ethics and law • To understand the 3 different concepts (physical, mental and natural) included in various welfare definitions • To introduce the concepts of needs • To understand the relationship between death and welfare • To understand the role of anthropomorphism

  4. What is the welfare of the following cats? • A pet cat that has an infected wound - Owners noticed a problem two weeks ago but failed to take the cat for veterinary treatment • A pet cat that has an infected wound - The cat had been missing for two weeks but when it returned the owners took it for veterinary treatment

  5. Welfare of animals versus human care • Both cats have the same welfare status • Welfare science shows no difference • Different human care • Owners have different moral behaviour • Ethics not science

  6. Science, Ethics and Law • Welfare science considers effects of humans on the animal from the animal’s point of view • Welfare ethics considers human actions towards animals • Welfare legislation considers how humans must treat animals

  7. Concepts in Animal Welfare: Science, ethics and law • All three aspects are important for welfare • The Concepts in Animal Welfare presentations cover different aspects: • Some presentations focus on 1 aspect e.g.: • Science : physiological indicators • Ethics : introduction to ethics • Law : protection legislation • Other presentations cover all 3 aspects e.g.: • Farm animal husbandry • Euthanasia

  8. What is the welfare status of the following dog? During routine vaccination, a vet observes a small but aggressive malignant tumour in the mouth of a dog (the tumour has spread to the local lymph nodes) • Current • Physical status - abnormality • Mental status - fine • Future • Physical status - spread to lungs, etc. • Mental status - pain, discomfort

  9. Physical Mental Early tumours Early infections Fear Anxiety Clinical disease Injury Two animal welfare concepts

  10. Physical Mental Three animal welfare concepts Naturalness Restrict natural behaviour

  11. Example of issues affecting physical / mental welfare and naturalness • Restricting sows to stalls • Naturalness: • Restriction of oral and social behaviour • Physical: • Mouth injuries from bar biting • Mental: • Frustration? • Pain from mouth injuries

  12. Three welfare definitions • Physical status (fitness) • Mental status (feelings) • “Naturalness” (telos)

  13. Physical status • “Welfare defines the state of an animal as regards its attempts to cope with its environment.” (Fraser & Broom, 1990) • “I suggest that an animal is in a poor state of welfare only when physiological systems are disturbed to the point that survival or reproduction are impaired.” (McGlone, 1993)

  14. Mental status • “...neither health nor lack of stress nor fitness is necessary and/or sufficient to conclude that an animal has good welfare. Welfare is dependent upon what animals feel.” (Duncan, 1993)

  15. “Naturalness” • “Not only will welfare mean control of pain and suffering, it will also entail nurturing and fulfilment of the animals’ nature, which I call telos.” (Rollin, 1993)

  16. Relationship between the three definitions Natural Behaviour Mental Suffering Physical Fitness

  17. Combined definition • Some definitions combine two or three aspects • For example : Five Freedoms • Freedom from hunger and thirst • Freedom from discomfort • Freedom from pain, injury and disease • Freedom to express normal behaviour • Freedom from fear and distress

  18. The concept of needs • Need: a requirement, fundamental in the biology of the animal, to obtain a particular resource or respond to a particular environmental or bodily stimulus (Broom & Johnson, 1993) • If a need is not provided for then there will be an effect on physiology or behaviour, i.e. observation of a physiological effect that can be linked to the absence of a certain resource is an indication of lack of human care

  19. Hierarchy of needs • Some needs may be more important than others • Provision of food and water is a fundamental need • Provision of a comfortable lying area may be less fundamental Life-sustaining > Health-sustaining > Comfort-sustaining (Hurnik & Lehman, 1985)

  20. Needs: e.g. legislation • “the owner and keeper of the animals shall have regard to … their physiological and ethological (behaviour) needs in accordance with established experience and scientific knowledge” European Convention for the Protection of Animals kept for Farming Purposes (1976)

  21. Welfare versus death • Welfare concerns the quality of animal life • Death affects the quantity of animal life • Quality and quantity of life may be ethical concerns

  22. When is death relevant to welfare? • The manner of death is relevant • e.g. method of slaughter is important • High death rates can indicate poor welfare conditions • Poor husbandry conditions can cause disease and death

  23. Should we assign human attributes to animals? • Humans are animals with similar biology • However, each type of animal has different behavioural needs • Using a ‘human-based’ assessment may be a useful first step • This assessment must be qualified with the individual animal’s needs

  24. Conclusions / Summary • It is important to distinguish between the various components of animal welfare: • Welfare science, ethics and legislation • Animal welfare definitions are derived from three basic concepts (physical, mental and natural)

  25. Further reading • APPLEBY, M.C. and HUGHES, B.O., 1997: Animal Welfare. CAB International ISBN 0851991807 • BEAUCHAMP, T.L. and CHILDRESS, J.F., 1994: Principles of Biomedical Ethics (4th Ed.) Oxford University Press ISBN 0195143329 • BROOM, D.M. and JOHNSON, K.G., 1993: Stress and Animal Welfare. Chapman and Hall ISBN 0412395800 • DAWKINS, M.S., 1998: Through our eyes only? A Journey into Animal Consciousness. Oxford University Press ISBN 0198503202 • MANNING, A.N. and DAWKINS, M.S., 1998: An Introduction into Animal Behaviour (5th Ed.) Cambridge University Press ISBN 0521578914 • ROLLIN, B.E., 1999: An Introduction to Veterinary Ethics: Theory and Cases. Iowa State University Press ISBN 0813816599 • WEBSTER, A.J.F., 1995: Animal Welfare: A cool eye towards Eden. Blackwell ISBN 0632039280

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