Welfare assessment and the Five Freedoms ???????????

1
Welfare assessment and the Five
Freedoms???????????

• Module 2
• ?? 2

2
This module will enable you to????????

• Understand ??
• the concept and potential uses of the Five
  Freedoms????????????
• the difference between factors affecting welfare
  (inputs) and actual welfare performance
  (outcome)?????????(??)?(??)?????
• Assess welfare by using Severity, Duration, and
  Number Affected ????????????????????
• Appreciate that science can provide information
  on the severity of welfare problems, but not on
  the acceptability??????????????????????,??????

3
Assessing human welfare??????

• Overall, how are you feeling at the moment?
• Several different areas of life
• ?????,??????????
• ?????????

4
Welfare continuum??????

• Fantastic???
• Pretty good??
• Reasonable??
• OK??
• Not good??
• Miserable??
• Terrible??

Good welfare ????
Poor welfare ????
5
Some aspects of your welfare???????
Poor welfare????
Good welfare????
Chair comfort ????? Hungry ?? Hot / cold ?? Work
?? Social life ?? Overall ??
6
What are the main areas of animal
welfare?????????????

• ?
• ?
• ?
• ?
• ?
• ???

7
The Five Freedoms ????

• Farm Animal Welfare Council UK, ????????
• ????1992????????????? Brambell
• Committee(1965?)???,???????
• Freedom from hunger and thirst ???????
• Freedom from discomfort ???????
• Freedom from pain, injury and disease ????????
• Freedom to express normal behaviour ?????????
• Freedom from fear and distress ?????????

From Concepts in Animal Welfare, Module 2
8

• ???????????(Farm Animal Welfare Council,
  UK)?1992?????Brambell Committee
  (1965)???,????????????
• Freedom from hunger and thirst ???????
• Freedom from discomfort ???????
• Freedom from pain, injury and disease ????????
• Freedom to express normal behaviour ????????
• Freedom from fear and distress ?????????

From Concepts in Animal Welfare, Module 2
9
The Five Freedoms animal welfare?????????
Poor?
Good?
Hunger / Thirst ?/? Pain/Injury/Disease
?/?/? Discomfort ?? Fear / Distress ??/?? Normal
behaviour ???? Overall ??
10
Are all Freedoms equally important????????????

• Producer attitude (344 farmers)
  questionnaire distributed by Tesco
  plc??????(344???)-???Tesco???????
• In your opinion, how much importance should be
  placed on providing animals with the Five
  Freedoms????????,?????????????

Module 2
11
The importance of the Five Freedoms to 344 UK
farmers?????344????????
Module 2
12
What do the results of the survey mean???????????

• The results are not generalisable???????????
• The proportion of concerned individuals will be
  different for different groups of users and
  different countries??????????????????????
• Even in the surveyed population, there are
  significant welfare problems??????????,???????????
  ?
• For example, in the UK 20 of dairy cattle are
  lame, and lamb mortality is more than
  20????20??????,?????20????

Module 2
13
Problems with Five Freedoms???????

• The freedoms conflict???????
• Keeping animals Free from disease can cause
  them Fear and distress, from handling during
  treatment ???????????????????????????????
• If animals have Freedom to express normal
  behaviour, they can suffer Fear and distress,
  during normal social interactions??????????????,
  ?????????????????????

14
All farming systems restrict normal
behaviour????????????????
15
Restriction of normal??????

• (?)?? - ???
• Obvious - farrowing crates

(?)??? - ???? Not so obvious - cubicle surface
16
Cubicle surface lying time???????
(?????comfort)
80


60
40
time spent lying ????
20
0




Concrete ???
Soft
Rubber
Mat ??
Mat ???
Module 2
17
Significance of Five Freedoms???????

• Scientists politicians in many countries
  agree???????????????
• Consider welfare in terms of the
  Freedoms??????????
• Freedoms do not define minimum standards??????????
  ???
• Very difficult to always provide all the
  Freedoms???????????????????
• Freedoms provide an initial indication????????????
  
• what should be assessed???????
• what should be provided to animals?????????

18
Objections to the Five Freedoms???????? (Korte
et al 2007, in press)

• Concern ethics more than science????????
• Are anthropocentric???????
• Restricts the scientific investigation of animals
  as sentient beings?????????,????????????
• Are unrealistic????
• Complete freedom is undesirable??????????
• Are applied very inconsistently??????
• e.g. laboratory animals vs. farm animals
• ????? vs.????

19
Welfare Inputs Outputs??????????
WELFARE OUTPUTS?????
Disease/production??/??
Behaviour??
Physiology??
20
Welfare inputs???????/??

• Stockman?????
• Empathy???
• Knowledge??
• Observation skills????

21
Welfare inputs???????/??

• Environment??
• Housing ??
• Bedding ??
• Feed quality ????
• Water provision ????
• Animal??
• Suitable breed, age, and sex for the farming
  system?????????????????????

22
The Five Freedoms welfare inputs????????????

• Freedom from hunger thirst???????
• Ready access to fresh water, and a diet that
  maintains full health and vigour???????????,?????,
  ??????????
• Freedom from discomfort???????
• An appropriate environment, including shelter and
  a comfortable resting area????????????,???????????
  
• Freedom from pain, injury and disease????????
• Disease prevention or rapid diagnosis and
  treatment???????????,???????

23
The Five Freedoms welfare inputs????????????

• Freedom to express normal behaviour??????? ??
• Sufficient space, proper facilities and company
  of the animals own kind?????????????????????
• Freedom from fear and distress?????????
• Conditions and treatment which avoid mental
  suffering???????????????????

24
Quantifying a welfare problem??????????

• Severity???
• Duration???
• Number affected?????????

25
Measures of severity????????

• Behaviour ??
• e.g. fearfulness???
• Disease??
• e.g. lameness, pneumonia??????
• Production????
• e.g. growth rates?????
• Physiology????
• e.g. heart rate, cortisol??????????

26
Severity example ?????

• How severe is the social isolation of
  sheep????????????

27
Severity example (contd.)?????(?)
4.5
3
Vocalisations
per minute ???????
1.5
0
Spatial
Visual
Isolation ????
Isolation ????
Baldock Sibley, 1990
28
Severity example (contd.)?????(?)
30
Heart rate increase (beats/min) ???? (??/???)
20
10

0


Visual Isolation ????


Spatial






Isolation ????
Baldock Sibley, 1990
29
Duration example?????

• For how long are sheep sensitive to pain after a
  lameness episode???????????????????????

30
Duration example (contd.)?????(?)
5
Threshold stimulus (N) ???(N)
2.5
0
Normal (Not lame) ?? (???)
Lame ??
Three months after lameness cured????????

• Ley et al.1995

31
Number affected example???????

• At any one time, approximately what percentage of
  UK farm animals are lame????????,????????????????
  ??

15
22
26
32
Quantifying welfare sows in farrowing
crates?????????????
33
Severity Nest building distress in
sows?????????????(Lawrence et al 1994)
Farrowing crate ????
Pen (loose) ?????
Cortisol (ng/ml) ???
Baseline ???
During farrowing ????
34
Duration Cortisol post-farrowing??????????????
Cortisol (nmol/l) ???


28
14
21
1
7
Days after farrowing ?????
35
Farrowing crate????

• Severity ???
• Restrict freedom to move around ???????
• Restrict freedom to nest build ???????
• Restrict freedom to avoid the piglets ?????????
• Duration ???
• 3-4 weeks 34?
• Number affected ???????
• Most indoor sows in intensive systems
  ?????????????

36
Intrinsic problem????

• Farrowing crates are used throughout the
  world???????????
• Currently considered intrinsic (unavoidable) in
  commercial indoor pig production??????(?????)?????
  ????????
• i.e. Benefits for piglets and production exceed
  Costs to the sow???????????gt???????

37
Quantifying welfare thin cattle????????

• Severity???
• How thin are the cattle (body condition
  score)????????(???????)
• Duration ???
• How long have they been thin????????????
• Number affected??????
• How many cattle are thin?????????

38
Conclusions / Summary??/??

• Welfare can be assessed ??????????
• Five Freedoms are a useful framework??????????
• Consider welfare inputs?????????
• Stockman, Environment, Animal?????????
• Include animal-based measures??????????
• Severity, Duration and Number affected????????????
  ??

39
Further reading????

• Baldock NM, Sibley RM (1990) Effects of handling
  and transportation on the heart rate and
  behaviour of sheep. Applied Animal Behaviour
  Science 28 15-39
• Brambell Committee (1965). Report of the
  Technical Committee to Enquire into the Welfare
  of Animals Kept under Intensive Livestock
  Husbandry Systems. Command Report 2836, The
  Stationery Office, London (http//www.tsoshop.co.u
  k/bookstore.asp)
• Farm Animal Welfare Council (1992) FAWC updates
  the Five Freedoms. Veterinary Record 131 357
• Gregory NG (2004). Physiology and Behaviour of
  Animal Suffering. Blackwell Oxford. pp.12-21.
• Herlin AH (1997) Comparison of lying area
  surfaces for dairy cows by preference, hygiene,
  and lying down behaviour. Swedish Journal of
  Agricultural Research 27 189-196.
• Korte SM, Olivier B, Koolhaas JM. A new animal
  welfare concept based on allostasis. Physiology
  and Behaviour 2007 92(3)422-8.

40
Further reading????

• Lawrence AB, Petherick JC et al (1994) The effect
  of environment on behaviour, plasma cortisol and
  prolactin in parturient sows. Applied Animal
  Behaviour Science 39313-330 
• Ley SJ, Waterman AE, Livingston A (1995). A field
  study of the effect of lameness on mechanical
  nociceptive thresholds in sheep. Veterinary
  Record 137 85-87
• Tucker CB, Weary DM (2001) Stall design
  enhancing cow comfort. Advances in Dairy
  Technology 13 154-167. Available from
  http//www.wcds.afns.ualberta.ca/Proceedings/2001/
  Chapter201320Weary.pdf