Definition of animal welfare
Today, there is a consensus on the definition of animal welfare. It is based on the five freedoms that determine whether an animal is "well":
- physiological freedom (absence of hunger, thirst or malnutrition)
- health freedom (absence of pain, injury or illness)
- environmental freedom (thermal and sleeping comfort)
- psychological freedom (absence of fear and distress)
- behavioral freedom (possibility of expressing the natural behaviors of the species)
Find out more about the concept and measurement of farm animal welfare: brochure-BEA-Bankiva-v2017
An article on the objective assessment of animal welfarepublished in Campagne & Environnement magazine.
"Our relationship with farmed animals is widely questioned in our society: between media coverage of often intolerable living, transport and slaughter conditions, and new scientific knowledge that makes us aware of the many intellectual and emotional capacities of animals. Numerous opinions are expressed, not all of them well-founded, and the point of view of abolitionists, who campaign for an end to all animal exploitation, is very often put forward. However, this is not the only response to the excesses of factory farming: animal welfare, promoted by welfarist associations, has its place.
This paragraph introduces an article entitled "Animal welfare: another way of thinking about our relationship with farm animals".
Please note: animal welfare refers to the state in which the animal finds itself, and is therefore a subjective perception of external elements, the result of environmental data interpreted by the animal itself.
However, its measurement (and this is often what we think of when we say "animal welfare") is objective, based as it is on scientifically validated measurements and protocols.
Here are a few practical illustrations of animal welfare:
- Worrying about whether your cat is eating properly and is not injured means thinking about his well-being. For optimum well-being, he needs to live in a comfortable environment and express his natural behaviors, such as hunting.
- Animals kept in zoos often suffer from not being able to express their natural behaviors. A lion will express its discomfort by stereotypic movements, such as walking along the fence, always in exactly the same place.
- On livestock farms, protocols are put in place to measure animal welfare on a farm-wide scale. Measurements are taken on the animals (presence of wounds, body condition score, etc.) and on the environment (m2 per animal, access to an outdoor run, etc.).
Animal welfare is a term encountered more and more frequently in society. Unfortunately, many people are unfamiliar with it, unable to define it clearly, and rely on hearsay and prejudice.
That's why the Bankiva office offers professionals, private companies, students and the general public training courses, presentations and conferences on various aspects of the subject: responsible consumption, performance in animal husbandry, corporate responsibility, etc.