Animal Welfare

Animal welfare refers to the physical and emotional state that is impacted by the environment in which the animal lives and works human attitudes and practices, and resources available to it. Welfare is an ever-changing state in which all of these factors can and will cause welfare to fluctuate between good, bad and somewhere in between on a near constant basis.

At the Brooke, we aim for overall welfare to be good. This accepts that there can be good and bad experiences during the animal’s life, but as far as possible health, life and comfort-sustaining needs are met.

Why should people be concerned about animal welfare?

Within the discipline of animal welfare, we consider science, ethics and law. In some cases, we have to be concerned because the law says so, in other ways we should because evidence leads to evolving ethical views on what is right.

Domesticated animals work hard to provide us with many of the things that enable us to survive and thrive (e.g. meat, milk, draught power) so it is our responsibility to ensure they have a good quality of life.  Just as we humans expect to be paid, or at least reap some personal benefit from a long day of hard work, animals deserve support for all the hard work they do that makes our lives easier and secures our livelihoods – it is the least we can do for them.  Animals are fully contributing members of our communities that can feel pain, fear and stress as well as a wide range of positive emotions – we must look out for our fellow community members as best we can to ensure a happy, healthy and peaceful community.   In some countries, legislation is in place to protect animal welfare and it is a legal requirement to provide for the needs of animals.

At the Brooke, we need to help people meet their responsibilities despite the constraints which come from factors such as the environment, poverty, low status and restricted access to resources for their families and animals. An animal’s welfare matters regardless of the function they serve. Good animal welfare is a necessity, not a luxury.

There are multiple existing concepts of what animal welfare means, which are used in different ways for different reasons. Here are the main ones and how they have been used at the Brooke.

The Five Freedoms

Freedom from hunger or thirst – by ready access  to fresh water and a diet to maintain full health  and vigour  Freedom from discomfort – by providing an appropriate environment including shelter and  a comfortable resting area  Freedom from pain, injury or disease – by prevention or rapid diagnosis and treatment  Freedom to express (most) normal behaviour – by providing sufficient space, proper facilities and company of the animal’s own kind  Freedom from fear and distress – by ensuring conditions and treatment which avoid mental suffering

The Five Freedoms were developed following reaction by the UK government to a book named ‘Animal Machines’ by Ruth Harrison in 1964. They apply to all animals and remind us what to provide and look for to appraise welfare. While it may not be realistic to expect a working animal to ever be able to achieve all five freedoms at the same time, it is important owners and users are aware that the time and resources invested contribute to the welfare state of the animal.

Physical, Emotional, Natural

Quality of Life concerns animals’ mental experiences and is a central goal of animal welfare. Disease and injury cause unpleasant feelings such as pain, confusion and distress, so health is an important aspect of animal welfare.   Quality of Life encompasses more than health, however, it includes positive and negative experiences; such as enjoyment, frustration and anxiety which may be caused by how the animal is cared for. It is judged over time (cumulative) and takes into account possible expectations of animals for what they need (survival) and want (choice).  The Physical, Emotional and Natural framework combines all of these elements. For example, pain and discomfort are emotional experiences, and therefore many physical problems include an emotional component because of pain.

The formal, scientific study of animal welfare began ~50 years ago, and the discipline as a whole is known as animal welfare science. However, the question of whether animals are suffering and what to do about it has mattered to people around the world for thousands of years. A common criticism of this concern has been that animals don’t have feelings as we do, and people who worry about animals may simply be attributing human feelings to animals. This attribution of human feelings to animals is called anthropomorphism. However, modern science suggests that we share many feelings with animals, to some degree. This scientific finding supports the common intuitive sense that many people around the world have always had, i.e. that animals have similar feelings to us and therefore can and do show signs of feeling fear, pain, pleasure and other emotions. The capacity of humans and other animals to have feelings that they experience as pleasant or unpleasant is called ‘sentience’. The next slide looks at this definition.

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