ANIMAL WELFARE

ELISTA Education 2011

The Five Freedoms & Anthrozoology

Last month…

• What is welfare?• Well-being/Being well• Anthropomorphism• Perceptions & Opinions: Animal Welfare

– Personality– Experience– Knowledge– Gender– Religion & Culture– Environment

• Nature vs Nurture

• Evolution

• Taxonomy

• Natural Selection

• Domestication

The Five Freedoms

5 essential requirements for ALL animals. Provision of the 5 freedoms is allowing for the underlying needs of an animal.

The Five Freedoms are now most commonly associated with UFAW (Universities Federation for Animal Welfare), but were originally produced from initial guideline from the Farm Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (est. 1967, later to become the Farm Animal Welfare Council in 1979) which recommended animals

require the freedoms to: "stand up, lie down, turn around, groom themselves and

stretch their limbs”

1

Freedom from Hunger & Thirst

2

Freedom from Pain, Injury & Disease

3

Freedom from Fear & Distress

4

Freedom from Discomfort

5

Freedom to Exhibit Normal Behaviour

Evaluating 5 Freedoms

Freedom from Hunger and Thirst

Optimal Welfare

No provision of Freedom

•Good quality balanced diet appropriate to specie and life stage

•Clean fresh water available at all times

•Mechanism of provision

•Dehydrated

•Starved

•MalnourishedPoor quality/less appropriate food

Doing little harm, but little good

Potentially prevent freedom from pain, injury and disease

Evaluating 5 Freedoms

Freedom from Hunger and Thirst

Optimal Welfare

No provision of Freedom

Over provision of Freedom

Freedom from Pain, Injury & Disease?

Freedom to exhibit normal behaviour?

Slides of Imageswhere freedoms not provided

• Ignorance

• Space/Time/Money

• Experience/Observation

• Psychological/Sociological issue

Why might we not provide the five freedoms to animals?

Ignorance

• Not doing research

• Trusting industry

• Not getting from responsible breeder

• Not educating themselves

Space, Time, Money

Changes in personal circumstances:

• Move of House

• New Job

• Loss of Job

• Illness in Family

• Using animals for

economic gain

Experience/Observation

Have seen others do it…think it is ok!

• TV

• Internet

• First Hand

Psychological/Sociological

• Personality• Personal Experience• Emotional Stressors (Illness, Grieve)• Peer pressure• Experimental• In appropriate relations• Abuse sufferers• Religion or culture• Trying to do good!• Animal Exploitation (for social gain)

What is not providing the five freedoms for animals?

CRUELTY?“The deliberate and malicious infliction of mental or physical pain upon persons or animals.”

“the infliction of physical pain or death upon an animal, when unnecessary for disciplinary, instructional, or humanitarian purposes, such as the release of the animal from incurable illness.”

http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/cruelty

How cruel?Animals in Circuses

Dog Racing

Horse Racing

Bull Fighting

Farming

Vivisection

Pet Keeping

Physical Abuse

Hunting

Dog Fighting

Neutering

Tail docking

Breeding

Fishing

Horse Riding

Dog Training