Week 3- Animal Welfare

Question 1

What is animal welfare?

Answer 1

An ethical concern for the mental and physical wellbeing of animals under our care.

Question 2

What is a moral dillema?

Answer 2

A choice between multiple possible actions where any choice will lead to some degree of suffering.

Question 3

What were four historical developments in the moral status of animals?

Answer 3

1. Descartes view: no moral consideration for animals, 2. Bentham’s shift: can animals suffer?, 3. UK Protection of Animals Act: prevents unnecessary suffering, 4. Treaty of Amsterdam: recognizes animals as sentient.

Question 4

What is suffering?

Answer 4

When an animal is unable to cope with stress to do an overwhelming level of stressors.

Question 5

What are the five freedoms and provisions of animal welfare?

Answer 5

1. Freedom from thirst, hunger, and malnutrition, 2. Freedom from discomfort, 3. Freedom from pain injury and disease, 4. Freedom from fear and stress, 5. Freedom to express normal behaviour.

Question 6

What are the five domains of animal welfare, which correspond with the freedoms?

Answer 6

1. Nutrition, 2. Environment, 3. Health, 4. Mental state, 5. Behaviour

Question 7

What is sentience?

Answer 7

The ability to feel things (pain, hunger, pleasure, fear etc.).

Question 8

What is consciousness?

Answer 8

Being aware of yourself, your environment, your feelings. You are able to think about the sensations you experience through sentience.

Question 9

What are the five Buddhist Skandhas of sentience?

Answer 9

Matter, sensation, perception, mental formulation, consciousness.

Question 10

What is the concept of one-health?

Answer 10

The idea that health is essentially the same for humans and animals and these fields can learn from each other.

Question 11

What is euthanasia?

Answer 11

The human killing of a being for it’s own benefit (not someone else’s benefit).

Question 12

What are some methods of measuring animal pain?

Answer 12

Behavioural observations, hormone levels.

Question 13

What are the three benefits of animal welfare to farmers?

Answer 13

Improved animal health, enhanced market access and consumer acceptance, positive impact of farm profitability.

Question 14

What are three areas of assessment for animal welfare?

Answer 14

Good biological functioning, affective state, natural living.

Question 15

What are four overall measures of animal welfare?

Answer 15

1. longevity, 2. Acute phase proteins indicate tissue damage in pigs, 3. elevated corticosteroid levels, 4. sudden circadian rhythm changes in cows.

However these are limited in their ability to address all 5 freedoms of animal welfare.

Question 16

What are the 12 independent criteria of animal welfare?

Answer 16

1. absence of prolonged hunger, 2. absence of prolonged thirst, 3. comfort when resting, 4. thermal comfort, 5. ease of movement, 6. absence of injuries, 7. absence of disease, 8. absence of pain caused by management, 9. expression of social behaviour, 10. expression of other species-specific behaviours, 11. good human-animal relationship, 11. positive emotional state.

Question 17

How do the 12 criteria divide into 4 principles of animal welfare assessment?

Answer 17

1. feeding, 2. housing, 3. health, 4. behaviour.

Question 18

How can AI/machine learning be used to assess animal welfare?

Answer 18

Machines can detect behavioural indicators of poor welfare (primarily focused on health/production indicators).