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Animal Welfare - Content and Abstracts
Volume 13
Supplement 2004 Abstracts
Published as a Supplementary Issue to Animal Welfare February 2004
Using behaviour to assess animal welfare
MS Dawkins
Abstract
Rather than construct lists of many different welfare indicators and give each of them the same weight, I argue that the assessment of animal welfare should be directed at answering two key questions: 1) Are the animals healthy? 2) Do they have what they want? Behaviour has a major role in answering both. Behaviour is currently used to help answer the first question through its use in the clinical and pre-clinical assessment of pain, injury and disease, and potentially could have an even greater role, particularly if used in conjunction with new technology. Behaviour is also of crucial importance in gauging what animals want, most obviously in the use of choice and preference tests, but also through other methods that are particularly suitable for on-farm welfare assessment. These include quantitative observations of the spatial distribution of animals and of behavioural ‘indicators’ of what animals want, such as vocalisations.
Keywords: animal welfare, behaviour, choice, clinical assessment, pain, preference
The influences of standard laboratory cages on rodents and the validity of research data
CM Sherwin
Abstract
Standard cages for laboratory animals are often small, minimalist and barren. Such cages can compromise animal welfare, indicating that there are welfare-based reasons for improving their designs. However, a second issue, that is, whether animals from standard laboratory housing and husbandry conditions provide valid research data, also indicates that cage designs and husbandry methods need to be improved. This paper reviews various influences of standard laboratory cage design and husbandry. These include their effects on the repeatability of studies, models of neuro-degenerative disease, sensory development, physiology, and behaviour, the effects of standard social housing and standard handling, and the effects of maternal experience on the responses of offspring. These studies show that the development and responses of animals from standard laboratory housing and husbandry conditions are often unrepresentative and idiosyncratic, indicating that data are likely to have reduced external validity. An underlying question is whether animals from standard, barren laboratory cages are ‘abnormal’ and therefore might not provide valid baseline data. In terms of animal welfare, these studies indicate that standard laboratory housing may sometimes be associated both with reduced welfare and with reduced benefits gained from research. It is suggested that in a similar manner to the use of production measures when assessing cages for production animals, laboratory cages could be assessed in terms of their suitability to provide valid research data.
Keywords: animal welfare, behaviour, housing, laboratory cages, research validity, rodents
Consciousness, emotion and animal welfare: insights from cognitive science
M Mendl and ES Paul
Abstract
The assumption that animals are conscious and capable of experiencing negative sensations and emotions is at the core of most people’s concerns about animal welfare. Investigation of this central assumption should be one goal of animal welfare science. We argue that theory and techniques from cognitive science offer promising ways forward. Evidence for the existence of conscious and non-conscious cognitive processing in humans has inspired scientists to search for comparable processes in animals. In studies of metacognition and blindsight, some species show behaviour that has functional parallels with human conscious cognitive processing. Although unable to definitively answer the question of whether the animals are conscious, these studies provide fresh insights, and some could be adapted for domestic animals. They mark a departure from the search for cognitive complexity as an indicator of consciousness, which is based on questionable assumptions linking the two. Accurate assessment of animal emotion is crucial in animal welfare research, and cognitive science offers novel approaches that address some limitations of current measures. Knowledge of the relationship between cognition and emotion in humans generates a priori frameworks for interpreting traditional physiological and behavioural indicators of animal emotion, and provides new measures (eg cognitive bias) that gauge positive as well as negative emotions. Conditioning paradigms can be used to enable animals to indicate their emotional state through operant responses. Although evidence for animal consciousness and emotion will necessarily be indirect, insights from cognitive science promise further advances in our understanding of this fundamentally important area in animal welfare science.
Keywords: animal welfare, blindsight, cognition, consciousness, emotion, metacognition
The use of demand functions to assess behavioural priorities in farm animals
MB Jensen, LJ Pedersen and J Ladewig
Abstract
The use of demand functions to identify the behaviours most important to animals has been advocated widely. The principle is to place increasing cost on the opportunity to perform several behaviours and subsequently to rank these behaviours according to the change in their performance as a function of cost; this change is described by the elasticity of the demand function. However, the method has been criticised for placing the animal in too artificial a setting. Firstly, the animal works repeatedly for short periods of access to a resource, which may interrupt bouts of behaviour; secondly, animals are tested in isolation, which may affect their motivation to perform the target behaviour; and, finally, assumptions regarding the effect of prior deprivation and reward duration on elasticity of demand need to be tested. This criticism, however, is important only if these factors do affect the elasticity of the resulting demand function. This paper reviews experiments that have developed methods to assess the importance of various behaviours to farm animals and that have tested the effect of social context, length of deprivation of a resource and reward duration. It is concluded that the elasticity of demand function may be used to assess the relative importance of various behaviours, but that it is important to make sure that the experimental set-up yields valid estimates of the elasticity of demand.
Keywords: animal welfare, behavioural priorities, cattle, demand functions, motivation, pig
Pacing polar bears and stoical sheep: testing ecological and evolutionary hypotheses about animal welfare
R Clubb and G Mason
Abstract
Responses to potential threats to welfare vary greatly between species. Even closely related animals often differ in their fear of humans and/or novelty; their behavioural responses to pain; and when captive, their overall welfare and the form and frequency of their stereotypies. Such species differences stimulate hypotheses about 1) the way that responses to challenge co-vary with other biological traits; 2) the adaptive value of particular responses; and 3) the factors predicting responses to evolutionarily new scenarios, such as captivity. We illustrate how these ideas can be statistically tested with multi-species comparisons, and show how techniques such as the Comparative Analysis of Independent Contrasts can be used to control for any non-independence of data points caused by species’ relatedness. For each of the three types of hypothesis, we then provide several welfare-relevant examples including one that has been fully tested (respectively, the relationships between sociality and anti-predator behaviour in antelopes; predation pressure, foraging niche and neophobia in parrots; and home range size and stereotypy in carnivores). Ultimate explanations such as these, based on species’ ecology and evolutionary history, have great explanatory appeal. Species comparisons can also have great practical value, allowing the test of hypotheses that would be almost impossible to investigate experimentally, and generating principles that allow predictions about the welfare of similar unstudied species. Multi-species data, for example from the many taxa held in zoos, thus hold enormous potential for increasing the fundamental understanding of animal welfare.
Keywords: animal welfare, comparative methods, ecological niche, evolution, species differences, stereotypy
Brain measures which tell us about animal welfare
DM Broom and AJ Zanella
Abstract
Studies of the brain inform us about the cognitive abilities of animals and hence affect the extent to which animals of that species are respected. However, they can also tell us how an individual is likely to be perceiving, attending to, evaluating, coping with, enjoying, or disturbed by its environment, and so can give direct information about welfare. In studies of welfare, we are especially interested in how an individual feels. Since this depends upon high-level brain processing, we have to investigate brain function. Brain correlates of preferred social, sexual and parental situations include elevated oxytocin in the para-ventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus. Abnormal behaviour may have brain correlates, for example, high frequencies of stereotypy are associated with down-regulated m and k receptors and dopamine depletion in the frontal cortex. Such results help in evaluating the effects of treatment on welfare. Some brain changes, such as increased glucocorticoid receptors in the frontal lobes or increased activity in the amygdala, may be a sensitive indicator of perceived emergency. Active immunological defences lead to cytokine production in the brain, vagal nerve activity and sickness effects. Some aspects of brain function can be temporarily suppressed, for example, by opioids when there is severe pain, or permanently impaired, for example, in severely impoverished environments or during depression. Coping attempts or environmental impact can lead to injury to the brain, damage to hippocampal neurons, remodelling of dendrites in the hippocampus, or to other brain disorganisation. Brain measures can explain the nature and magnitude of many effects on welfare.
Keywords: abnormal behaviour, adrenal, animal welfare, brain measures, coping, opioids
Consumer demand under commercial husbandry conditions: practical advice on measuring behavioural priorities in captive animals
JJ Cooper
Abstract
In recent years, consumer demand studies have been used to objectively quantify the value that captive animals place on environmental resources. Considerable progress has been made in the development of effective methodologies to assess what resources are valued under controlled experimental conditions, but few of the findings from these studies have been implemented in commercial husbandry systems. A major obstacle has been the need to maintain internal validity in experimental studies at the possible expense of external validity. Experimental subjects may be poor representatives of commercially kept animals, especially where there is no replication of the animal’s experience of commercial physical and social environments. This paper will discuss means of increasing the external validity of consumer demand studies. Firstly, experimental animals should be of representative genotypes, reared under commercial conditions and housed in test apparatus with free access to all of the resources that are normally available under commercial husbandry conditions. As well as providing a long-term closed economy, this allows manipulation of potentially important environmental factors such as prior experience. Secondly, naturalistic tasks should, where possible, be used in preference to abstract operant tasks since they appear to be easier to train animals to associate with rewarding resources, therefore many individuals can be investigated efficiently. Furthermore, naturalistic tasks appear to be less prone to operant bias than artificial tasks and can provide robust measures of value in terms of the maximum price paid for access to resources. Finally, for group-housed species, social costs such as enduring higher stocking densities and/or competition for resources may be an effective means of investigating cost–benefit trade-offs under commercial conditions. For example, if animals work to evenly distribute themselves over available space, this social spacing priority can be used to investigate whether they will endure higher stocking densities in order to exploit particular resources.
Keywords: animal welfare, behavioural needs, behavioural priorities, consumer demand, consumer surplus, environmental enrichment
Can’t stop, won’t stop: is stereotypy a reliable animal welfare indicator?
GJ Mason and NR Latham
Abstract
We estimate that stereotypies are currently displayed by over 85 million farm, laboratory and zoo animals worldwide. This paper investigates their reliability as welfare indicators, by surveying studies relating stereotypy to other welfare measures and by analysing the mechanisms underlying this behaviour. Where data exist, most (approximately 68%) situations that cause/increase stereotypies also decrease welfare. Stereotypy-eliciting situations are thus likely to be poor for welfare, although exceptions exist. Within such an environment, however, most (approximately 60%) accounts link individual stereotypy performance with improved welfare (cf approximately 20% linking it with reduced welfare). Thus, in a sub-optimal environment, non-stereotyping or low-stereotyping individuals could well have the poorest welfare, although again exceptions exist. Examining the mechanisms underlying stereotypy performance, we discuss four processes that could account for these complex links between stereotypy and welfare. Beneficial consequences from performing the specific source-behaviour of the stereotypy (‘do-it-yourself enrichment’), or arising from repetition per se (‘mantra effects’), may ameliorate welfare in poor environments. In addition, stereotypies that have become centrally controlled (habit-like), or that arise from autistic-like changes in the control of all behaviour (perseveration), are likely to be unreliable indicators of current state because they can be elicited by, or persist in, circumstances that improve welfare. To refine the role of stereotypy in welfare assessment, we suggest the collection of specific additional data to reveal when any of these four processes is acting. Until such research increases our understanding, stereotypies should always be taken seriously as a warning sign of potential suffering, but never used as the sole index of welfare; non-stereotyping or low-stereotyping individuals should not be overlooked or assumed to be faring well; simple measures of frequency should not be used to compare stereotypies that differ in age, form, or the biological or experiential characteristics of the performing animal; enrichments that do not immediately reduce stereotypies should not be assumed failures with respect to welfare; and finally, stereotypies should not be reduced by means other than tackling their underlying motivations.
Keywords: animal welfare, central control, coping, crib-biting, perseveration, stereotypies
Assessing pain in animals — putting research into practice
PA Flecknell and JV Roughan
Abstract
Our ability to assess pain in animals in clinical situations is slowly developing, but remains very limited. In order to develop appropriate pain scoring schemes, numerous practical problems need to be overcome. In addition, we need to appraise realistically our current poor state of knowledge. Development of new scoring systems must be coupled with the increased education and training of those responsible for pain management, so that both the assessment and the alleviation of pain are steadily improved.
Keywords: analgesia, animal, animal welfare, pain, pain assessment, pain scoring
Measurement of aversion to determine humane methods of anaesthesia and euthanasia
MC Leach, VA Bowell, TF Allan and DB Morton
Abstract
The distress experienced by animals during the induction of unconsciousness remains one of the most important and yet overlooked aspects of effective methods of anaesthesia and euthanasia. Here we show that considerable differences exist in the aversive responses elicited by 12 common methods of inhalational anaesthesia and euthanasia in laboratory rats and mice. Carbon dioxide, either alone or in combination with oxygen or argon, was found to be highly aversive to both species. The least aversive agents were halothane in rats and enflurane in mice. Exposing these animals to carbon dioxide in any form, either for anaesthesia or for euthanasia, is likely to cause considerable pain and distress and is therefore unacceptable when efficient and more humane alternatives are readily available.
Keywords: anaesthesia, animal welfare, aversion, carbon dioxide, euthanasia, rodent
Fish and welfare: do fish have the capacity for pain perception and suffering?
VA Braithwaite and FA Huntingford
Abstract
Humans interact with fish in a number of ways and the question of whether fish have the capacity to perceive pain and to suffer has recently attracted considerable attention in both scientific and public fora. Only very recently have neuroanatomical studies revealed that teleost fish possess similar pain-processing receptors to higher vertebrates. Research has also shown that fish neurophysiology and behaviour are altered in response to noxious stimulation. In the light of this evidence, and in combination with work illustrating the cognitive capacities of fish, it seems appropriate to respond to a recently published critique (Rose 2002) in which it is argued that it is not possible for fish to experience fear or pain and that, therefore, they cannot suffer. Whilst we agree with the author that fish are unlikely to perceive pain in the same way that humans do, we believe that currently available evidence indicates that fish have the capacity for pain perception and suffering. As such, it would seem timely to reflect on the implications of fish pain and suffering, and to consider what steps can be taken to ensure the welfare of the fish that we exploit.
Keywords: animal welfare, awareness, fish, pain, stress, suffering
Welfare assessment: indices from clinical observation
AJF Webster, DCJ Main and HR Whay
Abstract
It is not enough to study animal welfare; our responsibility is to promote it. To this end, we need to step out of our laboratories and develop robust protocols for assessing welfare in groups of animals on farms or in the laboratory. While these protocols must incorporate principles derived from detailed scientific study they will, in practice, need to be based on clinical observations and records that an assessor can acquire at a single visit. Such assessments must also be comprehensive: approaches based only on behaviour, or motivational state, or physical appearance, or performance records, can never tell the full story. The ‘Five Freedoms’ provide a comprehensive template that incorporates the different elements that define welfare state. However they only describe welfare at the time of observation. Protocols, for example, for on-farm assessment need to include measurements and records that provide evidence of long-term consequences of the quality of husbandry practices (eg body condition, chronic injuries). This paper reviews approaches developed at Bristol for the on-farm evaluation of welfare in dairy cows and free-range hens. The criteria used to assess welfare from clinical evidence were developed through expert consultation using the ‘Delphi’ review process. Experts were also asked to make value judgements as to the seriousness of different elements of poor welfare by indicating the point at which intervention would be necessary to resolve specific problems. This study identified a serious limitation of Quality Assurance schemes that seek to encompass many different elements of welfare into a single index that ranks overall welfare as acceptable or unacceptable. Specific farms had specific welfare problems and these required specific solutions.
Keywords: animal welfare, dairy cattle, freedom food, hens, on-farm assessment, quality assurance
Fractal analysis of animal behaviour as an indicator of animal welfare
KMD Rutherford, MJ Haskell, C Glasbey, RB Jones and AB Lawrence
Abstract
Animal welfare assessment commonly involves behavioural and physiological measurements. Physiological measures have become increasingly sophisticated over the years, while behavioural measurements, for example duration or frequency, have changed little. Although these measures can undoubtedly contribute to our assessment of an animal’s welfare status, a more complex analysis of behavioural sequences could potentially reveal additional and valuable information. One emerging methodology that could provide such information is fractal analysis,, which calculates measures of complexity in continuous time series. Its previous application in medical physiology suggested that it could reveal ‘hidden’ information in a dataset beyond that identified by traditional analyses. Consequently, we asked if fractal analysis of behaviour might be a useful non-invasive measure of acute and chronic stress in laying hens and in pigs. Herein, we outline our work and briefly review some previous applications of fractal analysis to animal behaviour patterns. We successfully measured novel aspects of complexity in the behavioural organisation of hens and pigs and found that these were stress-sensitive in some circumstances. Although data collection is time consuming, the benefit of fractal analysis is that it can be applied to simple behavioural transitions, thereby reducing subjective interpretation to a minimum. Collectively, the work to date suggests that fractal analysis — by providing a novel measure of behavioural organisation — could have a role in animal welfare assessment. As a method for extracting extra information from behavioural data, fractal analysis should be more widely examined in animal welfare science.
Keywords: animal welfare, behaviour, chicken, fractal analysis, pig, stress
Cross-institutional assessment of stress responses in zoo animals using longitudinal monitoring of faecal corticoids and behaviour
DJ Shepherdson, KC Carlstead and N Wielebnowski
Abstract
Cross-institutional studies that combine non-invasive physiological measures of stress responses and the assessment of individual differences in behaviour and temperament have great potential as tools for assessing the well-being of zoo animals and for identifying key environmental stimuli relevant to well-being. In addition, such studies allow comparison of animals under a wide variety of conditions and enable researchers to obtain sufficiently large samples sizes for statistical data analyses. Faecal corticoid measurements, a method recently developed to monitor adrenal activity in wildlife and domestic species, can be obtained non-invasively as part of the normal husbandry routine. While basic techniques still need improvement, and interpretation of the acquired measures can be challenging, assessment of faecal corticoid concentrations can provide a useful indicator of stress responses under a variety of captive conditions. Here we report on three studies that illustrate this approach and the results that can be obtained. An on-going study reveals significant differences in the pattern of variability of faecal corticoid concentrations between polar bears that are reported by keepers to perform stereotypic behaviour and those that do not. In another study, faecal corticoid measures indicated that stress responses to certain extraneous noises might interfere with the breeding of Hawaiian honeycreepers in captivity. In a study of clouded leopards, higher faecal corticoid concentrations were measured when cats were kept on public display or near potential predators compared to individuals maintained off exhibit or in the absence of visible predators. The findings of an on-going experimental study suggest a causal relationship between the provision of additional hiding spaces and a decline in faecal corticoid concentrations in clouded leopards.
Keywords: animal welfare, corticosteroid, housing and husbandry, stereotypies, stress, zoo
Mechanisms of decision-making and the interpretation of choice tests
M Bateson
Abstract
Choice tests are commonly used to measure animals’ preferences, and the results of such tests are used to make recommendations regarding animal husbandry. An implicit assumption underlying the majority of choice tests is that the preferences obtained are independent of the set of options available in the test. This follows from two assumptions about the mechanisms of choice: first, that animals use absolute evaluation mechanisms to assign value to options, and second, that the probability of choosing an option is proportional to the ratio between the value of that option and the sum of the values of the other options available. However, if either of these assumptions is incorrect then preferences can differ depending on the composition of the choice set. In support of this concern, evidence from foraging animals shows that preferences can change when a third, less preferred option is added to a binary choice. These findings have implications for the design and interpretation of choice tests.
Keywords: animal welfare, choice test, context effect, foraging decision, Luce’s choice axiom, preference
Scientific uncertainty — how should it be handled in relation to scientific advice regarding animal welfare issues?
P Sandøe, B Forkman and SB Christiansen
Abstract
The provision of advice on animal welfare is an important part of the work of scientists in applied ethology, neurophysiology, veterinary epidemiology and other disciplines. Those who request guidance often expect advice that will help them to make progress in difficult discussions. Scientists want to live up to these expectations, but it is also important for them to clarify any scientific limitations. They are normally aware of limits to their advice, but these limits are sometimes not explicitly stated. Using the phrase broadly, we call this kind of limitation ‘scientific uncertainty’. We distinguish between the following four types of uncertainty: 1) Ontological uncertainty, relating to the existence of animal feelings and other states relevant for animal welfare. 2) Conceptual uncertainty, stemming from the fact that some of the concepts used in animal welfare science are value-laden if used outside a narrow scientific context. 3) Lack of scientific evidence, stemming from a lack of scientific data on the problem in question. 4) Uncertainty about priorities, relating to the practical conclusions to be drawn in a situation with an open-ended set of ethical and other practical considerations. Scientific uncertainty is unavoidable. It is therefore essential, when giving scientific advice, to state the assumptions on which the advice is based. This makes scientific advice more objective, but also of more limited value to those who do not share the underlying assumptions.
Keywords: animal welfare, objectivity, openness, scientific advice, scientific uncertainty
Using science to support ethical decisions promoting humane livestock slaughter and vertebrate pest control
DJ Mellor and KE Littin
Abstract
Ethical principles guide decisions about what we consider to be right or wrong proposals and actions, so that when value judgements are made these engage us in ethics. Ethical thinking is clearly relevant to decisions about the way we treat animals, and such thinking has led to the commonly held view that animal use by people is acceptable provided that such use is humane. The ethical requirement that we treat animals humanely means that we must minimise the harms we do to all animals in our care or under our control. Accordingly, we must assess what harms are done to the animals, how bad each harm is in terms of its intensity and duration, what methods are available or can be developed to minimise each harm, and the relative effectiveness of those methods of harm minimisation. We must also seek to use the most humane methods currently available that can be practically applied. Ethically driven scientific evaluations of this sort have improved the humaneness of livestock slaughter and vertebrate pest control. For instance, detailed studies of different pre-slaughter stunning methods have validated their use to pre-empt the pain and distress that otherwise conscious animals would experience during the fatal neck cut and the short period of consciousness (sensibility) that follows it. Likewise, reducing injuries caused by restraint traps has improved the humaneness of this vertebrate pest control method, and comparing the effects of different poisons has allowed the least humane ones to be identified. Difficult questions nevertheless remain at the problematic interface between quantitative scientific observations and their interpretation regarding the suffering that animals may experience, as well as questions about the relativities of different types of suffering.
Keywords: animal welfare, ethics, humane pest control, humane slaughter, minimising harm, scientific assessment of harm
Trade-offs between welfare, conservation, utility and economics in wildlife management — a review of conflicts, compromises and regulation
JC Reynolds
Abstract
In choosing among alternative wildlife management techniques, trade-offs between animal welfare and conservation, utility or economics are often apparent. This paper reviews the roles of science, scientists, regulators and educators in attempts to overcome this inter-dependence and to make simultaneous progress on all fronts. Illustrations are drawn in particular from trapping and pest population control. Against the real progress that can undoubtedly be made through scientific study, there is a regrettable lack of structure because of poor philosophical and logical coherence within the welfare movement.
Keywords: animal welfare, ethics, pest control, regulation, traps, wildlife management
Ethical decisions concerning animal biotechnology: what is the role of animal welfare science?
IAS Olsson and P Sandøe
Abstract
Scientists recently attracted considerable public attention when they presented a featherless chicken tailored for production in hot climates. Although this chicken was actually the result of traditional breeding, it is an example of what might be achieved if targeted gene manipulation techniques become widely applied in agriculture. Through interfering directly with an animal’s genome, scientists hope to be able to create animals with exactly the desired characteristics, such as lean meat or temperature tolerance. Industry and geneticists may be enthusiastic about the possibility of producing pork with polyunsaturated fatty acids or high-yielding dairy cows to be kept in tropical climates, but the European public often reacts with alarm at these prospects. A consistent pattern of the surveys conducted among members of the European public is that, of all of the potential biotechnology applications, those involving animals are the ones that people find the least acceptable. People fear a development of techniques that may get out of control, and they also have ethical concerns about humans’ right to ‘play God’ and about the welfare of the animals involved. All of these aspects seem to be relevant for an ethical discussion about animal biotechnology. Animal welfare scientists can play an important role by providing information for an animal welfare risk assessment at an early stage of research projects that involve the genetic modification of animals, and also by helping to develop guidelines for the housing and husbandry of animals with special needs. On the other hand, ethical problems remain that lie outside the area of science. In this paper we discuss the role of animal welfare science in aiding ethics decisions about animal biotechnology. We give a summary of the different ethical concerns expressed by ethicists and by the general public. Focusing on one of them, animal welfare, we give an introduction to the animal welfare implications of recent developments in reproductive and gene technologies. The importance of animal welfare aspects is discussed in relation to other ethical concerns about animal biotechnology.
Keywords: animal biotechnology, animal welfare, ethics, gene technology, reproductive technology, transgenic
Factors influencing human attitudes to animals and their welfare
JA Serpell
Abstract
This paper reviews the literature on human attitudes to animals, and postulates the existence of two primary motivational determinants of attitudes labelled ‘affect’ and ‘utility’. It also proposes that the relative strengths of these key attitude dimensions are affected by various modifying variables including the specific attributes of the animal, the individual characteristics and experience of the person evaluating the animal, and a range of cultural factors. The role of science as a cultural modifier of human attitudes to animals is also discussed.
Keywords: animal welfare, attitude psychology, attitude surveys, attitudes to animals, ethics, scientific values
Laying hen welfare standards: a classic case of ‘power to the people’
CJ Savory
Abstract
Legislation concerning laying hen welfare appears to be influenced more by public perceptions than by scientific and commercial evidence. This paper considers public understanding and power over the issue, and how welfare standards are structured. The usual objection to battery cages is that they do not provide enough space, but there seems to be ignorance of the fact that they were developed in order to improve the health of hens. Evidence is presented of more advantages than disadvantages with cage systems, and of the opposite with alternative (non-cage) housing. Why, then, does the public remain more concerned about just one of the Farm Animal Welfare Council’s Five Freedoms — to display most normal patterns of behaviour — than about the other four? Arguably, the declared intent to ban battery cages in the EU in 2012 could not have been based justifiably on evidence in the European Commission Scientific Veterinary Committee’s Report on the Welfare of Laying Hens. One therefore has to conclude that the decision to ban battery cages was taken for mainly political reasons, reflecting a belief that the majority of public opinion is against cages. Directive 99/74/EC will allow the use of ‘enriched cages’ after 2012, but, for political reasons, Germany intends to ban battery cages in 2007 and enriched cages in 2012. Following a recent public consultation on a possible similar ban on enriched cages in England, it was decided to defer a decision until after Directive 99/74/EC is reviewed in 2005. In one non-EU country, Switzerland, a national referendum led to a ban on battery cages in 1992. At present, there are ambiguities in minimum standards for different housing systems based on Directive 99/74/EC, which can be exploited by egg producers, sometimes at the expense of bird welfare. These concern stocking densities, the provision of claw-shortening devices, litter and perches, and the practice of beak trimming. They raise the question of the extent to which the structuring of welfare standards should represent a compromise between bird welfare, practicalities, public pressure and commercial interests.
Keywords: ambiguities, animal welfare, laying hen housing systems, public power, public understanding, structuring of standards
Science is not enough: how do we increase implementation?
MC Appleby
Abstract
Science has been invaluable for increasing understanding of animal welfare and as a result we know of many ways in which animal treatment and housing can be improved. However, implementation is slow because of political and economic considerations. This is particularly clear for farm animals. This raises the question of what else is needed, besides science, for implementation of welfare improvements. At least three other disciplines need more attention in this respect: sociology, economics and ethics. Scientists will continue to be central in achieving improvements in animal welfare by providing credible, authoritative information on animal welfare and other issues. But to increase implementation of their results they need to increase dialogue with all of the players involved — producers, retailers, consumers, legislators and the media — as well as with specialists in other disciplines to improve cross-disciplinary understanding.
Keywords: animal welfare, economics, ethics, politics, science, sociology
Science-based animal welfare standards: the international role of the Office International des Épizooties
ACD Bayvel
Abstract
The Office International des Épizooties (OIE) is a Paris-based, inter-governmental organisation with 164 member countries. Since its establishment in 1924, the OIE has made a major indirect contribution to animal welfare, at a global level, via the organisation’s role in epizootic disease control. The OIE animal health code includes a chapter on minimum animal welfare standards for trade and a standard-setting role has also been played in respect of animal transportation. In 1994, the publication Animal Welfare and Veterinary Services was included in the OIE Scientific and Technical Review Series, and provides a valuable State Veterinary Service perspective on animal welfare capability and specific animal welfare issues. In drawing up its strategic plan for the period 2001 to 2005, animal welfare and food safety were identified as two areas for future OIE involvement and these were formally accepted as strategic initiatives at the 2001 OIE General Assembly meeting. An international expert group was established to provide specific recommendations on the nature and scope of the OIE’s animal welfare role. The expert group’s recommendations were reviewed and adopted, as Resolution XIV, at the May 2002 OIE General Assembly meeting. A permanent international working group was established and met for the first time in October 2002. This paper provides a background to animal welfare as an international trade policy issue and provides an update on progress to date in developing an OIE animal welfare mission statement, supporting guiding principles and policies, and an agreed modus operandi. Priority areas for OIE involvement are identified, and emphasis is placed on the importance of making use of all available expertise and resources, including those from academia, the research community, industry, animal welfare organisations and other relevant stakeholders.
Keywords: animal health, animal welfare, Office International des Épizooties, public policy, standards, trade policy, World Trade Organisation
Informed debate: the contribution of animal welfare science to the development of public policy
M Radford
Abstract
The development of animal welfare science has had a fundamental influence on the development of public policy towards the treatment of animals, not only in individual countries such as the United Kingdom, but also within the institutions of the European Union. This has led to a new a body of legislation which is intended to promote welfare and to complement the traditional prohibition on causing cruelty. If this process is to continue, however, it is important that conducting research should not be regarded as the sole function of animal welfare scientists. It is essential that they are also fully engaged in ethical debate, policy formulation, regulatory mechanisms, and their enforcement.
Keywords: animal protection, animal welfare, cruelty, legislation, public policy, regulation
United States Department of Agriculture: building bridges through innovative animal well-being initiatives
RD Reynnells
Abstract
Animal well-being issues are addressed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) through a variety of agencies and in various formats. Most farmers are good stewards of their animals and will raise them according to societal demands as supported by market choices. Management standards that are perceived to improve upon current practices are being demanded of farmers by buyers of animal products, including corporate restaurant chains and groceries. Professional organisations, USDA, and university representatives, help to address well-being issues and help to create and evaluate standards. The USDA provides leadership in several cooperative programs involving activists and industry, coordinates certification programs, and provides liaisons to multi-state university research committees. A USDA Animal Well-Being Work Group facilitates communications among agency personnel. The USDA developed the Animal Welfare Issues Compendium, a national animal well-being symposium, and cooperates with industry, activists and universities on projects. The USDA provides grant funds for projects that are encouraged to include a component on animal well-being. Special grant funds from Congress have resulted in educational and research projects that complement existing USDA national research and educational initiatives. Regulatory commitments by USDA include the enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act and the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act.
Keywords: animal welfare, cooperation, ethics, humane, regulations, research
Guidelines development and scientific uncertainty: use of previous case studies to promote efficient production of guidelines on the care and use of fish in research, teaching and testing
G Griffin and C Gauthier
Abstract
The Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC) develops guidelines on issues of current and emerging concern in response to the needs of the scientific community, advances in animal care, and the needs of the CCAC Assessment Program. Guidelines are developed by subcommittees of experts, and are based on sound scientific evidence. However, the process of guidelines’ development can involve consideration of areas where there is little scientific certainty or where scientific evidence needs to be tempered by other ethical considerations. Often these are areas where recommendations to the community are most needed, to provide assistance to both investigators and animal care committees on how best to balance the well-being of experimental animals and the goals of scientific research. The process for drafting the CCAC guidelines on: the care and use of fish in research, teaching and testing (in preparation) will be used as an example of the development of guidelines in the face of uncertain science, alongside a discussion of the CCAC guidelines on: transgenic animals (1997), as an example of the employment of a precautionary approach. Fish are now one of the most commonly used laboratory animals in Canada. However, what constitutes well-being for fish is an emerging field with often conflicting scientific data, and this presents unique challenges in guidelines’ development.
Keywords: animal welfare, ethics, fish, genetically modified animals, pain and distress, precautionary approach
Applying scientific advances to the welfare of farm animals: why is it getting more difficult?
L Keeling
Abstract
Despite interest and willingness to apply advances in animal welfare science, it is becoming increasingly difficult to do so. This paper addresses three main areas. The first deals with economic consequences and, while recognising the cost of implementing change, highlights the importance of hidden costs in animal disease. It argues that when these costs are taken into consideration more money can be allocated to the prevention of welfare problems. The second section relates to the fact that as animal welfare science progresses, there will tend to be scientists who focus on theoretical concepts and those who focus on practical problems. This specialisation may mean that intermediate research is needed to bridge the gap between the original idea and its practical implementation. It may also mean that the scientist making the original advance may not be well placed or even interested in doing this. The final section on the difficulties of applying scientific advances makes the point that as the number of scientists in the area increases, so does the discussion of methods and results. In the long-term these intellectual exchanges obviously benefit the science, but in the short-term they slow down the implementation of findings. Scientists focus on differences in interpretation not on similarities, leading non-scientists to sometimes miss the large areas of agreement and see only uncertainty in other areas. The paper concludes by suggesting that awareness of the factors affecting the application of scientific advances will help to minimise the risks that good ideas and results are not implemented in practice.
Keywords: animal welfare, economics, farm animals, implementation, legislation, scientific debate
Breeding and animal welfare: practical and theoretical advantages of multi-trait selection
AB Lawrence, J Conington and G Simm
Abstract
The traditional concerns about farm animal welfare have centred around the impact of intensive environments and management practices on the animal. This emphasis on the physical environment is changing, however, with greater consideration being given to animal factors and in particular to the selective breeding of farm animals. In this paper we use examples from our own research on dairy cattle and sheep breeding that have made positive and practical contributions towards reducing welfare problems by creating more balanced breeding programmes. In both examples, inclusion of health and fitness traits into breeding indexes can be shown to be more profitable than selecting on production traits alone. In addition, we propose that in principle animal breeding combined with economics research can make a more general contribution towards resolving animal welfare issues, by providing a framework for the quantitative evaluation of the costs and benefits of an animal production system. The advantage of the approaches currently used in multi-trait selection is that they transform all traits (production-based or welfare-based) to a common currency allowing direct comparisons of costs and benefits. Currently the weights applied to traits reflect their economic value to the producer. This approach is likely to underestimate non-economic welfare aspects such as the pain or discomfort associated with lameness, and new approaches are needed to more fully account for these non-economic welfare costs. We therefore propose that consideration is given to the use of approaches such as contingent valuation, which has been widely used in economics to derive values for non-economic activities. The question of who would pay for the addition of these welfare costs to a breeding index remains open, but it would seem most reasonable to treat these as a public good and pay for them as such through appropriate mechanisms.
Keywords: animal breeding, animal welfare, cost–benefit analysis, dairy cows, multi-trait selection, sheep
What factors should determine cage sizes for primates in the laboratory?
HM Buchanan-Smith, MJ Prescott and NJ Cross
Abstract
It is imperative to provide adequate quantity and quality of space for all captive animals. Yet practically all guidelines on the housing of primates in the laboratory specify minimum cage sizes based solely on body weight. We argue that no single factor, such as body weight, is sufficient to determine cage size. Instead a suite of characteristics should be used that include morphometric, physiological, ecological, locomotor, social, reproductive and behavioural characteristics. Ideally, the primate's age, sex and individual history should also be taken into account. In this paper we compare this suite of characteristics for some commonly used primates whose weights overlap, to illustrate important differences amongst them. For good animal welfare and good quality science it is necessary to be sensitive to such species differences when determining suitable cage sizes.
Keywords: animal welfare, arboreality, breeding success, colony management, primate, species-specific needs
Cognitive and communicative capacities of Grey parrots — implications for the enrichment of many species
IM Pepperberg
Abstract
Much of my research has been devoted to determining the cognitive and communicative abilities of Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus), but other companion animals and those in captivity in zoos also have considerable capacities that are often under-utilised in such settings. Many such animals are left to their own devices for large parts of the day; their boredom may translate into unsuitable behaviour patterns. In order to address this problem, my colleagues and I began to devise various computer-based ‘toys’ that would not only provide enrichment in the sense of relieving boredom and reproducing situations somewhat like the challenges faced by animals in the wild on a daily basis, but also would help us determine the extent of these animals’ cognitive capacities. Some of these systems allow remote interactions between owners and their pets and others might be adapted for animal–animal interactions. In this paper I will describe these projects, their aims, and our limited progress.
Keywords: animal–human communication, animal welfare, avian intelligence, companion animals, computer-based enrichment, Grey parrot
Enrichment of laboratory caging for rats: a review
EG Patterson-Kane
Abstract
Rats are a well-understood and widely used laboratory species that should be provided with environmentally enriched caging in line with modern animal welfare guidelines. This paper reviews which sources of enrichment are effective and should be prioritised, and how methods for providing enrichment might be selected using rats’ preferences as a guide. Rats demonstrate high demand for social contact and prefer larger cages, and cages with shelters, nesting material and foraging devices. Rats also discriminate between different methods of providing a given type of enrichment. It is clear that rats should be provided with enrichments such as social contact and shelter, and, in fact, that these should probably be considered basic husbandry requirements rather than optional improvements. It is still difficult, however, for animal caretakers to access proven, standardised methods for providing appropriately enriched caging, and the level of enrichment routinely provided to most rats in the laboratory appears to be low. Further research is required to assess the impact of enrichment upon research variables and to develop commercially viable enrichment products for rats in the laboratory.
Keywords: animal welfare, environmental enrichment, laboratory, rats, Rattus norvegicus, review
Feather pecking in poultry: the application of science in a search for practical solutions
RB Jones, HJ Blokhuis, IC de Jong, LJ Keeling, TM McAdie¶ and R Preisinger
Abstract
Traditional battery cages for laying hens will soon be banned in the EU but the increased risk of feather pecking (FP) hampers the adoption of alternative housing systems. FP can cause injury and lead to cannibalism and the painful death of target birds. Current management practices (beak trimming, low light) have associated problems. In a joint European project we sought alternative solutions. In our study of associated traits, birds from a line showing low (LFP) rather than high feather pecking (HFP) exhibited greater sociality (motivation to be near companions) and a passive ‘coping’ style. High sociality and passivity were also negatively associated with FP in adults. These findings may guide future breeding programs. Trimming hens’ feathers to mimic the results of FP elicited pecking and some cannibalism, even by birds that had previously shown no FP. Social transmission of gentle but not severe FP occurred when LFP and HFP birds were housed together. Gentle pecking could conceivably lead to severe FP. We then examined chickens’ pecking preferences to guide environmental enrichment strategies. Bunches of string elicited substantially greater interest than other stimuli, including feathers, and white or yellow string was the most attractive. The birds’ manipulation of the string resembled preening. Incorporating silver beads or moving the devices reduced pecking. String sustained lengthy interest, reduced FP in HFP birds, and decreased feather damage in caged layers on a commercial farm. String offers effective, affordable and practicable environmental enrichment. The integrated application of appropriate environmental and genetic strategies is likely to attenuate the expression of FP and its harmful consequences.
Keywords: animal welfare, behavioural traits, domestic fowl, environmental enrichment, feather pecking, poultry
Ethics and welfare of animals used in education: an overview
LA King
Abstract
Ethical, regulatory and scientific issues arise from the use of animals in education, from secondary level schooling through to veterinary and medical training. A utilitarian cost–benefit analysis can be used to assess whether animals should be used in scientific education. The ‘benefit’ aspect of this analysis can be examined through comparative studies of learning outcomes from animal-based versus alternative training methods, while the ‘cost’, in terms of harms to the animals used, can be subject to technical assessment using Russell and Burch’s (1959) 3Rs rationale. Science has only just begun to delineate the effects of educational exercises on the welfare of subject animals. It has also begun to develop technologies and modes of instruction that reduce, refine or replace animal use in education, and instances of their successful implementation in the UK and in the USA will be highlighted. The implementation of these alternatives to animal use is inconsistent, and barriers to the adoption of alternatives include specific curriculum and legislative requirements, traditional educational methodology, and resource and training limitations, particularly when the alternative methods involve new technologies. A further problem arises from the lack of existing research data comparing the educational value of alternative, with traditional animal-based, instruction methods. Greater consistency in the use of methods that reduce, refine or replace harmful animal use could be achieved through improved knowledge of the extent and type of alternative resources currently used in particular fields of scientific education; international comparisons of educational practice; close scrutiny and harmonisation of evaluation methods; and consistency in the ethical review of educational animal use. Information and training, both in the 3Rs and in the use of specific alternative methods, could be disseminated throughout the life sciences. Evaluative research of the educational efficacy of traditional animal-based methods versus refinements or replacements would provide high quality data on which to base decisions regarding teaching methods. Since educational exercises involving animals also impart ethical training, whether inadvertently or directly, instruction in applied ethics should be considered a key element of any education program involving animals.
Keywords: alternatives, animal welfare, education, ethics, life science, student choice
Refinement of gerbil housing and husbandry in the laboratory
E Waiblinger and B König
Abstract
Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) are a widely used model species in parasitology and epilepsy research. Under standard laboratory housing conditions gerbils develop stereotypic digging, a behavioural abnormality, which is caused by the lack of a burrow in the laboratory cage. Here we show that gerbils reared with access to an opaque artificial burrow (nest-box with access tube) develop significantly less stereotypic digging than those reared with transparent artificial burrows. Subadult gerbils also preferred opaque artificial burrows to transparent ones. Based on these findings we developed an artificial burrow system that could be integrated into laboratory Makrolon Type IV cages to prevent the development of stereotypic digging in gerbils by addressing their behavioural needs. Faecal cortisol levels were measured as a non-invasive method of comparing stress reactions in gerbils given access to the new integrated artificial burrow system or to an equivalent transparent burrow. Behavioural differences were observed between gerbils in the two housing conditions, but faecal cortisol levels were unaffected. We conclude that simple refinement of housing is effective in improving gerbil welfare in the laboratory.
Keywords: animal welfare, cortisol, gerbil, housing, refinement, stereotypies
