Chinese College Students’ Attitudes towards Animal Welfare

Understanding the attitude of stakeholders towards animals is critical for the development and improvement of animal welfare in a country. College students from veterinary, animal, and life sciences majors represent future key stakeholders that will interact with professionals from animal industries. Therefore, it is critical to understand these college students’ attitudes towards animals and their knowledge about animal welfare. The present survey aimed to investigate Chinese college students’ concerns towards different animal classes (i.e., pets, farm, laboratory, and wild animals) through the animal Sentient and Five Freedoms models. Chinese college students from different majors (i.e., related to animal sciences or not) scored very well in their attitude towards both the animal Sentient and Five Freedoms models, with differences depending on the animal class considered. Pets (dogs and cats) had better consideration for both animal Sentient and Five Freedoms models, followed by wild animals, while farm and laboratory animals were less considered. Veterinary science major students showed the strongest differences in attitudes depending on the animal classes considered compared to other majors. Furthermore, respondents showed better attitude scoring if they currently owned or had owned animals, had participated in animal welfare courses, or in laboratory work that involved animals. When compared to previous studies, our results suggest a general improvement of Chinese college students’ attitudes towards animals.

COVID-19 Restrictions in Ireland – Has There Been an Impact on the Welfare of Sport and Leisure Horses?

Horses form an integral part of Irish culture and heritage. COVID-19 restrictions have created challenges for living generally and for those who own and care-take animals. It is envisaged that risks may arise for equine welfare and many factors may contribute to it. The “Five Freedoms” have formed the basis for animal welfare legislation however, the “Five Domains Model” has progressed to provide a robust model built on scientific research. With advances in research and knowledge, welfare may be measured both physiologically and behaviourally. This study sought to investigate the impact, if any of COVID-19, on the welfare of sport and leisure horses in Ireland. An online survey was conducted to gather data regarding the welfare of sport and leisure horses in Ireland during COVID-19 restrictions. There were several positive findings and the majority of respondents (n = 69) felt that COVID-19 restrictions did not negatively affect the welfare of their horses.

Features of the Practical Application of the Institute of Forced Buyout of Animals

The paper is devoted to the analysis of the institution of force buyout of animals provided for under Art. 241 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The practical application of the buyout under consideration is associated with a number of difficulties, in particular, with the lack of a normatively fixed concept of a humane attitude towards animals and with the difficulty of determining the balance between inhuman attitude and cruelty. To analyze these concepts, the author turns to the Russian doctrine, judicial practice and European regulation, studies the concept of welfare and the fundamental five freedoms of animals. The paper also examines the relationship between the two elements of the institute of forced buyout named in the provisions of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation as the establishment of a violation by the owner of regulatory requirements in the field of handling pets and inhuman treatment. A separate issue, raised in the paper, is the procedure for determining the value of the repurchased animal by the court that must take into account all the applicant’s costs associated with the treatment of the animal after the buyout.

EKSPLORASI DESAIN TAMAN DENGAN PENDEKATAN BIOFILIK BERBASIS ETIKA LINGKUNGAN DI BSD

Ethical Biophilic Park in BSD, Tangerang Is a connected open green spaces between a green park and a deer park., which one has existing faunal element specifically deer. Located at Jakarta’s suburban area, BSD Biophilical Park is one of many parks that foster a herd of deer. Both sites were found not maximized in their function, the existing deer foster has not considered fulfilling five freedoms of animal welfare, which must looked at into more in the future. Conceiving the needs of the human-animal interaction, biophilic and rewilding design methods are expected to be sufficient for the welfare of both parties. The park allocates a variety of artificial natural elements, closeness to faunal elements, as well as space experiences in enclosed spaces. Observing on how the park treat the herd, and how it affects the human activity, creates an output of a green park, that is still connected with the deer park, and also ones which has a full-length trail to see the herd without direct interaction such as petting and. In addition to the design, it involuntarily comply environmental ethics that favor the following welfare of the animal itself. Keywords: Biophilical Park; Deer Fostering; Environmental Ethics; Opened Green Public; Space Rewilding Abstrak Taman Biofilik Berbasis Etika Lingkungan di BSD merupakan perpaduan dua ruang terbuka hijau yang salah satunya memiliki unsur fauna berupa rusa. Terletak di daerah sub urban Jakarta, Taman Biofilik BSD merupakan satu-satunya taman yang merawat rusa. Kedua tapak ditemukan belum maksimal dalam fungsinya, pemeliharaan rusa juga dianggap belum memenuhi lima unsur kesejahteraan hewan, yang kedepannya harus lebih diperhatikan. Memahami kebutuhan adanya hubungan dan interaksi antara manusia dan hewan, metode desain biofilik dan untuk diliarkan diharapkan dapat mencukupi kesejahteraan bagi kedua pihak. Taman mengalokasikan berbagai unsur alam buatan, kedekatan dengan unsur fauna, serta pengalaman ruang yang bersifat lebih terbuka atau tidak sepenuhnya terbangun dinding empat sisi. Mengamati perlakuan taman eksisting pada hewan, dan pengaruh aktivitas manusia didalamnya, menghasilkan taman manusia yang tetap terintegrasi dengan taman rusa, yang didalamnya terdapat jalur untuk melihat-lihat rusa tanpa secara langsung memegang atau memberi makan rusa. Terapan desain secara tidak langsung menghasilkan interaksi yang mematuhi etika lingkungan yang kerap mempengaruhi kesejahteraan hewan itu sendiri.

The First Protocol for Assessing Welfare of Camels

The aim of this study was to develop and describe a protocol for assessing welfare in camels reared in intensive or semi-intensive systems. A literature review was conducted searching for scientific papers on assessment of animal welfare and camel behavior, management, physiology, and pathology. The paradigms of Five Freedoms, the Five Domains Model, and the welfare principles and criteria applied by the Welfare Quality® and AWIN methods were then adapted to camels. A combination of animal-, resource- and management-based indicators were selected and categorized according to three levels of assessment: (i) Caretaker, (ii) Herd, and (iii) Animal. The Caretaker level is an interview of 23 questions exploring the caretaker's background, experience, and routine management practices. The Herd level is a check of the herd and of the place (i.e., box/pen) where camels are kept. The Animal level is a visual inspection aiming at evaluating individual camel behavior and health status. The selected indicators are presented for each welfare principle and level; for instance for the principle of “Appropriate nutrition,” feeding management is investigated at Caretaker level; feed availability and quality, the number of feeding points, and camel feeding behavior are recorded at Herd level, while body condition score (BCS) is evaluated at Animal level. In this study recording sheets for the assessment at the three levels are proposed and how to conduct the assessment is described. Limitations of the proposed protocol are also discussed. Further applications of this protocol for assessing camel welfare on a large number of farms is needed to validate the proposed indicators and identify the thresholds for their acceptability as well as to develop overall welfare indices and welfare standards in camels.

From Protest to ‘Holy Writ’: The Mainstreaming of Welfare Politics

This chapter examines the evolution of British farm animal welfare politics during the last two decades of Harrison’s campaigning. In 1979, the RSPCA boycotted the Thatcher government’s new Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC). The short-lived protest triggered a membership revolt and moderation of RSPCA policies. It also coincided with a weakening of agricultural corporatism in Westminster. FAWC was granted relative independence from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food and explicitly acknowledged an updated version of the five freedoms. Ensuing British welfare reforms were also driven by the increasing involvement of European bodies in animal welfare. Now in her 60s, Ruth Harrison joined FAWC as a welfare member. Her increasing public recognition as a senior welfare campaigner enabled her to proactively push for reforms, expand her fundraising activities, and sponsor additional welfare research. By the late 1990s, most of her welfare positions had become part of mainstream politics.

Dairy cattle welfare in India: A review

Animal welfare means how an animal is coping with the conditions in which it lives; it is based on ‘five freedoms’ and ‘four principles’ of animal welfare. Dairy cattle are considered as sentient beings due to which husbandry should be provided as per their needs. As cattle and human beings are intrinsically connected to each other, protection of cattle from diseases and unnecessary suffering should become prime responsibility of human. Welfare of dairy cattle cannot be measured directly, as is multidimensional in nature and can be measured by various indicators which are either direct or indirect. In this review we try to analyze dairy cattle welfare, their indicators and their assessment.