ANIMAL WELFARE

ELISTA Education 2011

WHAT IS WELFARE: An Introduction

WHAT is WELFARE? 1 the health, happiness, and fortunes of a person or group 2 statutory procedure or social effort designed to promote

the basic physical and material well-being of people in need:

http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/welfare?view=uk

Well-being, happiness; health & prosperity (of a person or community) (Oxford Dictionary, 1992)

WELFARE

Health

Happiness

Money/WealthPhysical Well-being

Warmth

Clothes

Heating

Food

Material Well-being

Possessions

“feeling pleasure or contentment”

Notice that definitions for welfare include very little social or emotional well-being, only ‘happiness’.

This in human society maybe the critical and pivotal component to the assessment of human welfare

WELFARE =Well-being = “being well”

If you care about someone’s welfare you care about them being well.

How can we, or animals be well?

SCALE of WELL BEINGExtremely wellNot well

Eating (pref choc!)

Nice Ride

Walk on sunny day

Cuddle on Sofa

Cold, wet, tired

Hungry

Frustrated

Bored

Are the things listed all physical?

Are everyone’s the same?

What about animals Well-being? What makes an animal well? What makes an animal not well? Is an animals well being the same as ours?

Can we assume that what makes us happy makes an animal happy?…

And unhappy?

AnthropomorphismCaution should be used when talking about “happiness” in

animals. To be ‘happy’ is an emotional state, just as it is to be ‘sad’ or ‘bored’.

We do not know for a FACT that animals experience these emotions in the same way we do. Physiological responses can be linked to emotional feelings such as release of oxytocin and endorphins, adrenaline and cortisol.

To attribute human emotions to animals is considered Anthropomorphic, and although may be suitable for anecdotal speech has no scientific grounding.

AnthropomorphismThe dog is happy

(The dog is aroused (positive), responding to pleasing stimuli, distance decreasing signals)

The elephant is bored(The elephant has a lack of stimulation; behaviour is a

response to barren environment with limited

to no stimulation. Boredom is an emotion)

The dog is angry(The dog is aroused (negative), stressed or responding

to non-pleasing stimuli, distance increasing signal)

                                         

Why do we anthropomorphise? Animals are endearing

(natural affinity to)

Place ourselves into their situation/environment

Child-like fun!

                                     

Apart from anthropomorphising where do our opinions and perceptions on animal welfare come from?

Why do they differ?

What is a perception? “Intuitive recognition of truth, aesthetic

quality, way of seeing, understanding”(Oxford Dictionary, 1992)

What can affect our perceptions of animal well being? Personality Empathy Experience (ownership) Knowledge Gender (+genes) Religion + Cultural information exchange Environmental (Media)

PersonalityDescribing traits (characteristics) is a common way of assessing

personalitySome people have grouped

traits to label a personality type.

Eysenck’s Personality Theory (1963)

More recent is the Keirsey Temperament Sorter(using personality types Guardian, Artisans, Idealists & Rationalists)

(Neurotic)

Biological explanation for Personality

General personality types (e.g Extrovert, Introvert and

Neuroticism) have a biological genetic basis (Hayes,

1995) related to cortical arousal.

Personality types and Animal Welfare Perceptions Limited studies on what type of personality are

more concerned with animal welfare…Broida et al. (1993) no difference in introverts, but intuitive type more against than sensate and feeling types more against than thinking.

Bagley & Gonsman study (2005) Personality and Pet Attachment- Idealist have higher pet attachment (idealist traits=“identity seeking”, trusting of intuitions and feelings, skilled in interpersonal integration, ethical, benevolent and

empathetic (8-10% population (Keirsey), 38.7% in Bagley & Gonsman)

Empathy (Taylor & Signal, 2005)

Often considered a by-product of a personality trait (maybe influenced by environmental events & personal experience)

Females seen to be more empathetic Current pet owners more empathetic Link to pet empathy and human-human empathy

Experience Caring for animals Being a pet

owner/exposure Experience will

always affect empathy (…can harden/immune or more concerning)

Knowledge What we are here for!… To be objective-fact based,

measurable recordings etc Lack of Knowledge (ignorance) also affect

perception

Gender Women seen more in animal welfare

organisations

Religion & Cultural Exchange What we are told is right and wrong Religious ethics (Halal meat, sacred

animals, reincarnation) Peer behaviour Observation

Environment Wealth Status Media influence?…

Perceptions- Nature & Nurture Nature

Personality

Gender+ genes

Nurture

Personality?

Experience

Knowledge

Culture

Environmental

                                    

Is it ok to have different perceptions and opinions? Yes!…different perceptions and opinions makes

us a society, rather than being lie a tribe of clones!…

What is important from the point of view of studying Animal Welfare is 1. Where our opinions and perceptions come from and 2. To respect the opinions and perceptions of others and be open to changing our own opinions and perceptions due to increased knowledge.