scholarly journals Too Cute to Kill? The Need for Objective Measurements of Quality of Life

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 1054 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Wolfensohn
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Animal Suffering ◽  
Welfare Assessment ◽  
Ecological Conservation ◽  
Understanding Of Science ◽  
Social Environmental

The recognition of animal suffering is influenced by cultural and societal prejudices and the cuteness of an animal leads to bias in the way it is treated. It is important to consider the animal’s behaviour and its environment—not just its physical condition—when assessing its quality of life. The Animal Welfare Assessment Grid (AWAG) is a useful tool for this purpose. The AWAG offers an evidence-based tool for continual welfare assessment, using technology where appropriate, such as digital activity recording, to facilitate decision-making and lead to improvements in the animals’ quality of life. It is highly adaptable to any species by assessing the four parameters of physical health, psychological wellbeing, environmental quality, and clinical and management procedural events. The outcome of assessing welfare should be action to improve it. Societal ethics and policy-making lead to legislation balancing the values we hold for different species. Influencing policy development in such matters as animal welfare, ecological conservation, and risks to humans requires a focus on public attitudes to, and understanding of, science, as well as consideration of potential unforeseen consequences of the social/environmental/economic impacts of policies.

scholarly journals Assessment of the Welfare of Experimental Cattle and Pigs Using the Animal Welfare Assessment Grid

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 999
Author(s):  
Molly Ryan ◽  
Ryan Waters ◽  
Sarah Wolfensohn
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Physical Condition ◽  
Retrospective Data ◽  
End Points ◽  
Welfare Assessment ◽  
Future Data ◽  
Animal Welfare Assessment

The Animal Welfare Assessment Grid (AWAG) is a method for assessing quality of life, originally designed for experimental primates. This study adapts the AWAG for use in cattle and pigs, by adapting the factors included for these species and including data which had been collected previously as the standard approach to monitoring these species in research. The intention is that the results presented here will allow the future data collected for experimental cattle and pigs to be optimised for inclusion in an AWAG. Data were collected from two vaccine assessment studies at the Pirbright Institute. Factors were scored for every recorded event using retrospective data and CCTV clips. There was a lack of behavioural data recorded in both studies, which limited the accuracy of assessing each animal’s welfare. This paper emphasises the importance of including behavioural information when assessing welfare and not simply relying on assessment of physical condition. Scores peaked following an exponential rise as animals reached set humane end points. This demonstrated the potential of using the AWAG to aid the decision-making of when euthanasia should be performed. Our study shows the AWAG to be a useful tool for assessing welfare, which can be used in harm:benefit assessment.

scholarly journals Animal welfare and environmental enrichment in the domestic breeding and ornamental rearing of geese and mallards

2021 ◽  
pp. 107-125
Author(s):  
Luiza Isaia de Freitas
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Psychological Health ◽  
Environmental Enrichment ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Bird Breeding ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
Social Environmental ◽  
The Right

The concept of animal welfare has been widely studied and discussed in recent years. This is a science, which seeks an improvement in the quality of life of animals, ensuring that they have the right to their 5 basic freedoms respected. Animal welfare practices seek to have animals express their natural behavior, even when they are in captivity, ensuring their physical and psychological health. Such techniques help in the adaptation of the animal to the environment, especially in captive animals and in breeding. There is a direct relationship between the implementation of animal welfare practices and the ability of them to adapt and have a good quality of life in the environment in which it was inserted. The growing increase in ornamental bird breeding and as pets has revealed the need to study and ensure welfare practices in the rearing of these animals. One of the techniques used to ensure animal welfare is the implementation of different types of environmental enrichments. Environmental enrichment seeks through different techniques and materials to provide more attractive and stimulating environments to animals, allowing interaction between animals and animal-environment, enabling them to enjoy and explore the environment, optimizing the available spaces, providing opportunities for the development of behaviors and natural abilities of the species, reducing the stress caused by space limitation and absence of stimuli. The objective of this work was to relate animal welfare in the implementation of environmental enrichment in two breeding stake of geese and mallards, one for ornamental and domestic purposes, birds being reared as pets. In particular describe the creation, report the implementation of three types of environmental enrichment: food, physical and social, and response of birds after the implementation of this technique of animal welfare promotion. The results of the implementation of food, physical and social environmental enrichment, to improve the well-being of birds, were verified in both breedings, obtaining a positive result. There was an improvement in the behavior of the animals, which is closer to the natural in both groups, attesting to improvement in quality of life and providing physical and psychological well-being to birds.

scholarly journals Satisfaction of Life of Slum Dwellers Pre- and Post- Rehabilitation in India

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (10) ◽  
pp. 104
Author(s):  
Ritu Sharma ◽  
Neeta Khurana ◽  
Anna Bagrij
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Poverty Line ◽  
Economic Factors ◽  
Primary Research ◽  
Urban City ◽  
Slum Dwellers ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Social Environmental

The present study was primary research intended to understand the quality of life of Slum Dwellers in Gujarat, India. Quality of life of 348 Slum Dwellers in Urban City of Gujarat was mapped on physical, psychological, social, environmental and economic factors using standardized psychometric tools and statistically computed to understand the variation across males and females of below poverty line residents of slums. Findings indicate a scenario of quality of life of slum dwellers before slum rehabilitation.

Quality of life: what is it, and what can vets do to influence it?

2018 ◽  
Vol 182 (5) ◽  
pp. 148.1-148
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Discussion Forum

Every veterinary professional dedicates their career to ensuring the health and welfare of animals committed to their care. But what does this mean for the modern vet? This question, explains Erika Singh, Animal Welfare Foundation (AWF) Manager, will be explored at this year’s AWF Discussion Forum.

Riesgos socioambientales derivados de la pérdida de servicios ecosistémicos: el caso de Ecatepec de Morelos, Estado de México

2021 ◽  
pp. 32-53
Author(s):  
Omar Rojas García
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Urban Growth ◽  
Complex Variables ◽  
Medium Term ◽  
Conservation Areas ◽  
High Slope ◽  
Analysis Methodology ◽  
Ecological Conservation ◽  
Environmental Risk Analysis

This paper was originated in an investigation carried out in the Municipality of Ecatepec de Morelos in the period from October 2019 to March 2020, and which served as support for the update of the Municipal Urban Development Plan 2020 for the same municipality. The purpose is to recognize the socio-environmental factors that drive the construction of human settlements in ecological conservation areas and that, in the medium term, alter the surrounding ecosystems and increase their vulnerability to geological and hydrometeorological phenomena. Through an environmental risk analysis methodology, the socio-environmental impacts generated by irregular settlements on ecological conservation areas are analyzed, as the houses are located in areas of high slope, it makes them more vulnerable to the phenomena mencioned. Even these areas are accessible to certain sectors of the population, in terms of rent or purchase of housing, such practices are usually illegal, and bring with them the deterioration of the existing natural vegetation, in addition to the loss of ecosystem services derived from the unplanned urban growth. These invasions correspond to a permanent process that includes complex variables, such as the deterioration of the quality of life, economic insufficiency to satisfy needs and in a synergistic way, generates social problems such as insecurity and violence.

Application of psychometrics to assess quality of life in animals.

2021 ◽  
pp. 125-140
Author(s):  
Jacky Reid ◽  
Andrea Nolan ◽  
Marian Scott
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Worth Living ◽  
Health Related Quality ◽  
Medical Sciences ◽  
Life Worth Living ◽  
Related Quality ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Assess Quality

Abstract Animal welfare research is gradually moving towards inclusion of positive welfare, with the consideration of how animals can be provided a good life or a life worth living. The concept of quality of life, which originates from human medical sciences, definitely contributes to this. In this chapter the developers of the health-related quality of life tool for dogs share their expertise.

scholarly journals Improving quality of life with mind-body-spirit therapy (Islamic concepts) in chronic renal failure patients with hemodialysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-30
Author(s):  
Ns. Errick Endra Cita ◽  
Dian Miftahul Mizan
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Renal Failure ◽  
Chronic Renal Failure ◽  
Hemodialysis Patients ◽  
Early Screening ◽  
Four Dimensions ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Social Environmental ◽  
And Behavior

The number of new chronic renal failure patients with hemodialysis therapy continues to increase from year to year in Indonesia. The number of new patients by 2015 is 21050 patients and the number of active patients is 30554 from 249 units of hemodialysis. The quality of life of hemodialysis patients has decreased in physical, psychological, social and environmental dimensions. Mind-body-spirit therapy (Concepts of Islam) focuses on the ability to manage the mindset and psychic that will affect the physical, attitudes and behavior of individuals in addressing their lives. Giving mind-body-spirit therapy to hemodialysis patients to improve quality of life, given for 4 weeks with the frequency twice a week. Pre- experimental study with one group pre-test post-test. The sample of 23 patients with hemodialysis therapy taken by purposive sampling. The WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire was used in this study. Early screening on quality of life was taken in 23 patients (13 men and 10 women, mean age 51.5 years). Mind-body-spirit therapy (Islamic concept) consisted of Tausiyah (cognitive reconstruction), prayer, dhikr and drinking zam-zam water. The quality of life score was evaluated at week 5 after 4 weeks of treatments. All four dimensions of quality of life and quality of life were generally analyzed using Wilcoxon with significant results p <0.05. After the treatments, there is an increase in the quality of life in the physical, psychological, social, environmental, and general quality of life in hemodialysis patients. A mind-body-spirit therapy of 4 weeks is effective for improving the quality of life of patients with chronic renal failure with hemodialysis therapy.

scholarly journals Analysis of the Quality of Life of the Elderly in the Village of Bukit Harapan

1970 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 107-116
Author(s):  
Aszrul AB ◽  
Andi Suswani ◽  
Buharman
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Univariate Analysis ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Physical Domain ◽  
Social Domain ◽  
Social Environmental

Quality of life is a person's perception in a cultural context and norms that are relevant to the person's place of life-related to the goals, expectations, standards, and concern for his life. The purpose of this study was to determine the quality of life of the elderly in terms of physical, psychological, level of independence, social, environmental, spiritual life in Bukit Harapan Village in 2018. This study uses a descriptive survey method with a "probability sampling" approach. The sample in this study was 78 respondents with a population of 340 determined using a sampling technique. Data collection was carried out using a questionnaire sheet (check sheet). The analysis used is a univariate analysis which is seen from the results of the frequency distribution. The study showed that the quality of life of the elderly is good as much as 75.3% and the quality of life that is less than good 25.3%. While seen from the physical domain of the good old 70.1% the physical is not good 29.9%. while the good psychology domain elderly 67.6% less good psychological 32.5%. Good independence rate of elderly 71.4% Poor independence rate 28.6%. Elderly good social domain 72.7% good social domain 27.3%. The good old neighborhood domain 67.6% and less good domain 32.5%. Spiritual good 84.4% Spiritual bad 15.7%. In this study it can be concluded that the quality of life of the elderly from the physical domain that has a less good quality is more than the good, while psychological, independence, social, environmental, spiritual elderly have a good category.

scholarly journals COMPARISON OF THE CONCEPTS OF THE LEVEL AND THE QUALITY OF LIFE: INCLUSIVE CONTENT

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-66
Author(s):  
Jandaraly S. Sadyraliev
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Standard Of Living ◽  
Welfare Assessment ◽  
Subjective Approach

The article analyzes and compares existing approaches to the interpretation and defining content of categories that characterize life satisfaction, such as «quality of life», «standard of life» in order to differentiate them, identify essential foundations and differences. The indicators of quality and standard of living are systematized and classified. The emphasis is made on identifying urgent problems in determining the quality of life. Welfare assessment methodologies are critically reviewed. The author makes conclusion about the need for a subjective approach to the assessment of the concept of the level and quality of life in Kyrgyzstan.

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