What is welfare?
How can welfare be measured?
Why is welfare important?
What are the responsibilities of a producer?
What is welfare science?
What is animal neglect?
What are the "Five Freedoms"?
What is the origin of the "Five Freedoms"?
Welfare focuses on the well-being of animals. It refers to the viewpoint that it is morally acceptable for humans to use animals for food so long as unnecessary suffering is avoided.
Behavior, performance, health, and hormone levels (cortisol specifically in pigs) can all be used to measure welfare.
Pigs that are well cared for will grow faster and will be healthier. Healthier animals mean that fewer antibiotics will need to be used, leading to a more wholesome product. This will have a positive impact on human health.
A good producer must:
- check on pigs daily and monitor their health
- offer clean feed and water daily
- make sure feed is properly balanced and nutritious with respect to protein, energy, vitamins, and minerals
- provide a comfortable enviroment
- provide enough space for laying down, eating, and drinking
- have a zero tolerance for abuse of any kind
- provide medical care when an animal is sick
Welfare science is an emerging field of study that seeks to answer questions raised by the use of animals in society.
Animal neglect occurs when a person has custody of an animal and fails to provide adequate care or adequate control which results in substantial harm to the animal.
The welfare of an animal includes its physical and mental state. Good animal welfare implies both fitness and a sense of well-being. Any animal kept by man must, at least, be protected from unnecessary suffering.
Animal welfare can be considered in terms of the “five freedoms”. These freedoms define ideal states rather than standards for acceptable welfare. They are as follows:
1. Freedom from hunger and thirst.
2. Freedom from discomfort.
3. Freedom from pain, injury, or disease.
4. Freedom to express normal behavior.
5. Freedom from fear and distress.
The concept of the “Five Freedoms” originated with the report of the Technical Committee to Enquire into the Welfare of Animals Kept Under Intensive Livestock Husbandry. The committee was chaired by Professor Roger Brambell and the report is known as The Brambell Report, which was published in 1965 in the United Kingdom.