Assessment of animal welfare Flashcards
5 domains model
Physical/functional domains
1. nutrition - water deprivation, food deprivation, malnutrition
2. environment - physical and atmospheric challenge
3. Health - disease, injury and functional impairment
4. Behaviour - behavioural and/or interactive movement restrictions
1,2,3,4 -> 5. mental domain - thirst, hunger, anxiety, fear, pain, distress
- -> welfare state
what can assess animal welfare?
- health & disease
- behaviour
- physiology
- preference & motivation
- practical strategies
What can increase risk of disease?
poor conditions -> greater risk of disease
what do diseases that are common to humans and animals share?
How do we know?
share clinical and pathological responses -> behavioural and clinical observations, knowledge of its biology and our own experiences
What can illness be accompanied by?
inappetence, thirst, fever, nausea, fatigue, fear and distress
what may physical impairments due to disease include?
What do physical impairments make animals susceptible to?
e.g. reduced mobility, reduced function of body systems
susceptible to other welfare issues
Infectious diseases
viral, bacterial or parasitic
important cause of suffering; some only exert effects when pathogen interacts with predisposing factors such as genetics, age, nutrition, environment or management
Genetic selection -> (health & disease)
-> conformation or maximum productivity (e.g. milk output, growth or egg number) can have lethal effects
What can keeping large numbers of animals require?
requires attention to disease control, a health plan, record keeping, biosecurity, appropriate preventive measures (e.g. vaccination, prophylactic medicines, parasiticides, appropriate diet and environment)
What is required to see signs of ill health?
professional competence, regular inspection and careful observation
How should ill or injured animals be cared for?
cared for appropriately w/o delay
veterinary advice for diagnosis, prognosis, treatment and/or other measures to reduce suffering and prevent disease in other animals
What is behaviour a guide to?
to animal health & welfare
what does behaviour play a key role in?
the study of animal welfare (relatively easy to observe; bridge between clinical health & animal welfare)
How is behaviour related to animal health & welfare?
observation of natural behaviour / comparisons of free-living and captive animals
what is an ethogram?
= a catalogue of behaviours
What foes variation in behaviour under different circumstances imply?
does not necessarily imply good/bad welfare
What may changes in/suppression of behaviour provide cues for?
may provide cues about welfare
What does behaviour indicators imply?
affective states
(negative: fear, pain; positive: pleasure, happiness)
What is the problem with assuming what behaviour indicators mean?
cognitive biases
Abnormal behaviour
- captive animals may perform behaviour / sequences of behaviour that differ from behaviour of free-living animals (e.g. the form, intensity, or orientation of behaviour)
- commonly termed ‘abnormal behaviour’, but adaptive significance and implications for welfare are often controversial (abnormal is not necessarily pathological)
- stereotypic behaviour -> associated with signs of poor welfare
- individual differences -> those with high levels of stereotypic behaviour appear to cope better with poor conditions
- stereotypic behaviour of some individuals can cause poor welfare in others (e.g. feather pecking, tail biting, over-grooming)
Automated behavioural assessment
- accelerometers
- Global Positioning System (GPS)
- Motion sensors
- Infrared thermography (IFT)
- Sound & image analysis
- etc.
what is a stressor? (physiology - stress)
a disruptor of homeostasis, i.e. a chemical or biological agent, environmental condition, external stimulus or an event that causes a stress response
what is homeostasis? (physiology - stress)
a suite of physiological and behavioural responses that help to re-establish
a process that maintains the stability of an animal body’s internal environment in response to changes in external conditions
What is the stress response?
the stress response is adaptive and non-specific
Physiological indicators of stress
- hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity
- Sympatho-adrenal system
- Heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV)
- Brain activity
- stress-induced hyperthermia (SIH)
- reproduction
- production performance
Hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity (Physiological indicators of stress)
e.g. glucocorticoids (ACTH, CRF); standard measure of animal responses to physiological, physical, and psychological challenges
Sympatho-adrenal system (Physiological indicators of stress)
adrenaline and noradrenaline
Heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV)
affected by a number of factors
Brain activity
e.g. serotonin, dopamine, opioids; invasive techniques, restraint
Stress-induced hyperthermia (SIH)
short-lived increase in core temperature
reproduction
essential part of production performance; e.g. LH, FSH, prolactin, progesterone
Production performance
e.g. body mass/condition, growth rate
Acute effects of the stress response (Hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis) (physiology)
- increased immediate availability of energy (glucose)
- increased oxygen intake
- decreased blood flow to areas not necessary for movement
- blood flow rerouted to muscles
- inhibition of digestion, growth, immune function, reproduction, and pain perception
- enhancement of memory and sensory function
Physiology - chronic stress affects
brain
- dendritic atrophy
- impaired neuro-genesis and synaptic plasticity
- enhance benzodiazepine tone
immune system
- basal immuno-suppression and decreased immune responsiveness to challenge
heart
- basal hypertension
- sluggish response to and recovery from stress
- pathogenic cholesterol profile
adrenal gland
- elevated basal levels of glucocorticoids
- sluggish response to and recovery from stress
- feedback resistance
ovary
- decreased levels of gonadal hormones
- increased risk of anovulation and miscarriage
testis
- testicular atrophy
- decreased levels of hormones of the gonadal axis
Preference & motivation
- research on animals’ preferences commonly used as a tool in study of animal welfare -> animal-centred approach
- assumption - animals make choices that in own best interest, and allowing animals to live as they prefer will ensure a high level of animal welfare
Under what conditions are the choices made by an animal reliable indicators of welfare? How can we best incorporate animals’ preferences into housing and management systems?
Investigation of animals
- preferences
- motivations
- aversions
preferences - temperature, illumination, social contact, bedding, flooring, shade, etc
motivations - motivation to swim, exercise, rest, use nest boxes, dust bathe, etc.
aversions - noise, vibration, heat, polluted air, rough handling, gases for euthanasia, etc.
not simple -> influences of familiarity, information gathering, learning and other factors
Welfare benefits by housing animals in situations that they prefer and that
accommodate behaviour they are motivated to perform, and by situations where
they can express individual preferences for physical or social environments
what has most work focused on? (practical strategies)
on resource-based measures (RBMs), i.e. what and how much of different resources (e.g. food, water, space, care) are given to animals, which may be a poor guarantee of good welfare
What has been more recently used in work?
increase in outcome-based measures (OBMs), e.g. behaviour or physical condition -> better indicators of welfare
Welfare assessment based on ? and supported by?
based on OBMs, supported by RBMs
Applying on OBM (practical strategies)
- step 1: measure (a standardised description is needed)
- step 2: analyse risk factors (practical application, RBMs)
- step 3: inform
- step 4: support management decisions to create improvements in welfare
Example of applying an OBM (practical strategies)
step 1: measure
- faecal glucocorticoids (fGCs)
- keeper surveys
- enclosure characteristics & contact with keeper
step 2: analyse risk factors
- positive correlation between fGCs and fur plucking
- lower fGCs with higher enclosure and more contact with keeper; higher fGCs when predators visible
- follow-up experiment/addition of hiding spaces -> reduction in fGCs
step 3: inform & step 4: support management decisions to create improvements in welfare
- conferences & publications
- Species Survival Plan (SSP) -> integration of new management information into current husbandry manuals (enclosure height)
