ANIMAL SCIENCE

CHAPTER 7

STATE OF BEING OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS

State of Being of Domestic Animals

• Farm Animal – Welfare Debates– “sparked” by Ruth Harrison’s book Animal

Machines (1964) depicting “factory farming”– Debates ongoing world-wide– Weighing the importance of animals in food-

production and ethical responsibilities to ensure humane treatment of animals

Purposes of Chapter 7

• Outline and provide examples of ethical, moral, economic, legal, and policy aspects pertaining to the state of being of animals

• Describe scientific approaches to assessing the state of being of agricultural animals

• Identify areas where additional scientific insight would help ensure animals actually and usually experience well-being

Terminology Used in Controversies Surrounding Animal State-of-Being

• Trade-offs = weighing costs and benefits• Trumps = over-ruling a trade-off (e.g. a

violation of a basic right of an individual animal so onerous that it cannot be justified regardless of the benefit to others)

• Sentient = aware (conscious of sense impressions) (e.g. sensitive to situations where animals experience pain and suffering)

Welfare and Rights

• Welfare: the state of doing well (basic needs being met, no abuse)

• Rights: having a basis in moral, legal or informal claim; rights claims may be validated by custom, ethics, or by law

Example of Animal Welfare and Animal Rights Positions

• Downer cattle controversy– Approximately 1.5% of cattle arriving at slaughter

facilities are non-ambulatory

– Animal rights activists promote immediate euthanasia of these animals (then inedible)

– Animal welfare advocates promote priority handling of these animals and humane care while still salvaging edible meat *recent regulations have altered procedures

– http://www.meatnews.com/archives/archives_stories.asp?ArticleID=86665

Humane Slaughter Act: Example of Animal Welfare Legislation

• Dragging of downed or crippled cattle is prohibited

• Slide boards are used to transport non-ambulatory livestock to area for inspection and slaughter*

*recent regulations have altered procedures

Animal Welfare Advocates and “Downer Cow” Controversy

• Animal Welfare advocates go beyond the issue of “what to do at the slaughter plant” to PREVENTION GUIDELINES– Use non-slip flooring– Obtain nutritional advice to prevent laminitis

and milk fever– Breed heifers to bulls which sire low birth

weight calves to minimize calving paralysis

Philosophies in Animal Rights

• Utilitarian strategy– Can an action or policy be justified based on

the consequences to all affected parties?– The Humane Slaughter Act is a utilitarian

strategy

• Rights strategy– Asserts that individual rights are highest

priority– Would forbid the salvage of downer animals

Leading Advocates in State-of-Being Controversies in Agriculture

• Raymond Gillespie Frey– Interests and Rights: the case against animals (1980)– defends status quo attitudes toward animals

• Peter Singer– Animal Liberation (1975, 1990)– Has a utilitarian approach– Critique of speciesism (favoring human interests over

those of animals)– Foundation for sentience views

Leading Advocates in State-of-Being Controversies in Agriculture

• Tom Regan– The Case for Animal Rights (1983)– Argues that any animal with consciousness is entitled

to strong protection of its individual interests– Generally rejects utilitarian trades view

• Bernard Rollin– Animal Rights and Human Morality (1981)– Argues that people recognize animal rights and must

extend recognition to regulation of how animals fare in production, transport and slaughter situations

Four Alternative Approaches to Intensive Production Practices

• Enact laws ending or substantially modifying intensive farming

• Enact laws modifying practices documented to cause animal suffering

• Encourage practices that promote animal well-being

• Label foods and allow consumers to choose (e.g. Free Farmed Certification Program label)

Consequences of Legislation

• May collapse animal industries without achieving desired goals

• Example is Veal Calf Legislation in Sweden– Sweden (and other countries) banned raising of

veal calves in crates– Restaurants in Belgium which previously

imported veal from Sweden now import it from other countries that do not have this ban

Controversies in Swine Production

• Animal Welfare Institute specifies that pigs should be raised on family farms and the animals given access to pens bedded with straw or pasture

• The increased cost of labor and facilities would require major increases in pork prices to be economically feasible

• Piglets raised in “free housing” are at INCREASED risk for crushing and hypothermia compared to those in modern farrowing units

Swine Production Practices: Legislation and Impact

• England bans castration of pigs and weaning prior to 21 days

• Sweden bans weaning pigs prior to 28 days• Research at Iowa State showed weaning at

12-16 days increases production efficiency• Americans dislike taste/odor of meat from

intact boars (banning castration would decrease pork consumption in USA)

Scientific Assessment(recommendations of CAST)

• Producers should adopt scientifically based practices; voluntary guidelines should be followed

• Educate citizens based on scientific assessment • Congress should consider scientific assessments when

addressing issues• Public request to document the presence—and therefore the

need to alleviate— animal suffering• Should determine the degree to which any proposed

modifications in husbandry would alleviate animal suffering• Future animal accommodations/practices should reflect

scientific assessment

Scientific Assumptions Regarding Animals used in Agriculture

• Humans have the right to use animals in agricultural production

• Humans have moral responsibility to treat animals appropriately

• The undomesticated progenitors of agricultural animals were unusual creatures

• Agricultural animals have specific environmental sensitivities, tolerances & needs

Assumptions Regarding Animals used in Agriculture (continued)

• Cruelty to animals may be in form of (1) abuse, (2) neglect, or (3) deprivation

• Stressors will diminish production

• Careless building designs may jeopardize animal health (e.g. hazardous pit gases)

• Cannot expect that animals will continuously experience well-being

Assumptions Regarding Animals used in Agriculture (continued)

• Animals have adaptive traits

• Certain physiological changes may signal the start of a pathological state (hyperthermia may progress to prostration and death unless cooling intervention is made)

• Accommodation of internally motivated behaviors (e.g. environmental enrichment)

Assumptions Regarding Animals used in Agriculture (continued)

• Stressor may have negative impact on immune system (increasing disease)

• Animals have a conscious perception of stress

• Both acute and chronic stressors decrease animal well-being

• A wide variety of agricultural systems can promote acceptable animal well-being

Defining State of Being

• Must be based on the animal’s response

– Performance criteria emphasized over design

– Response categories scored from 0 to 4

(5 categories established)

Response Category 0

• Basal regulation: normal physiological state

• Animal is in harmony with environment

• State of being is VERY WELL

• Resource expenditure is at basal level

• Fitness index is 10

• Performance index is 10

Response Category 1

• Animal is showing adaptive responses• Animal is readily coping using

homeokinetic mechanisms• State of being is “WELL”• Animal has a small increment in resource

expenditure and decrement in performance• Fitness index is 8-9• Performance index is 8-9

Response Category 2

• Animal is showing adaptive responses and some stress responses

• Animal is coping but with some difficulty• State of being is “WELL TO FAIR”• Medium increment in resource expenditure

and decrement in performance• Fitness Index 6-8• Performance Index 6-8

Response Category 3

• Animal is showing stress responses• Animal is not coping, may collapse or die if

situation not mitigated• State of being is “ILL”• Large increment in resource expenditure

and decrement in performance• Fitness Index 4-6• Performance Index 4-6

Response Category 4

• Animal shows stress responses or is moribund (near death)

• Animal is overwhelmed and will die if not quickly assisted

• State of being is “VERY ILL OR DEAD”

• Fitness index is 0-3

• Performance index <3

Example of Temperature Impact on Response Category

• Thermally neutral environment category 0• Mild cold (e.g. 40 F) category 1

– Animal seeks shelter from winds decreasing food consumption and production

• Moderate cold (e.g. 20 F) category 2– Animals huddle together decreasing food consumption, increasing

energy expenditure, and decreasing production

• Severe cold (e.g. -20 F wind chill) category 3– Animals shiver greatly increasing energy and decrease production

• Frigid (e.g. – 40 F wind chill) category 4– Animals will succumb to hypothermia without protection

British Definitions of Animal Welfare and “Five Freedoms”

• 1965 British Parliament: Animal welfare refers to both physical and mental well-being

• Five freedoms that animals should have– Stand without difficulty– Turn around– Groom itself– Lie down– “Stretch its limbs”

Other Approaches to Assessing Animal Well-Being

• Behavioral and cognitive indicators

• Anatomical, physiological, and immunological indicators

• Fitness and agricultural performance indicators

• Use of multiple indicators

Off-Farm Experiences

• Attitudes of livestock handlers are important

• Multiple handling points between birth, growing period, finishing period, transportation, markets, abattoir

Ideal Livestock Handling Systems

• Crowd pens are level• Single file chutes between crowd pen and

restraint area• Any ramps are within the single file chute• Animal standing in the crowd pen can see

2-3 body lengths up the single file chute• Sides of the chute are solid• Non-slip flooring

Benefits of Scientific Assessment of Animal Well-Being

• Moral and ethical considerations• Productivity considerations

– Heat-stress of dairy cattle endangers well-being and also decreases production, therefore producers recognize that it is cost effective to provide dairy cows with shade, air movement, ample drinking water, sprinkler systems and diets with lower heat increments of digestion during hot weather

Welfare Plateau

• Continuous achievement of highest level of well-being is rarely feasible and may not be advisable

• There is a range of acceptable conditions

• Increasing welfare frequently increases the cost of production, look for an acceptable balance

Areas of Research Identified by FAIR (1995)

• Bioethics and conflict resolution• Responses of individual animals to

production environments• Stress• Social behavior and space requirements• Cognition• Alternative production practices and

systems

FAIR Research Objectives

• Determine scientific measures of well-being in food-producing animals

• Develop short-term production practices and long-term management systems based on scientific research findings of animal well-being

1993 USDA Food Animal Well-Being Research Priorities

• Adaptations and adaptiveness

• Social behavior and space requirements

• Cognition and motivation

Methods of Establishing Criteria to Assess Animal Well-Being

• Multidisciplinary team

• Assemble database of reliable information

• Utilize appropriate statistical analyses to elucidate and determine multifactorial indices of state of being in agricultural animals

Status of Animal Welfare Debate

• Philosophical origins

• Economic implications

• Public policy aspects

• Legal aspects

Current Opinions

• There are differences between acute and chronic incidents of anxiety, frustration, discomfort and pain

• State of being of an animal involves biological systems that may change during life-stages of the animal and over natural history of the population

• Multiple categories of indicators are needed

Recommended Goal

• Animals should experience well-being most of the time, fair-being some of the time, and ill-being very rarely