·
Animal
welfare: -
The
OIE (the animal equivalent of the World Health Organisation) describes animal welfare
as: ‘the physical and mental state of an animal with the conditions in which it
lives and dies’. Animal welfare is a compound and multi-faceted subject, involving
scientific, ethical, economic, traditional, social, religious and political extents.
Here we will deliberate what animal welfare is, and how we can address welfare problems,
particularly fixing on the scientific and ethical extents. animal welfare is
concerned with how the animal views its own life and practices, how it manages
with the environment in which it finds itself and how its class of life is
affected. This means that animal welfare concerns are usually directed towards
animals believed to be emotional, and so are capable of the cognizant
experience of the environment. Animal welfare is the assets of the animal. It is
applicable to live animals and exists on a continuum from very poor to very
good instead of being an absolute value. Animal welfare is also understood to
be a continuum, rather than an absolute value. Hence, the welfare state of an
animal can vary from very good to very poor, and all situations in between
(very good - good - poor - very poor).
Animal
Sentience is the ability to feel, recognize, or experience subjectively. In the
context of animal welfare, sentience indicates the ability to experience desire
and pain. Animals may not recognize everything as we humans do, but have the
same requirements for food and water, accommodation, companionship, freedom of
movement and anticipation of pain. It is usually accepted that humans are
sentient but over time there has been a shift in recognizing that other animals
are also capable of experiencing diverse emotions. Sentience also covers to an
animal’s ability to learn from experience and other animals, assess risks and
benefits and make choices. These capabilities rely upon animals being conscious
of changes happening around them (also known as sensitivity) and being able to
remember, process and assess information to meet their needs (also known as
cognition).
Understanding
and recognising animal sentience is essential to help classify the needs of
animals and to evaluate their welfare in different environments. For example,
animals farmed for food under exhaustive or free-range systems, animals in zoos
and circuses or companion animals. This results in greater attention of the
mental welfare of animals, an area which is now getting more attention.
Why should we be concerned about animal
welfare?
Animal
welfare concerns fall into four main categories:
1. Ethical
concerns about the lives of animals.
2. Human
health and animal products quality concerns
3. Ecological
& biodiversity concerns.
4. Trading
& advertising of animal’s products.
Let’s
discuss them briefly; -
1.
Ethical concerns about the lives of animals
Animal
welfare concerns are due to ethical or moral concerns about the lives of
animals. This is often centred on a conviction that animals are sensitive, and
thus that we have to offer care for them and to guard them against harm.
2.
Human
health and animal products quality concerns
Concern
for farm animal welfare may also be because of concerns about human health and
product quality from these animals and are associated with beliefs that
improving the lives of animals on the farm will have associated benefits for human
health.
3.
Ecological
and biodiversity concerns
Ecological
and biodiversity concerns may also include concerns for animal welfare, where
animal welfare is seen as part of a set of concerns about how we treat the world.
4.
Trading
and advertising of animal products
Animal
welfare concerns may be seen as part of an exchange and advertising concerns,
either where there is a concern for animal welfare ascending due to the impact
of these topics, or where animal welfare can be used as a promoting tool to influence
higher amounts.
No comments:
Post a Comment