63-407: The Universities Federation for Animal Welfare ( UFAW ) is an animal welfare science society. It is a UK-registered scientific and educational charity. UFAW works to improve animals' lives by promoting and supporting developments in the science and technology that underpin advances in animal welfare. It organises symposia, conferences and meetings, and publishes books, videos, technical reports and
126-404: A continuum from very good to very poor and studies of welfare will be most effective if a wide range of measures is used." John Webster criticized this definition for making "no attempt to say what constitutes good or bad welfare." Animal welfare often refers to a utilitarian attitude towards the well-being of nonhuman animals. It believes the animals can be exploited if the animal suffering and
189-512: A hypodermic needle according to good veterinary practice." It also includes modifying the genes of a protected animal if this causes the animal pain, suffering, distress, or lasting harm. The ASPA also considers other issues such as animal sources , housing conditions, identification methods, and the humane killing of animals. Those applying for a license must explain why such research cannot be done through non-animal methods. The project must also pass an ethical review panel which aims to decide if
252-678: A maximum of six months. In the UK, the welfare of research animals being used for "regulated procedures" was historically protected by the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) which is administrated by the Home Office . The Act defines "regulated procedures" as animal experiments that could potentially cause "pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm" to "protected animals". Initially, "protected animals" encompassed all living vertebrates other than humans, but, in 1993, an amendment added
315-494: A research field to study "living things and their environment with respect to their welfare (defined as net happiness, or enjoyment minus suffering)." The European Commission 's activities in this area start with the recognition that animals are sentient beings. The general aim is to ensure that animals do not endure avoidable pain or suffering, and obliges the owner/keeper of animals to respect minimum welfare requirements. European Union legislation regarding farm animal welfare
378-509: A single invertebrate species, the common octopus . Primates , cats , dogs , and horses have additional protection over other vertebrates under the Act. Revised legislation came into force in January 2013. This has been expanded to protect "...all living vertebrates, other than man, and any living cephalopod . Fish and amphibia are protected once they can feed independently and cephalopods at
441-602: Is a positive science." Dictionary definition – In the Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary , animal welfare is defined as "the avoidance of abuse and exploitation of animals by humans by maintaining appropriate standards of accommodation, feeding and general care, the prevention and treatment of disease and the assurance of freedom from harassment, and unnecessary discomfort and pain." American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has defined animal welfare as: "An animal
504-487: Is an area of developing concern within the UK. As part of its remit to educate and inform on animal welfare, UFAW has also produced a series of books, in collaboration with Wiley-Blackwell Science, that seek to provide an authoritative source of information on worldwide developments, current thinking and best practice in the field of animal welfare science and technology. In 1987, the Council Members became also
567-687: Is an issue of importance as part of the social development of nations worldwide. The campaign to achieve the UDAW is being coordinated by World Animal Protection , with a core working group including Compassion in World Farming , the RSPCA, and the Humane Society International (the international branch of HSUS ). The 2019 UN Global Sustainable Development Report identified animal welfare as one of several key missing issues in
630-486: Is coping with the conditions in which it lives. An animal is in a good state of welfare if (as indicated by scientific evidence) it is healthy, comfortable, well nourished, safe, able to express innate behaviour, and if it is not suffering from unpleasant states such as pain, fear, and distress. Good animal welfare requires disease prevention and veterinary treatment, appropriate shelter, management, nutrition, humane handling and humane slaughter/killing. Animal welfare refers to
693-461: Is in a good state of welfare if (as indicated by scientific evidence) it is healthy, comfortable, well nourished, safe, able to express innate behavior, and if it is not suffering from unpleasant states such as pain, fear, and distress." They have offered the following eight principles for developing and evaluating animal welfare policies. Terrestrial Animal Health Code of World Organisation for Animal Health defines animal welfare as "how an animal
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#1732794276264756-478: Is often based on the belief that nonhuman animals are sentient and that consideration should be given to their well-being or suffering , especially when they are under the care of humans. These concerns can include how animals are slaughtered for food, how they are used in scientific research , how they are kept (as pets, in zoos, farms, circuses, etc.), and how human activities affect the welfare and survival of wild species. There are two forms of criticism of
819-591: Is regularly re-drafted according to science-based evidence and cultural views. For example, in 2009, legislation was passed which aimed to reduce animal suffering during slaughter and on 1 January 2012, the European Union Council Directive 1999/74/EC came into act, which means that conventional battery cages for laying hens are now banned across the Union. The Animal Welfare Act 2006 makes owners and keepers responsible for ensuring that
882-518: Is sometimes defined by a list of positive conditions which should be provided to the animal. This approach is taken by the Five Freedoms and the three principles of professor John Webster. The Five Freedoms are: John Webster defines animal welfare by advocating three positive conditions: Living a natural life, being fit and healthy, and being happy. High production – In the past, many have seen farm animal welfare chiefly in terms of whether
945-423: Is the well-being of non-human animals . Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures such as longevity , disease , immunosuppression , behavior , physiology , and reproduction , although there is debate about which of these best indicate animal welfare. Respect for animal welfare
1008-669: The Five Freedoms . In the UK, the " Animal Welfare Act 2006 " consolidated many different forms of animal welfare legislation. A number of animal welfare organisations are campaigning to achieve a Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare (UDAW) at the United Nations. In principle, the Universal Declaration would call on the United Nations to recognise animals as sentient beings, capable of experiencing pain and suffering, and to recognise that animal welfare
1071-690: The National Institutes of Health Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare, researchers must try to minimize distress in animals whenever possible: "Animals used in research and testing may experience pain from induced diseases, procedures, and toxicity. The Public Health Service (PHS) Policy and Animal Welfare Regulations (AWRs) state that procedures that cause more than momentary or slight pain or distress should be performed with appropriate sedation, analgesia, or anesthesia. However, research and testing studies sometimes involve pain that cannot be relieved with such agents because they would interfere with
1134-529: The RSPCA . The society used members' donations to employ a growing network of inspectors, whose job was to identify abusers, gather evidence, and report them to the authorities. In 1837, the German minister Albert Knapp founded the first German animal welfare society. One of the first national laws to protect animals was the UK " Cruelty to Animals Act 1835 " followed by the " Protection of Animals Act 1911 ". In
1197-410: The mulesing of sheep and predation of stock by wild animals. Biosecurity is also a risk with free range farming, as it allows for more contact between livestock and wild animal populations, which may carry zoonoses . Farmed animals are artificially selected for production parameters which sometimes impinge on the animals' welfare. For example, broiler chickens are bred to be very large to produce
1260-572: The " Cruel Treatment of Cattle Act 1822 " through Parliament offering protection from cruelty to cattle, horses, and sheep, an animal welfare movement has been active in England. Martin was among the founders of the world's first animal welfare organization, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals , or SPCA, in 1824. In 1840, Queen Victoria gave the society her blessing, and it became
1323-543: The 1970s, there was a dearth of scientific evidence on the welfare impact of hare coursing . The first thorough study was carried out in 1977–1979 by UFAW. The UFAW Handbook on the Care and Management of Farm Animals was first published in 1971 and in 2013 reached its fourth edition. The UFAW Handbook on the Care and Management of Laboratory and other Research Animals was first published in 1947 and reached its eight edition in 2010. Animal welfare Animal welfare
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#17327942762641386-460: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Animal welfare science is an emerging field that seeks to answer questions raised by the keeping and use of animals, such as whether hens are frustrated when confined in cages, whether the psychological well-being of animals in laboratories can be maintained, and whether zoo animals are stressed by the transport required for international conservation. Ireland leads research into farm animal welfare with
1449-651: The Brambell Committee whose report into the welfare of animals kept under intensive livestock husbandry systems led to the formation of the Farm Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (later Farm Animal Welfare Council – FAWC) and the concept of the Five Freedoms . Examples of more recent activities include funding of the work, at the University of Bristol, investigating the use of the concept of cognitive bias to assess
1512-587: The Bruite Creatures" Liberty 92 and 93 in the " Massachusetts Body of Liberties " of 1641. In 1776, English clergyman Humphrey Primatt authored A Dissertation on the Duty of Mercy and Sin of Cruelty to Brute Animals , one of the first books published in support of animal welfare. Marc Bekoff said that "Primatt was largely responsible for bringing animal welfare to the attention of the general public." Since 1822, when Irish MP Richard Martin brought
1575-456: The Three Rs. A special edition of UFAW's Animal Welfare journal devoted to the Three Rs, and including an article by Professor Russell entitled The Three Rs: past, present and future , was published in 2005 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the project leading to the publication of the book. The UFAW publishes Animal Welfare a scientific and technical journal, since 1992. It publishes
1638-696: The Trustees of the Humane Slaughter Association (HSA). The HSA and UFAW are financially independent but have worked closely together for many years to advance farm animal welfare. The HSA works to improve farm animal welfare 'beyond the farm gate' – during transport, at markets and at slaughter. UFAW originated and supports the principle of the 'Three R's' in the use of animals in scientific procedures. In 1954 UFAW's founder, Charles Hume, together with other members of UFAW's Council, wished to see laboratory techniques become more humane for
1701-460: The UK alone, up to 20 million broilers each year die from the stress of catching and transporting before reaching the slaughterhouse. Animal welfare violations have been observed more in intensively bred chicken, pig and cattle species, respectively, and studies and laws have been enacted in this regard. However, animal welfare in semi-intensive species such as sheep and goats is nowadays being scrutinised and gaining importance. Another concern about
1764-878: The US are also protected under the Animal Welfare Act . The United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) enforces the Animal Welfare Act. APHIS inspects animal research facilities regularly and reports are published online. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the total number of animals used in the U.S. in 2005 was almost 1.2 million, but this does not include rats, mice, and birds which are not covered by welfare legislation but make up approximately 90% of research animals. There are many different approaches to describing and defining animal welfare. Positive conditions – Providing good animal welfare
1827-473: The US it was many years until there was a national law to protect animals—the " Animal Welfare Act of 1966 "—although there were a number of states that passed anti-cruelty laws between 1828 and 1898. In India, animals are protected by the " Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 ". Significant progress in animal welfare did not take place until the late 20th century. In 1965, the UK government commissioned an investigation—led by professor Roger Brambell—into
1890-523: The US, every institution that uses vertebrate animals for federally funded laboratory research must have an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). Each local IACUC reviews research protocols and conducts evaluations of the institution's animal care and use which includes the results of inspections of facilities that are required by law. The IACUC committee must assess the steps taken to "enhance animal well-being" before research can take place. This includes research on farm animals. According to
1953-407: The animal is producing well. The argument is that an animal in poor welfare would not be producing well, however, many farmed animals will remain highly productive despite being in conditions where good welfare is almost certainly compromised, e.g., layer hens in battery cages . Emotion in animals – Others in the field, such as professor Ian Duncan and professor Marian Dawkins , focus more on
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2016-494: The animals concerned and appointed an Oxford zoologist Dr William Russell to undertake a programme of research into this subject. UFAW Research Fellow Dr Russell, along with his laboratory assistant and co-author Rex Burch, published the results of their work in 1959 as The Principles of Humane Experimental Technique (reprinted in 1992). This publication introduced the concept of the 'Three Rs' – of R eplacement, R eduction and R efinement – which in due course came to be adopted as
2079-800: The captives afterward for signs of infection from the procedure. Research on wild cetaceans leaves them free to roam and make sounds in their natural habitat, eat live fish, face predators and injury, and form social groups voluntarily. However, boat engines of researchers, whale watchers and others add substantial noise to their natural environment, reducing their ability to echolocate and communicate. Electric engines are far quieter, but are not widely used for either research or whale watching, even for maintaining position, which does not require much power. Vancouver Port offers discounts for ships with quiet propeller and hull designs. Other areas have reduced speeds. Boat engines also have unshielded propellers, which cause serious injuries to cetaceans who come close to
2142-583: The cetaceans from a distance with dart guns. A cetacean was killed by a fungal infection after being darted, due to either an incompletely sterilized dart or an infection from the ocean entering the wound caused by the dart. Researchers on wild cetaceans have not yet been able to use drones to capture noninvasive breath samples. Other harms to wild cetaceans include commercial whaling , aboriginal whaling , drift netting , ship collisions , water pollution , noise from sonar and reflection seismology , predators , loss of prey , and disease . Efforts to enhance
2205-757: The concept of animal welfare, coming from diametrically opposite positions. One view, held by some thinkers in history, holds that humans have no duties of any kind to animals. The other view is based on the animal rights position that animals should not be regarded as property and any use of animals by humans is unacceptable. Accordingly, some animal rights proponents argue that the perception of better animal welfare facilitates continued and increased exploitation of animals. Some authorities therefore treat animal welfare and animal rights as two opposing positions. Others see animal welfare gains as incremental steps towards animal rights. The predominant view of modern neuroscientists , notwithstanding philosophical problems with
2268-590: The costs of use is less than the benefits to humans. This attitude is also known simply as welfarism . Animal Welfare (journal) Animal Welfare is a quarterly, peer-reviewed scientific journal covering studies on the welfare of animals, whether in captivity (e.g. on farms, in laboratories, zoos and as companions) or in the wild. Its scope includes animal welfare science , animal cognition , ethology , behavioural ecology , evolution of behaviour, sociobiology , behavioural physiology , population biology , neurophysiology and abnormal behaviour . It
2331-468: The definition of consciousness even in humans, is that consciousness exists in nonhuman animals; however, some still maintain that consciousness is a philosophical question that may never be scientifically resolved. Remarkably, a new study has managed to overcome some of the difficulties in testing this question empirically and devised a unique way to dissociate conscious from nonconscious perception in animals. In this study conducted in rhesus monkeys,
2394-761: The doctrine of non-violence . In the 13th century CE, Genghis Khan protected wildlife in Mongolia during the breeding season (March to October). Early legislation in the Western world on behalf of animals includes the Ireland Parliament (Thomas Wentworth) " An Act against Plowing by the Tayle, and pulling the Wooll off living Sheep ", 1635, and the Massachusetts Colony ( Nathaniel Ward ) "Off
2457-500: The end of the procedure, or if appropriate, during the procedure." The National Research Council's Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals also serves as a guide to improve welfare for animals used in research in the US. The Federation of Animal Science Societies' Guide for the Care and Use of Agricultural Animals in Research and Teaching is a resource addressing welfare concerns in farm animal research. Laboratory animals in
2520-481: The feelings of the animal. This approach indicates the belief that animals should be considered as sentient beings. Duncan wrote, "Animal welfare is to do with the feelings experienced by animals: the absence of strong negative feelings, usually called suffering, and (probably) the presence of positive feelings, usually called pleasure. In any assessment of welfare, it is these feelings that should be assessed." Dawkins wrote, "Let us not mince words: Animal welfare involves
2583-659: The first time, minimum standards of care. Additional provisions, called the Humane Euthanasia Act, were added in 1990, and then further expanded and strengthened with the Animal Protection Act of 2000. In 2002, voters passed (by a margin of 55% for and 45% against) Amendment 10 to the Florida Constitution banning the confinement of pregnant pigs in gestation crates. In 2006, Arizona voters passed Proposition 204 with 62% support;
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2646-434: The greatest quantity of meat per animal. Broilers bred for fast growth have a high incidence of leg deformities because the large breast muscles cause distortions of the developing legs and pelvis, and the birds cannot support their increased body weight. As a consequence, they frequently become lame or suffer from broken legs. The increased body weight also puts a strain on their hearts and lungs, and ascites often develop. In
2709-684: The guiding principle for the welfare of research animals worldwide and is now required by regulatory authorities in many countries. The Three Rs are: A good deal of UFAW's work, including the Hume Animal Welfare Research Fellowship, the Animal Welfare Research Training Scholarship and other research grants, the UFAW 3Rs Liaison Group, and participation in working groups, has been focused in areas directly related to promoting
2772-569: The legislation prohibits the confinement of calves in veal crates and breeding sows in gestation crates. In 2007, the Governor of Oregon signed legislation prohibiting the confinement of pigs in gestation crates and in 2008, the Governor of Colorado signed legislation that phased out both gestation crates and veal crates. Also during 2008, California passed Proposition 2 , known as the "Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act", which orders new space requirements for farm animals starting in 2015. In
2835-410: The life of wild cetaceans, besides reducing those harms, include offering human music. Canadian rules do not forbid playing quiet music, though they forbid "noise that may resemble whale songs or calls, underwater". In addition to cetaceans, the welfare of other wild animals has also been studied, though to a lesser extent than that of animals in farms. Research in wild animal welfare has two focuses:
2898-425: The point when they hatch. Embryonic and foetal forms of mammals, birds and reptiles are protected during the last third of their gestation or incubation period." The definition of regulated procedures was also expanded: "A procedure is regulated if it is carried out on a protected animal and may cause that animal a level of pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm equivalent to, or higher than, that caused by inserting
2961-689: The potential benefits outweigh any suffering for the animals involved. In the United States, a federal law called the Humane Slaughter Act was designed to decrease suffering of livestock during slaughter. The Georgia Animal Protection Act of 1986 was a state law enacted in response to the inhumane treatment of companion animals by a pet store chain in Atlanta . The Act provided for the licensing and regulation of pet shops, stables, kennels, and animal shelters, and established, for
3024-1163: The production of goat and cattle milk, raising the same concerns. A 2023 report by the Animal Welfare Institute found that animal welfare claims by companies selling meat and poultry products lack adequate substantiation in roughly 85% of analyzed cases. Captive cetaceans are kept for display, research and naval operations. To enhance their welfare, humans feed them fish that are dead but are disease-free, protect them from predators and injury, monitor their health, and provide activities for behavioral enrichment . Some are kept in lagoons with natural soil and vegetated sides. Most are in concrete tanks which are easy to clean but echo their natural sounds back to them. They cannot develop their own social groups, and related cetaceans are typically separated for display and breeding. Military dolphins used in naval operations swim free during operations and training and return to pens otherwise. Captive cetaceans are trained to present themselves for blood samples, health exams, and noninvasive breath samples above their blow holes. Staff can monitor
3087-581: The propeller. The US Coast Guard has proposed rules on propeller guards to protect human swimmers, but has not adopted any rules. The US Navy uses propeller guards to protect manatees in Georgia. Ducted propellers provide more efficient drive at speeds up to 10 knots, and protect animals beneath and beside them, but need grilles to prevent injuries to animals drawn into the duct. Attaching satellite trackers and obtaining biopsies to measure pollution loads and DNA involve either capture and release, or shooting
3150-579: The proponents of these views have advocated carrying out conservation efforts in ways that respect the welfare of wild animals, within the framework of the disciplines of compassionate conservation and conservation welfare , while others have argued in favor of improving the welfare of wild animals for the sake of the animals, regardless of whether there are any conservation issues involved at all. The welfare economist Yew-Kwang Ng , in his 1995 "Towards welfare biology: Evolutionary economics of animal consciousness and suffering", proposed welfare biology as
3213-437: The quarterly peer-reviewed scientific journal Animal Welfare . Its work has primarily been funded by donations, subscriptions and legacies. UFAW has supported a wide range of project types, through the following: In 1926, the University of London Animal Welfare Society (ULAWS) was founded by Major Charles Hume . As its support base amongst academic institutions grew and as more institutions and people learned of and championed
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#17327942762643276-746: The recently published Research Report on Farm Animal Welfare Archived 8 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine . A major concern for the welfare of farmed animals is factory farming in which large numbers of animals are reared in confinement at high stocking densities. Issues include the limited opportunities for natural behaviors, for example, in battery cages , veal and gestation crates , instead producing abnormal behaviors such as tail-biting, cannibalism, and feather pecking , and routine invasive procedures such as beak trimming , castration , and ear notching .More extensive methods of farming, e.g. free range , can also raise welfare concerns such as
3339-570: The researchers built experiments predicting completely opposite behavioral outcomes to consciously vs. non-consciously perceived stimuli. Strikingly, the monkeys' behaviors displayed these exact opposite signatures, just like aware and unaware humans tested in the study. Animal protection laws were enacted as early as the 1st millennium BCE in India . Several Indian kings built hospitals for animals, and emperor Ashoka (304–232 BCE) issued orders against hunting and animal slaughter, in line with ahimsa ,
3402-471: The results of peer-reviewed scientific research, technical studies and reviews relating to the welfare of kept animals (e.g. on farms, in laboratories, zoos and as companions) and of those in the wild whose welfare is compromised by human activities. Papers on related ethical and legal issues are also considered for publication. Animal Welfare is published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of UFAW. The journal also reviews books. Hare coursing : Until
3465-555: The scientific approach to animal problems that ULAWS stood for, the name of the society was changed, in 1938, to the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW). UFAW's aims were: Since its foundation, UFAW has initiated many advances in animal welfare including the first handbook aimed at improving the care and management of laboratory animals (now on its 7th edition), the first programme of research on environmental enrichment (in zoo animals) and involvement in
3528-522: The scientific objectives of the study. Accordingly, federal regulations require that IACUCs determine that discomfort to animals will be limited to that which is unavoidable for the conduct of scientifically valuable research, and that unrelieved pain and distress will only continue for the duration necessary to accomplish the scientific objectives. The PHS Policy and AWRs further state that animals that would otherwise suffer severe or chronic pain and distress that cannot be relieved should be painlessly killed at
3591-476: The state of the animal; the treatment that an animal receives is covered by other terms such as animal care, animal husbandry, and humane treatment." Coping – Professor Donald Broom defines the welfare of an animal as "Its state as regards its attempts to cope with its environment. This state includes how much it is having to do to cope, the extent to which it is succeeding in or failing to cope, and its associated feelings." He states that "welfare will vary over
3654-662: The subjective emotional state of an animal – pessimistic or optimistic – and hence their welfare. UFAW has also supported work on genetic welfare problems of companion animals and produced a web resource that describes a range of genetic conditions that affect companion animals and which explains their welfare consequences – the impacts on the animals' quality of life. UFAW established the Garden Bird Health Initiative (GBHi) to develop and publish guidelines about garden birds aimed at maximizing their welfare and conservation. A new strain of avian pox, for example,
3717-403: The subjective feelings of animals." Welfare biology – Yew-Kwang Ng defines animal welfare in terms of welfare economics : "Welfare biology is the study of living things and their environment with respect to their welfare (defined as net happiness, or enjoyment minus suffering ). Despite difficulties of ascertaining and measuring welfare and relevancy to normative issues, welfare biology
3780-454: The welfare needs of their animals are met. These include the need: for a suitable environment (place to live), for a suitable diet, to exhibit normal behavior patterns, to be housed with, or apart from, other animals (if applicable), and to be protected from pain, injury, suffering and disease. Anyone who is cruel to an animal, or does not provide for its welfare needs, may be banned from owning animals, fined up to £20,000 and/or sent to prison for
3843-496: The welfare of farmed animals is the method of slaughter , especially ritual slaughter . While the killing of animals need not necessarily involve suffering, the general public considers that killing an animal reduces its welfare. This leads to further concerns about premature slaughtering such as chick culling by the laying hen industry , in which males are slaughtered immediately after hatching because they are superfluous; this policy occurs in other farmed animal industries such as
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#17327942762643906-665: The welfare of intensively farmed animals, partly in response to concerns raised in Ruth Harrison 's 1964 book, Animal Machines . On the basis of Brambell's report, the UK government set up the Farm Animal Welfare Advisory Committee in 1967, which became the Farm Animal Welfare Council in 1979. The committee's first guidelines recommended that animals require the freedom to "stand up, lie down, turn around, groom themselves and stretch their limbs." The guidelines have since been elaborated upon to become known as
3969-414: The welfare of wild animals kept in captivity and the welfare of animals living in the wild. The former has addressed the situation of animals kept both for human use, as in zoos or circuses , or in rehabilitation centers. The latter has examined how the welfare of non-domesticated animals living in wild or urban areas are affected by humans or natural factors causing wild animal suffering . Some of
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