ANIMAL WELFARE Flashcards
What are the five freedoms?
- Freedom from hunger or thirst
- Freedom from discomfort
- Freedom from pain, injury and disease
- Freedom to express normal behaviour
- Freedom from fear and distress
What are the three Rs?
Replacement, Reduction, Refinement
Which animals are protected under the Animal Welfare act 2006 (AWA)?
Vertebrate animals other than man
Which animals are excluded from the Animal Welfare act 2006?
Animals involved in shooting, fishing and all animals involved in experimental procedures
What is classified as mutilation in the Animal Welfare act 2006?
Mutilation: Carrying out a procedure involving interference with the sensitive tissue or bone structure of an animal, other than for medical treatment
What are the laws surrounding tail docking of dogs in Scotland?
Tail docking dogs is completely illegal in Scotland except for medical treatment or in certified working dogs
What are the five welfare needs?
- Suitable environment
- Suitable diet
- Ability to exhibit normal behaviour
- Housing with/away from other animals
- Protection from suffering, injury or disease
What is a care/improvement notice?
If the person responsible for an animal is failing to ensure the welfare of that animal, an inspector has the right to issue a care notice which specifies the nature of failure, steps required to rectify this failure and the compliance period. The person will not have committed an offence if these recommended steps are taken
If circumstances do not change after issuing a care notice, which five things do authorities and animal welfare charities have the right to do?
Take possession of animal(s)
Euthanise animal(s)
Entry and search under warrant
Inspection of farm premises
Prosecution
What are the three benefits of good ventilation in kennels and catteries?
Reduces odour
Provides clean air
Reduces concentration of airborne infections
What are the minimum and maximum temperature requirements for dog kennels?
Min temperature: 7°C
Max temperature: 26°C
What are the minimum and maximum temperature requirements for catteries?
Min temperature: 10°C
Max temperature: 26°C
What are the minimum and maximum temperature requirements for isolation and hospital accommodation?
Min temperature: 18°C
Max temperature: 21°C
Who licence and inspect boarding and breeding kennels?
Local authorities
Who regulate research kennels?
Home office
Who regulate quarantine kennels?
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)
Who inspect veterinary kennels run by licensed veterinary surgeons?
Veterinary kennels run by licensed veterinary surgeons are not subject to inspection by any authority
Why do cats require shelving or a raised area within a cattery?
Cats sometimes prefer a raised area in which to rest one
Why do cats require a sneeze barrier within a cattery?
Sneeze barriers prevent cats from different households from coming into contact with each other or sneezing on one another, reducing the risk of disease spread
Why do cats require a litter tray within a cattery?
Litter trays provide a designated toileting area at cats are meticulous animals whose natural behaviour prompts them to cover waste
What are the four welfare domains?
Nutrition/Hydration
Physical environments
Health/functional status
Behavioural interactions
Which species of animals are covered by the EU pet passport scheme?
Dogs
Cats
Ferrets
What are the entry requirements for animals to travel from a listed country to the EU under the pet passport scheme?
Microchip
Rabies vaccination
Valid EU pet passport/animal health certificate
Tapeworm treatment (Praziquantel)
(T/F) Animals must be microchipped before receiving a rabies vaccination according to the pet passport scheme
TRUE
How many weeks old should an animal be before being able to receive a rabies vaccine?
Animals should be at least 12 weeks old before receiving a rabies vaccine
How many days before travel should the course of rabies vaccines be completed?
The initial course of the rabies vaccine should be completed at least 21 days prior to travel
How many hours before travel should tapeworm treatment (praziquantel) be administered?
Praziquantel should be administered 24-120 hours before travel
In the UK, who is authorised to issue a pet health certificate?
Within the UK, only an official veterinary surgeon with the appropriate training by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) can issue a pet health certificate
What are the four classical ethological questions?
CAUSATION: What controls the behaviour?
DEVELOPMENT: How did the behaviour arise in the animal’s life?
FUNCTION: What is the behaviour for?
EVOLUTION: How did the behaviour evolve in this species?
What are the two main ways to describe animal behaviour?
Structural
Consequential
What are the two fundamental types of behaviour pattern?
Events (short duration)
State (long duration)
How is causation of behaviour classified?
The causation of behaviours is classified by how rigid the association between the triggering stimulus and the behavioural pattern is
Give two examples of causation of behaviour classifications
Reflex
Fixed action pattern
What is a reflex in terms of behaviour?
A reflex is a consistent, predictable and rigid stimulus-response action
What is a fixed action pattern?
A fixed action pattern is an instinctive behaviour and a consistent response to specific stimuli
What are vacuum behaviours?
Vacuum behaviours are highly motivated behaviours which occur even in the absence of appropriate external stimuli
What are the two tests used to investigate the associations between motivation and welfare?
Preference tests
Consumer demand theory
What is a preference test?
A preference test is when an animal is offered two or more variants of a single external variable
How is preference measured?
Preference is measured through the time the animal spends with each option, or the number of times an option is chosen
What are the four complications of preference tests?
- Only presents relative preferences
- Doesn’t account for short and long term preferences
- Artificial/external causal factors can influence choice
- Choices are rarely exclusive
What is the purpose of consumer demand theory?
Consumer demand theory aims to quantify motivation
What are the three ‘costs’ that can be used in a consumer demand theory experiment?
Operant task
Homeostatic challenge
Natural challenge
For ‘cost’ to be valid in a consumer demand theory test, what is required?
For a ‘cost’ to be valid, these tasks must be relevant to challenges seen in the animal’s natural environment
What is inelastic demand?
Inelastic demand is when the demand for a resource remains the same even with an increased cost
What is elastic demand?
Elastic demand is when the demand for a resource declines with an increased cost
What are release studies?
Release studies are the release of domestic animals back into a naturalistic environment to monitor the influence of domestication on natural behaviours
What are the two classifications of animal behaviour at birth?
Precocial: Well developed neonate
Altricial: Helpless neonate
How does animal behaviour develop throughout life?
Animal behaviour develops due to learning, allowing animals to predict and to some extent control future events
What are the three classifications of learning?
One-event learning
Associative learning
Extinction learning
What is one-event learning?
One-event learning is the changing response to repeated stimuli
Give two examples of one-event learning
Habituation
Sensitisation
What is associative learning?
Associative learning is when animals learn to associate events
Describe two examples of associative learning?
Classical conditioning: association between two external events in which they have no control
Instrumental conditioning: association between behaviour and consequences
What is extinction learning?
Extinction learning is a learning process which occurs when an event or behaviour is no longer followed by reinforcement
What is animal cognition?
Animal cognition is the mechanisms by which animals acquire, process, store and act on information from the environment
What are four ‘higher’ cognitive processes?
Object permanence
Reasoning
Concept formation
Self-awareness and theory of mind
What is object permanence?
Object permanence is the awareness that objects continue to exist even when they are no longer visible
What is reasoning?
Reasoning is mental calculation and problem solving
What is concept formation?
Concept formation is the mental categorisation for objects, events or ideas that have a common set of features
What is self-awareness and theory of mind?
Self awareness and theory of mind is the awareness of mental states of self and others
What are abnormal behaviours?
Abnormal behaviours resemble ‘normal’ actions but differ in frequency, intensity and context
Give three classifications of abnormal behaviours
Anomalous reactivity
Redirected behaviour
Stereotypies
What are stereotypies?
Stereotypies are repeated behaviours with no obvious goal or function
What kind of stereotypies are commonly exhibited by grazers and omnivores. Why is this?
Grazers and omnivores show oral stereotypies associated with feeding as they are adapted to spend lots of time foraging
What kind of stereotypies are commonly exhibited by predators. Why is this?
Predators show locomotor stereotypies as they are adapted to spend lots of time moving and chasing
What can be used to correct abnormal behaviour and improve animal welfare?
Environmental enrichment
What are the three essential components of environmental enrichment?
Increase stimulation for animal
Allow animal control over their environment
Increase exercise
