Assessment of animal welfare

Question 1

5 domains model

Answer 1

Physical/functional domains
1. nutrition - water deprivation, food deprivation, malnutrition
2. environment - physical and atmospheric challenge
3. Health - disease, injury and functional impairment
4. Behaviour - behavioural and/or interactive movement restrictions

1,2,3,4 -> 5. mental domain - thirst, hunger, anxiety, fear, pain, distress

5. -> welfare state

Question 2

what can assess animal welfare?

Answer 2

• health & disease
• behaviour
• physiology
• preference & motivation
• practical strategies

Question 3

What can increase risk of disease?

Answer 3

poor conditions -> greater risk of disease

Question 4

what do diseases that are common to humans and animals share?
How do we know?

Answer 4

share clinical and pathological responses -> behavioural and clinical observations, knowledge of its biology and our own experiences

Question 5

What can illness be accompanied by?

Answer 5

inappetence, thirst, fever, nausea, fatigue, fear and distress

Question 6

what may physical impairments due to disease include?
What do physical impairments make animals susceptible to?

Answer 6

e.g. reduced mobility, reduced function of body systems
susceptible to other welfare issues

Question 7

Infectious diseases

Answer 7

viral, bacterial or parasitic

important cause of suffering; some only exert effects when pathogen interacts with predisposing factors such as genetics, age, nutrition, environment or management

Question 8

Genetic selection -> (health & disease)

Answer 8

-> conformation or maximum productivity (e.g. milk output, growth or egg number) can have lethal effects

Question 9

What can keeping large numbers of animals require?

Answer 9

requires attention to disease control, a health plan, record keeping, biosecurity, appropriate preventive measures (e.g. vaccination, prophylactic medicines, parasiticides, appropriate diet and environment)

Question 10

What is required to see signs of ill health?

Answer 10

professional competence, regular inspection and careful observation

Question 11

How should ill or injured animals be cared for?

Answer 11

cared for appropriately w/o delay

veterinary advice for diagnosis, prognosis, treatment and/or other measures to reduce suffering and prevent disease in other animals

Question 12

What is behaviour a guide to?

Answer 12

to animal health & welfare

Question 13

what does behaviour play a key role in?

Answer 13

the study of animal welfare (relatively easy to observe; bridge between clinical health & animal welfare)

Question 14

How is behaviour related to animal health & welfare?

Answer 14

observation of natural behaviour / comparisons of free-living and captive animals

Question 15

what is an ethogram?

Answer 15

= a catalogue of behaviours

Question 16

What foes variation in behaviour under different circumstances imply?

Answer 16

does not necessarily imply good/bad welfare

Question 17

What may changes in/suppression of behaviour provide cues for?

Answer 17

may provide cues about welfare

Question 18

What does behaviour indicators imply?

Answer 18

affective states
(negative: fear, pain; positive: pleasure, happiness)

Question 19

What is the problem with assuming what behaviour indicators mean?

Answer 19

cognitive biases

Question 20

Abnormal behaviour

Answer 20

• captive animals may perform behaviour / sequences of behaviour that differ from behaviour of free-living animals (e.g. the form, intensity, or orientation of behaviour)
• commonly termed ‘abnormal behaviour’, but adaptive significance and implications for welfare are often controversial (abnormal is not necessarily pathological)
• stereotypic behaviour -> associated with signs of poor welfare
• individual differences -> those with high levels of stereotypic behaviour appear to cope better with poor conditions
• stereotypic behaviour of some individuals can cause poor welfare in others (e.g. feather pecking, tail biting, over-grooming)

Question 21

Automated behavioural assessment

Answer 21

• accelerometers
• Global Positioning System (GPS)
• Motion sensors
• Infrared thermography (IFT)
• Sound & image analysis
• etc.

Question 22

what is a stressor? (physiology - stress)

Answer 22

a disruptor of homeostasis, i.e. a chemical or biological agent, environmental condition, external stimulus or an event that causes a stress response

Question 23

what is homeostasis? (physiology - stress)

Answer 23

a suite of physiological and behavioural responses that help to re-establish

a process that maintains the stability of an animal body’s internal environment in response to changes in external conditions

Question 24

What is the stress response?

Answer 24

the stress response is adaptive and non-specific

Question 25

Physiological indicators of stress

Answer 25

- hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity - Sympatho-adrenal system - Heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) - Brain activity - stress-induced hyperthermia (SIH) - reproduction - production performance

Question 26

Hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity (Physiological indicators of stress)

Answer 26

e.g. glucocorticoids (ACTH, CRF); standard measure of animal responses to physiological, physical, and psychological challenges

Question 27

Sympatho-adrenal system (Physiological indicators of stress)

Answer 27

adrenaline and noradrenaline

Question 28

Heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV)

Answer 28

affected by a number of factors

Question 29

Brain activity

Answer 29

e.g. serotonin, dopamine, opioids; invasive techniques, restraint

Question 30

Stress-induced hyperthermia (SIH)

Answer 30

short-lived increase in core temperature

Question 31

reproduction

Answer 31

essential part of production performance; e.g. LH, FSH, prolactin, progesterone

Question 32

Production performance

Answer 32

e.g. body mass/condition, growth rate

Question 33

Acute effects of the stress response (Hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis) (physiology)

Answer 33

- increased immediate availability of energy (glucose) - increased oxygen intake - decreased blood flow to areas not necessary for movement - blood flow rerouted to muscles - inhibition of digestion, growth, immune function, reproduction, and pain perception - enhancement of memory and sensory function

Question 34

Physiology - chronic stress affects

Answer 34

brain - dendritic atrophy - impaired neuro-genesis and synaptic plasticity - enhance benzodiazepine tone immune system - basal immuno-suppression and decreased immune responsiveness to challenge heart - basal hypertension - sluggish response to and recovery from stress - pathogenic cholesterol profile adrenal gland - elevated basal levels of glucocorticoids - sluggish response to and recovery from stress - feedback resistance ovary - decreased levels of gonadal hormones - increased risk of anovulation and miscarriage testis - testicular atrophy - decreased levels of hormones of the gonadal axis

Question 35

Preference & motivation

Answer 35

- research on animals' preferences commonly used as a tool in study of animal welfare -> animal-centred approach - assumption - animals make choices that in own best interest, and allowing animals to live as they prefer will ensure a high level of animal welfare Under what conditions are the choices made by an animal reliable indicators of welfare? How can we best incorporate animals' preferences into housing and management systems?

Question 36

Investigation of animals - preferences - motivations - aversions

Answer 36

preferences - temperature, illumination, social contact, bedding, flooring, shade, etc motivations - motivation to swim, exercise, rest, use nest boxes, dust bathe, etc. aversions - noise, vibration, heat, polluted air, rough handling, gases for euthanasia, etc. not simple -> influences of familiarity, information gathering, learning and other factors Welfare benefits by housing animals in situations that they prefer and that accommodate behaviour they are motivated to perform, and by situations where they can express individual preferences for physical or social environments

Question 37

what has most work focused on? (practical strategies)

Answer 37

on resource-based measures (RBMs), i.e. what and how much of different resources (e.g. food, water, space, care) are given to animals, which may be a poor guarantee of good welfare

Question 38

What has been more recently used in work?

Answer 38

increase in outcome-based measures (OBMs), e.g. behaviour or physical condition -> better indicators of welfare

Question 39

Welfare assessment based on ? and supported by?

Answer 39

based on OBMs, supported by RBMs

Question 40

Applying on OBM (practical strategies)

Answer 40

- step 1: measure (a standardised description is needed) - step 2: analyse risk factors (practical application, RBMs) - step 3: inform - step 4: support management decisions to create improvements in welfare

Question 41

Example of applying an OBM (practical strategies)

Answer 41

step 1: measure - faecal glucocorticoids (fGCs) - keeper surveys - enclosure characteristics & contact with keeper step 2: analyse risk factors - positive correlation between fGCs and fur plucking - lower fGCs with higher enclosure and more contact with keeper; higher fGCs when predators visible - follow-up experiment/addition of hiding spaces -> reduction in fGCs step 3: inform & step 4: support management decisions to create improvements in welfare - conferences & publications - Species Survival Plan (SSP) -> integration of new management information into current husbandry manuals (enclosure height)