A History of Animal Welfare Science.
Summary of "A History of Animal Welfare Science."
Human attitudes to animals have changed as non-humans have become more widely incorporated in the category of moral agents who deserve some respect. Parallels between the functioning of humans and non-humans have been made for thousands of years but the idea that the animals that we keep can suffer has spread recently. An improved understanding of motivation, cognition and the complexity of social behaviour in animals has led in the last 30 years to the rapid development of animal welfare science. Early attempts to define welfare referred to individuals being in harmony with nature but the first usable definition incorporated feelings and health as part of attempts to cope with the environment. Others considered that welfare is only about feelings but it is argued that as feelings are mechanisms that have evolved they are a part of welfare rather than all of it. Most reviews of welfare now start with listing the needs of the animal, including needs to show certain behaviours. This approach has used sophisticated studies of what is important to animals and has replaced the earlier general guidelines described as freedoms. Many measures of welfare are now used and indicate how good or how poor the welfare is. Naturalness is not a part of the definition of welfare but explains why some needs exist. In recent years, welfare has become established as one of various criteria used to decide on whether a system is sustainable because members of the public will not accept systems that cause poor welfare. The study of welfare has become part of the scientific basis upon which important political decisions are made.
Affiliation
Department of Veterinary Medicine, Centre for Animal Welfare and Anthrozoology, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0ES, UK, dmb16@cam.ac.uk.
Journal Details
This article was published in the following journal.
Name: Acta biotheoretica
ISSN: 1572-8358
Pages:
Links
- PubMed Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21347723
- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10441-011-9123-3
Medical and Biotech [MESH] Definitions
Animal Care Committees
Institutional committees established to protect the welfare of animals used in research and education. The 1971 NIH Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals introduced the policy that institutions using warm-blooded animals in projects supported by NIH grants either be accredited by a recognized professional laboratory animal accrediting body or establish its own committee to evaluate animal care; the Public Health Service adopted a policy in 1979 requiring such committees; and the 1985 amendments to the Animal Welfare Act mandate review and approval of federally funded research with animals by a formally designated Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC).
Laboratory Animal Science
The science and technology dealing with the procurement, breeding, care, health, and selection of animals used in biomedical research and testing.
Natural History
A former branch of knowledge embracing the study, description, and classification of natural objects (as animals, plants, and minerals) and thus including the modern sciences of zoology, botany, and mineralogy insofar as they existed at that time. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries it was much used for the generalized pursuit of certain areas of science. (Webster, 3d ed; from Dr. James H. Cassedy, NLM History of Medicine Division)
Animal Welfare
The protection of animals in laboratories or other specific environments by promoting their health through better nutrition, housing, and care.
Greek World
A historical and cultural entity dispersed across a wide geographical area under the influence of Greek civilization, culture, and science. The Greek Empire extended from the Greek mainland and the Aegean islands from the 16th century B.C., to the Indus Valley in the 4th century under Alexander the Great, and to southern Italy and Sicily. Greek medicine began with Homeric and Aesculapian medicine and continued unbroken to Hippocrates (480-355 B.C.). The classic period of Greek medicine was 460-136 B.C. and the Graeco-Roman period, 156 B.C.-576 A.D. (From A. Castiglioni, A History of Medicine, 2d ed; from F. H. Garrison, An Introduction to the History of Medicine, 4th ed)
PubMed Articles
Concepts of Animal Welfare in Relation to Positions in Animal Ethics.
When animal ethicists deal with welfare they seem to face a dilemma: On the one hand, they recognize the necessity of welfare concepts for their ethical approaches. On the other hand, many animal ethi...
Production costs and animal welfare for four stylized hog production systems.
Nonhuman animal welfare is arguably the most contentious issue facing the hog industry. Animal advocacy groups influence the regulation of hog farms and induce some consumers to demand more humane por...
Are fish the victims of 'speciesism'? A discussion about fear, pain and animal consciousness.
Fish welfare is currently a hotly debated topic; this is mainly due to the issue of whether or not fish have the capacity for conscious awareness, or subjective states. Because of the contentious natu...
In organic farming animal welfare is one important aspect included in the internationally agreed organic principles of health, ecology, fairness and care (IFOAM 2006), reflecting expectation of consum...
Clinical Trials
The MIDAS Project (Models of Implementation and Dissemination of Environmental Health and Science Across Subjects) Assessment Objectives: - Determine whether students are aware of the...
A Pilot Study Investigating the Effect of Omalizumab (Xolair) in Work-Related Animal Induced Asthma
Management of animal induced occupational asthma is mainly avoidance, but this is not feasible for many occupations. Treatment with avoidance and conventional treatment is also not always...
Animal-Assisted Therapy for Hospitalized Heart Failure Patients
Effects of complementary therapies on heart failure, a leading cause of hospitalization, are unknown. Animal-assisted therapy improves physiological and psychosocial variables in healthy a...
Behavioral Health Services for Women Receiving Public Assistance
The purpose of this study is to determine whether access to behavioral health services has been affected by welfare reform.
Community Implementation of KEEP
The primary goal of this study is to examine the fidelity and generalization of parenting effects of the KEEP foster parent training intervention as it is being delivered within a child we...
