Title: Animal Welfare: Global Issues, Trends and Challenges. Scientific and Technical Review, Vol. 24 (2)
Abstract: In 2002, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) expanded its mandate to become the leading international body in the field of animal welfare, after a unanimous decision from its 167 member countries. It is in this context that the OIE has published a special issue of the Scientific and Technical Review, containing a compilation of papers dealing with Animal welfare: global issues, trends, and challenges. The publication is divided into 5 sections and a conclusion paper.
The 1st section deals with the science-based evaluation of animal welfare including farm, companion, laboratory, wild, captive, and aquatic animals. An attempt at defining animal welfare is made in this section and at determining whether it is a scientific discipline. The term does not express a scientific concept but, because the scientific method is used to identify, interpret, and implement societal concerns about animal quality of life issues, animal welfare has evolved to become a scientific field. Although a precise scientific definition of animal welfare is impossible, a broad working description of welfare is suggested, which includes the notions of the animal in complete mental and physical health, the animal in harmony with its environment, the animal being able to adapt, without suffering, to an artificial environment provided by human beings and, somehow, the animal’s feelings should be taken into account. Indirect methods can be used to “ask” the animals what they feel about the conditions they are kept under and the procedures they are subjected to.
The paper dealing with companion animals addresses the concept that the way in which humans treat animals is based on their views of themselves, as well as the living environment around them, and there is a wide range of assumptions that apply to these views. There is an increasing body of evidence about the physiology of companion animal brains, as well as scientific studies, which support the view that there are similarities between humans and their animal companions. The paper concludes that applied ethology (the study of animal behavior and, in this case, particularly with regard to the needs of companion animals) could provide science-based criteria to assess companion animal welfare. The greatest challenge for future research is to find ways to disseminate knowledge of companion animal ethology to companion animal owners.
The science-based assessment of laboratory animal welfare not only addresses the ethical issues in this area, but obviously positively impacts on the quality of animal experimentation and diagnostic testing, with superior and more reliable results. The paper dealing with this subject addresses the assessment of welfare, environmental factors affecting welfare, legislative requirements and recent and future trends, such as the production and use of genetically modified animals.
In the case of wild and captive animals, science-based assessment of animal welfare has to rely on behavior and Darwinian fitness because detailed physiological study of free-living animals is impossible and it is difficult in captive animals, as explained in the paper dealing with this subject. Behavior and Darwinian fitness parameters have been shown to correlate with animal welfare and therefore offer an alternative for its evaluation.
With regard to the science-based assessment of welfare in aquatic animals, a discussion is provided on the issues that complicate this process, namely: the huge biological diversity among these animals; understanding the practices involved in fisheries, aquaculture, and aquatic animal production; the relative paucity of scientific information; and understanding the philosophical approaches, policies, guidance, and regulations that may affect the provision of optimal welfare conditions and humane practice for aquatic animals.
The 2nd section includes the global perspective of the OIE regions on animal welfare: America, Europe, Africa, Middle East, Asia, the Far East, and Oceania. Perception of, and priorities in animal welfare, vary not only by global region, but by countries within those regions. A number of factors influence, in a selective way, the delivery of animal welfare in the various regions of the world, including cultural values, requirements of importing countries and private agencies, quality promotion policies, recommendations of reference bodies, demands from producers and industry, results of applied research, religious concepts, and demands from the community as a result of public awareness and concern. After reading this section, it becomes evident that animal welfare issues, both domestic and wildlife-related, need to be urgently addressed in certain regions of the world, especially in Africa, Asia, the Far East, and in some Oceania countries.
The 3rd section contains papers dealing with the global perspective of selected stakeholders: the meat and livestock sector, non-governmental organizations, the World Veterinary Association, animal transport, the Food Marketing Institute, and the National Council of Chain Restaurants. The livestock industry must respond to the demands of the consumers and those of the public, but the latest developments on livestock rearing, transport and slaughter are helping to eliminate situations involving extreme stress and suffering of the animals, at least in those regions of the world that have access to these developments. Although the OIE is committed to the development of science-based animal welfare standards, it recognizes that the complex interplay of other factors, such as socio-economic conditions, culture, religion and tradition, must also be taken into account. The International Coalition for Farm Animal Welfare (ICFAW) represents the interests of nongovernmental animal welfare organizations, whose views vary, depending on the part of the world they come from, and input from these organizations will influence OIE decision-making concerning animal welfare standards. The veterinary profession bases its recommendations for animal welfare on scientifically justified practices, but it recognizes the influence that cultural and even religious practices have on it. More research is needed on animal welfare, especially since legislation is usually based on sound science rather than emotion or anthropomorphism. Better animal welfare results in economic advantages, and this should be considered by the farming and animal handling community, rather than considering this issue as a threat. Better welfare requires more than just being kind to animals, but rather a combination of skills, science, and experience molded into an overall effective discipline. The collaborative effort of the USA Food Marketing Institute and the National Council of Chain Restaurants is outlined in Section 3, as an example of how different components of the food production system can work together to achieve a positive change in animal welfare issues.
The 4th section discusses the OIE animal welfare standards, including the philosophy, policy, and procedures of the organization for the development of standards in animal welfare. This section includes specific chapters on the work of the 4 ad hoc groups of international experts on the 4 sets of animal welfare guidelines, adopted at the 2005 OIE General Session, that is, the transport of animals by sea, the effects of land transport on animal welfare, the slaughter of animals for human consumption, and the killing of animals for disease control purposes.
The 5th section deals with a number of strategic animal welfare issues: The assessment and implementation of animal welfare — theory into practice; the use of animals in research, testing, and teaching; animal welfare and international trade; food safety and environmental issues in animal welfare; ethical and animal welfare issues arising from the killing of wildlife for disease control and environmental reasons; and animal welfare in developing countries — opportunities for trade in high-welfare products from developing countries.
The conclusion paper discusses the historical context, international considerations, and future direction of the use of animals in agriculture and science.
Overall, this publication represents a comprehensive compilation of papers dealing with animal welfare and a useful reference source for policy makers, veterinarians, animal care staff, interested groups, and the general public, representing a global perspective of the status and issues related to animal welfare.
Publication Year: 2007
Publication Date: 2007-11-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 3
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