Welfare

Question 1

What is Welfare?

Answer 1

The 5 Freedoms (FAWC) or the 5 needs (RSPCA)

Question 2

What are the 5 Freedoms?

Answer 2

Freedom from hunger and thirst
* Freedom from discomfort
* Freedom from pain, injury and disease
* Freedom to express normal behaviour
* Freedom from fear and distress

Question 3

What are the 5 Needs?

Answer 3

Animals need access to fresh water and a suitable diet that will keep
them healthy.
* Animals need adequate shelter and somewhere comfortable to rest.
* Animals need access to veterinary treatment but also steps should
be taken to prevent pain, injury or disease.
* Animals need company of other animals of their own kind, enough
space and proper facilities so they can behave in a natural way.
* Animals need to be kept in conditions that mean they will not suffer
and need to be treated in a way that does not frighten them or
distress them.

Question 4

What are the 5 domains?

Answer 4

Nutrition
* Environment
* Health
* Behaviour
* Mental state

Question 5

Sentience

Answer 5

An animals capacity to experience suffering and pleasure

Question 6

What does animal sentience mean?

Answer 6

animals can feel pain and suffer and
experience positive emotions

Question 7

What animals are considered sentient?

Answer 7

Probably all vertebrates, some invertebrates,
including e.g. squid, octopus and possibly some crustaceans

Question 8

How should we consider animal welfare?

Answer 8

The positives, what does an animal like/want?

Question 9

UK FAWC 2009:

Answer 9

An adequate life
* A life worth living
* A good life
(overall quality of life)

Question 10

What does welfare consider?

Answer 10

The quality of life not the length, so when an animal is dead welfare is no longer a concern, just how

Question 11

What is the value of an animals life?

Answer 11

economic, cultural, political,
emotional, religious

Question 12

What are the ethical and welfare implications?

Answer 12

Moral obligation to animals as sentient
beings, Reflected in legislation and codes of
practice and EU Directives
* Reflects society’s wishes, for the overall
good

Question 13

Section 4 of animal welfare act,

Answer 13

Criminal offence for person to cause
unnecessary suffering to a protected animal
– Commonly domesticated (vertebrate) species
under control of man (not embryos)

Question 14

Section 9 of animal welfare act,

Answer 14

Duty of care for responsible person to
provide adequately for animal welfare
* Includes by omission

Question 15

How do you determine the scope of legislation to use?

Answer 15

first determine to which set of
animals it applies
– Animals specifically listed?
– Domestic, wild or captive animals?
– Vertebrate and invertebrate animals?
– All sentient animals?

Question 16

Why might legislation not be effective?

Answer 16

Legal status of animals as property
– Sentience may not recognised
* Strict liability offence or intent needed
* Exemptions: religion and culture
* Accepted practice

Question 17

Domestic legislation

Answer 17

Inspection of an animal when there is
suspected cruelty or lack of welfare provision
* Access to premises for inspection vs. privacy
* Common farming practices
* Food hygiene vs. fasting stock prior to transport
to slaughter plant
* Animal experimentation requirements
* Requirement to test products on animals vs.
welfare of animals

Question 18

What is the ideal welfare law?

Answer 18

Applies to all sentient animals
* Clearly written
* Offences include failing to meet an animal’s needs
* Easy to amend in line with new scientific knowledge,
ethics, etc.
* High legal status, allowing for prosecutions
* Enforcement responsibility is clear
* Enforcement body has sufficient power and funds
* Includes education of public and industry

Question 19

Role of the vet in
animal welfare

Answer 19

Diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease
* Assessing welfare in abattoirs and farms, and advising
owners and officials
* Identifying deliberate animal cruelty
* Implementing humane endpoints in lab animal research
* Pain management
* Ethical decision-making
* Communicating with owners, officials, etc.
* Veterinary professional bodies

Question 20

What do you assess when assessing an animals welfare?

Answer 20

Measures of the environment and
resources − ‘welfare inputs’
* Measures of the animal’s responses −
‘welfare outputs

Question 21

What do you estimate in the ‘outputs’ ?

Answer 21

percentage of animals affected
* how badly they are affected
* how long the problem has been going on for

Question 22

What is a ‘normal’ animal (behaviour wise)

Answer 22

Is alert and curious about its external
environment
– Shows a range of activities, e.g. exploration
– Interacts with other members of the herd/flock
– Interacts with humans
– Avoids humans – flight distance
– Plays

Question 23

What effects an animals normal behaviour in a group?

Answer 23

May be affected by;
* Species
* Breed
* Age and size range
* Group size
* Dominance hierarchy (maternal rank)

Question 24

What are some behavioural indicators of poor welfare?

Answer 24

Limited range of activity,
e.g. no play, no response
to external stimuli
– Sickness behaviours
– Pain behaviours
– Depressive behaviours
* Abnormal fear or
aggression towards
humans
* Fighting
* Stereotypies
* Other behaviours

Question 25

What are moral values influenced by?

Answer 25

Social ethics, professional ethics, personal ethics and ethical theory

Question 26

What is ethics

Answer 26

a branch of philosophy

Question 27

What are ethical theories?

Answer 27

Theories with systematic logical reasoning, usually have a moral justification

Question 28

What is the Anthropocentric viewpoint?

Answer 28

We can use animals as we see fit for our benefit, we do not have duties to animals cause they cannot enter into contracts

Question 29

Consequentialist viewpoint

Answer 29

Used by large animal welfare groups, more gradualist and pragmatic

Question 30

Deontological viewpoint

Answer 30

Usually animal rights groups, more extreme

Question 31

What is a quantitative assessment?

Answer 31

assessment over time, using scoring sheets, check lists etc.