Concepts of Animal Welfare
- Biological Functioning: Proper growth, reproduction, and health.
- Natural Living: Ability to express normal behavior patterns.
- Affective State: Minimizing negative emotions such as pain, fear, distress.
- Holistic Approach: Welfare = Health + Behavior + Emotional State.
I. Physical status
- Welfare defines the state of an animal as regards its attempts to cope with its environment (Fraser & Broom, 1990).
- “I suggest that an animal is in a poor state of animal welfare only when physiological systems are disturbed to the point that survival or reproduction are impaired.” (McGlone, 1993)
- It is a biological indicators including reproduction and production.
II. Mental status
- “Neither health nor lack of stress nor fitness is necessary and/or sufficient to conclude that an animal has good welfare. Welfare is dependent upon what animals feel.” (Duncan, 1993)
- Feelings have adaptive value, having positive and negative emotional states:
- Negative: escape immediate harm, for example, fear, hunger or pain
- Positive: promote long-term benefit- animal stay in situations that promote those feelings, for example, joy and pleasure
- It is concerned with subjective feelings of animals, particularly unpleasant subjective feelings of suffering and pain
III. Naturalness
- “Not only will welfare mean control of pain and suffering, it will also entail nurturing and fulfilment of the animals’ nature, which I call telos.” (Rollin, 1993)
- It is ability of an animal to fulfil its natural needs.
- “In principle, we disapprove of a degree of confinement of an animal which necessarily frustrates most of the major activities which make up its natural behavior” (Brambell Committee, 1965)