Animal Welfare. Tag Words: animal welfare; animals; welfare; animal health. Authors: Gralat Xue & Soo Jin Park with Julie M. Fagan, Ph.

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1 Animal Welfare A study of various animal welfare issues with a closer look at the role of humans; the prevalence of these issues and what factors allow them to continue. Tag Words: animal welfare; animals; welfare; animal health Authors: Gralat Xue & Soo Jin Park with Julie M. Fagan, Ph.D Summary [Gralat Xue] Animal welfare has become an increasingly important issue over the last few years. More individuals are concerned with these issues and increased efforts have been made to reduce or eliminate the prevalence of these issues. However, despite recent advances, much of the information regarding animal welfare remains unclear and inaccessible by many individuals. Most animal welfare issues exist today due to increased consumer demands, but it is lack of information on these issues that allow them to continue to exist. An educational course designed to educate undergraduate students on various animal welfare issues can be an excellent starting point towards increased awareness of animal welfare issues which can then lead to a decreased prevalence of these issues. Video [Gralat Xue] [Link] Animal Welfare What is it and why is it important? [Gralat Xue] What is animal welfare? Animal welfare is generally viewed as an animal that is in a good state of health (Hewson, 2003). However, this is where the lines begin to blur for many people. What constitutes good health depends on the values and experiences of the person asked, but is generally agreed that animals in a good state of welfare must have adequate nutrition, shelter and healthcare (AVMA,2011). Animals must also be able to express natural behaviors and are not suffering unnecessarily (AVMA, 2011). Page 1

2 Animal welfare is often confused with animal rights, and while animal rights activists may support some animal welfare efforts, their ultimate objectives are very different. The animal rights viewpoint is generally that animals should not be used for human gain, and the ultimate goal of animal rights activists is that animals will no longer be viewed as property, but as individuals (Do soething). Animal welfare advocates on the other hand view human use of animals as acceptable as long as everything is done to reduce the amount of suffering experienced by the animal (do something). Realistically, the goals of the animal rights movement would be hard to achieve. Many medical achievements today were made through the use of animal models. To eliminate the use of animals entirely would severely impact our ability to advance in the medical field, not to mention eliminate a major food source. However, it is possible to reduce the suffering experienced by these animals regardless of their purpose. Strides have been made in terms of animal welfare however, when the Animal Welfare Act was passed in The Animal Welfare Act is a federal law that regulates certain animal activities. It mandates that practitioners be licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and regulates commercial cat and dog breeding, dealing in dogs or cats?the buying and selling of animals to retailers; exhibiting animals, and the use of live animals in laboratory research. While the Animal Welfare Act is the closest thing to a federal cruelty law, there are many aspects it does not cover and this is where we fall short, and as a result of these shortcomings, a lot of unethical treatment involving animals slips through and those who are responsible are not punished. Companion Animal Welfare [Gralat Xue] Livestock Production [Gralat Xue] Factory farming has come up a major issue in animal welfare in recent years and is one of the most well known issues, fueling the recent switch by many to organic products. Factory farms are industrial operations that raise farm animals for consumption. Many of the issues with factory farming lie in the sheer number of animals being housed in a confined area. Often times the animals are kept in small cages and with numerous others in attempt to raise as many animals as possible. The close confinement of these animals often encourages behaviors that result from the stress and anxiety of being kept in such small spaces with hundreds of others. An example that is often referred to in literature is that of chickens raised for consumption. The chickens are debeaked as a way to prevent them from resorting to cannibalism and killing each other in their cages. Those behaviors are not natural for the chicken, but arise due to living in extreme confinement. Moreover, animals in these situations are forced to breed at unnaturally fast rates, with hardly Page 2

3 any time to rest after a breeding cycle. Lab Animal Welfare [Soo Jin Park] History and Background: Although the practice of vivisection, which was the early form of an animal experimentation, started in ancient Greek period, the protest against such practice was never made until late1800s. The first protest against the vivisection was made in Italy in 1863, and the first Act that mandated the use of anesthesia during vivisection was passed in England in However, as the public interest for scientific research increased by famous publications, including Charles Darwin s Origin of Species, the idea that animals could be used for the study of human physiology became more widely spread in the mid 19 th century. Throughout World War I and World War II, animal experimentations received more attention as a method for laboratory research. And with great support and funding from the government, the use of laboratory animals greatly increased and also the scope of lab animal research expanded its scope. Before the mid 20 th century, the quality of care for lab animals and the responsibilities for them were strictly depended on the hand of the research facilities. There were no set of rules, so the regulation and policies varied even within the same institutions and facilities. In 1961, the Animal Care Panel (ACP) was formed by a group of veterinarian from Chicago, and they decided to establish animal care and use guidelines for all the lab animal research facilities. The first edition of the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals came out in With the support from NIH and the Institute of Laboratory Animal Research, the subsequent edition came out. The most recent edition was published in 1996 by the National Research Council, and this became the primary source of laboratory animal care and use standards and guidelines in the United States. Over 400,000 copies have been distributed throughout the world (?). Until 1966, there had been no federal law addressed laboratory animal welfare (? ). Around this time, the need for dogs and cats for research laboratory use increased rapidly, and animal dealers became significant source of these animals. However, with a series of article and news reporting the mistreatment of these cats and dogs and pet theft by the animal dealers, the public concern was aroused rapidly. Many of them raised the voice that there was a need for a system of enforcement with a series of regulations and law, especially for dogs and cats used in research. With the rising public awareness about the issue, in 1966, Congress passed the first legislation for regulation of use of animals in laboratories in United States, which was called the Laboratory Animal Welfare Act. This is the primary version of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) became the agent in charge of the new law, and they immediately started to enforce the regulation. The first and the biggest change was that now that all the animal research laboratories and dealers were required to fill out the registration or gain license for their business, which had to undergo inspection by USDA inspector. Although in the beginning, some of the responsibilities for the animal use and care remained under the research investigator, several changes to the AWA have added regulations that now not only animals in laboratories but also in zoos, circuses, and aquaria and oversees animal transportation and animal Page 3

4 fights. However, the USDA regulations currently exclude common laboratory rats (Rattus norvegicus) and mice (Mus musculus), birds, and farm animals used in production agriculture research (?). Current Issues: Currently, the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) is the primary governing law that regulates the care and use of laboratory animals in the United States. It covers all warm-blooded animals except mice, rats, and birds. The AWA s regulations include requirements for veterinary care, adequate food and water, protection from temperature extremes, shelter from outdoor elements, sanitation, and record keeping (?). All institutions that receive the Public Health Service (PHS) support for activities involving vertebrate animals or is subject to the authority of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) must operate an animal care and use program with clear lines of authority and responsibility (?). The program must include: - a properly constituted and functioning Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC); - procedures for self monitoring; - an adequate veterinary care program; - an occupational health and safety program (not required under the AWA); - a personnel training program; - an environment, housing and management program for animals; and - Appropriately maintained facilities for housing and support. Although many improvements has been made for the welfare of lab animals, with current AWA excluding mice, rats and birds, which make up 95-98% of the animals used in research, there are many difficulties in addressing some issues. According to the 2007 USDA Animal Welfare Report, the total number of animals used in research in the U.S. was 1.02 million, largely inconsistent with the commonly held estimate of million vertebrates used in research (?). Also, In the USDA report in 2007, it says that 38% of warm-blooded animals in laboratories covered by the AWA experienced no pain or distress, 54% experienced moderate to severe pain or distress that was relieved by anesthesia or analgesia (pain-killing medication), and the remaining 8% experienced unrelieved pain or distress (?), but with exclusion of major laboratory animal species, this data cannot correctly represent the actual statistic of animals going through the pain during the experiments. With such large number of animal use for the scientific research purpose and their inevitable pain and distress issues, many movements have been made by people who sought to lessen the sufferings and pains of laboratory animals. Solution: With the great increase in public awareness, the widely-applied concept of the Three Rs now calls for the alternative to animals in research. These three Rs include: - Replacement: substituting other systems for whole animal use. Page 4

5 - Reduction : decreasing the number of animals to the minimum needed to yield accurate data. - Refinement: using modern medicine to minimize or eliminate pain and distress and employing housing and husbandry techniques to enrich the captive environment to reduce boredom and promote natural behavior (?). Zoo/Marine Animal Welfare [Soo Jin Park] History and Background: The development of captive animal exhibits over the past 200 years can be divided into first, second and third generation exhibits (Shettel-Neuber, 1988). The barred cages used to display exotic animal species between 18 th to 19 th centuries referred to as the first generation. They were primarily designed to display the animals to the public. The barred cages were replaced with cement enclosures with moats in 20 th century, which was the second generation of exhibits. During the time, the public concern about animal welfare in general had risen and such enclosure became unacceptable. The Third generation arose in the mid 20 th century, where many zoos and aquarium sought to develop more natural and comfortable environments for the captive animals, by using vegetation and other features from natural habitats. With many humane organizations and society working for the welfare of the captive animals, the exhibit design continues to develop as zoos seek to better fulfill their objectives Recently, many studies including an assessment of an animal s health, physiology, behavior and knowledge of its wild lifestyle revealed the strong link between captive behavior and physiological indicators. For example, the housing conditions found to heavily influence physiological measures of stress in primates, in particular immune competence and reproduction (Shepherdson and Carlstead, 2000). Such research into various fields of zoo biology greatly helped to identify issues within the captive environments for specific species, supporting the improvement of captive animal welfare. Currently Zoos and marine mammal parks in United States are regulated under the Animal Welfare Act and its regulations and inspected for compliance on a regular basis (USDA website). Current Issues: Today, there are several common issues involved in zoo animal welfare that are mainly focused. Such issues include: - handling and training of captive wildlife animals - psychological well-being and behavioral issues - enclosure design - Preservation of the species - Environmental and Conservation issues - Captive-breeding Programs. Page 5

6 (from google doc) However, the recent scientific research on zoo and marine animals highlighted the fact that the captive environment exerts significant effects and influences on the psychological health and behavioral issues (Carlstead, 1996). Some of the behavioral abnormality that can arise from the confined environment includes the following: Stereotypies: behaviors that are fixed, apparently purposeless and repeated, such as weaving, rocking and pacing. Increased aggression: to both social partners and other animals. Altered time budgets: where the distribution of time between behaviours is very different from in the wild. Increased frustration or conflict behavior: including displacement behaviours or behaviours that seem out of context such as head-shaking, scratching, chewing or licking. Increased fearful behavior: including avoidance, shivering, sweating or over-reaction to slight environmental changes. Ontogenic behavioral changes: where an animal no longer performs the normal recognize for its species at that age or stage of development. Any of these behaviors may indicate that the animal is distressed and the welfare level has been lowered (Kiley-Worthington, 1990). However, not only the psychological and physiological health of the animal become threatened, there are also pontential cost of keeping animals in inappropriate conditions. According to Carlstead (1996), animals that do not exhibit a wide range of normal behaviors give the impression to the visitors of being bored and unhappy in their confinement. In these circumstances, visitors may fail to understand the zoos educational information and its underlying message of conservation. Consequently, he argues that it becomes all the more important for zoos to develop their animals Exhibits as miniature examples of the wild habitats in which animals are encouraged to display their full range of natural behaviors. The husbandry and design techniques used to achieve this are referred to as environmental enrichment (?). Solution: Environmental enrichment Environmental enrichment has been defined as an animal husbandry principle that seeks to enhance the quality of captive animal care by identifying and providing the environmental stimuli necessary for optimal psychological and physiological well-being (Shepherdson, 1998). In practice, this means providing a complex and diverse environment that increases the possibility that the captive animal?s own ecogniz will produce what it needs: finding food, demarcating territory, nest building, escaping conspecifics or hiding (Carlstead, 1996). The most obvious and straightforward method of achieving this would seem to be to increase the space available to the animals: inadequate cage size has been linked to the development of a number of abnormal behaviours (Shepherdson, 1999). However, many authors have also pointed out that both in the wild and in captivity, the amount of space that an animal uses is determined Page 6

7 by the resources available (food, water, nesting sites, mates) and not by a specific requirement for a given amount of space (Maple and Perkins, 1996). In other words it is the quality rather than the quantity of space that is important, and this is what effective environmental enrichment seeks to provide. There are essentially four forms of environmental enrichment that can be incorporated into captive animal husbandry: physical, social, feeding and conditioning. Physical Enrichment: Physical Enrichment can include providing structures that increase the surface area over which an animal can move, objects and toys that maybe manipulated or novel items that visually stimulate animals such as bright colours, lights, moving objects, mirrors and even non toxic soap bubbles. It can create opportunities for the performance of species specific activities and allow a degree of choice and control over daily activities. Social Enrichment: Social Enrichment can be in the form of increased group size, or mixed (intra specific) species exhibits in compatible groups. This method of enrichment is believed to be effective in providing complex, dynamic and long term benefits to captive wildlife as social partners allow an individual to interact with its surroundings to a much greater degree than if it were alone (Carlstead, 1996). Feeding Enrichment: Feeding Enrichment is the most commonly used form of enrichment especially when targeting carnivore species. Many wild animals spend most of their active hours feeding and foraging, while captive animals on the other hand receive food frequently and often as a single daily serve (Maple and Perkins, 1996). Such feeding routines reduce foraging, and in combination with the missing stimulus to hunt or forage, can contribute to the development of stereotypic behaviours. However, feeding enrichment strategies can be implemented which can include scattering or hiding the feed through the exhibit, or hanging feeder tubes which drop small food items at random into the enclosure. Conditioning: Conditioning is a form of enrichment which promotes close keeper-animal interactions through implementing training exercises to facilitate certain husbandry routines (Embury, 1993, Shepherdson, 2003). Successful conditioning programs enable greater control over animals, allowing for more flexibility in the husbandry regimes while also providing the animals with cognitive enrichment (Shepherdson, 1999). Conditioning is now frequently used for many species, and is the basis of the free contact. System of elephant management employed at Taronga and Melbourne Zoos. Although its benefits have been recognized for many years, it is only over the last decade that environmental enrichment has been seen as an integral part of captive wildlife management. However, the degree to which new strategies are incorporated into captive animal management is often low and the value of many of these strategies remains at best undetermined. The reason for this is that zoos usually only consider environmental enrichment after other husbandry tasks have been completed, with little formal quantitative evaluation (Hoy et al, 2008a, b). If zoos are to continue to develop and improve captive enclosure design and husbandry, this is a weakness that needs to be addressed. (reference) Service Project [Gralat Xue] Page 7

8 Since our project focused on animal welfare issues, and what seemed to be the apparent lack of information or lack of acknowledgement of such information, we proposed an educational course that would educate on these issues which we hoped would lead to a decrease in these issues and eventual elimination. Originally, we had intended for our audience to be the general public, offering these courses as a series of workshops, or something similar. However, this was not too feasible because in order for individuals to sign up for such a course and pay for it, would require prior interest as well as a willingness to take such a course. Most individuals, despite their willingness to learn about these issues, might not be able to make time out of their schedules to participate in a workshop such as this. It was then suggested that instead of focusing on such a wide range of people, we narrow our target audience to undergraduate students, specifically those in the animal science major. The benefit of targeting students as opposed to a much wider range of individuals is that they are already there to learn. Additionally, their interest in animal science would encourage them to take such a course. Many students are in the animal science major will go on to future careers in the animal science industry. They will then have the knowledge to pass on to consumers and patients that they might run into through their work. Page 8

9 Animal Welfare Course 01:067:103 Fall 2012 Syllabus Course Objective: To educate undergraduate students on various animal welfare issues. This course will cover various animal welfare issues regarding companion animals, livestock production animals, wildlife animals, marine animals, entertainment, and research animals. Students will learn the history of each issue, followed by a discussion of current issues and possible solutions. Students will be assigned case studies pertaining to each category each week to read. They will be required to write a short reaction paper (no more than a page) for submission for grading. In addition to exams, students may also expect pop quizzes from time to time. Attendance Attendance is mandatory and will be taken at the beginning of each lecture. While attendance cannot be forced, it is advised students attend all lectures. Grading Final grades for the course will be determined as follows: Attendance 5% Pop Quizzes 10% Reaction Papers 25% Midterm Exams 30% Final Exam 30% Missed Exams Missed exams may only be made up with a valid excuse. Please contact the instructor immediately if a missed exam needs to be made up. Academic Integrity Page 9

10 Academic dishonesty is not tolerated. Students who violate the academic integrity policy will be reported and dealt with accordingly. Lecture Topic 1 Introduction What is Animal Welfare? 2 Companion Animal Welfare [History & Background] 3 Companion Animal Welfare [Current Issues & Possible Resolutions] 4 Livestock Animal Welfare [History & Background] 5 Livestock Animal Welfare [Current Issues & Possible Resolutions] 6 Exam I 7 Marine & Wildlife Animal Welfare [History & Background] 8 Marine & Wildlife Animal Welfare [Current Issues & Possible Resolutions] 9 Research & Laboratory Animal Welfare [History & Background] 10 Exam II 11 Research & Laboratory Animal Welfare [Current Issues & Possible Resolutions] 12 Entertainment Animal Welfare [History & Background] 13 Entertainment Animal Welfare [Current Issues & Possible Resolutions] 14 Final Exam Page 10

11 Case Studies Companion Animal Welfare For Lecture 2: Case Study: Companion Animal Over-Population Programs in New Jersey, New Hampshire, and Maine & a New Program for Maine. Accessible here: [ programs_and_clinics/statewide_publicly_funded/study_three_state_programs.pdf] For Lecture 3: GAO Report: USDA s Oversight of Dealers of Random Source Dogs and Cats Accessible here: [ Livestock Production Animal Welfare For Lecture 4: Ethical Challenges for Livestock Production: Meeting Consumer Concerns about Meat Safety and Animal Welfare Accessible here: [ Marine & Wildlife Animal Welfare For Lecture 7: Zoo s Must Put Animal Welfare First Accessible here: [ Research & Laboratory Animal Welfare For Lecture 11: Noncompliance with Public Health Service (PHS) Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals: An Exploratory Analysis Accessible here: [ Entertainment Animal Welfare For Lecture 12: Ringling Circus Pays Record Fine in Animal Welfare Case Accessible here: [ For Lecture 13: Carriage Horse Collapses and Dies in Midtown Accessible here: [ _n_ html] Page 11

12 Editorial Letters Sent to: Rod Smith, Staff Editor Dear Mr. Smith, Editorial: Animal Welfare Act- is it for animals or for human? After videos of the egregious mistreatment on the animals done by some of the big companies and groups had been revealed (including those showing male chicks being ground alive and chimpanzees in pain after injection done by human), the public awareness and the interest about the animal welfare issue in this country has risen enormously. It is a fact that the welfares for the companion animals came into central of attention of public and now considered as a major issue with active movements and campaigns from the humane societies and associations like ASPCA, but those for the animals in other fields still had been in shadow. Although the Animal Welfare Act, which is the primary governing law that regulates the care and use of laboratory animals and other animals in production or entertainment industries, this law excluded major group of lab animals and other animals that are being used in various industries. Current AWA excludes mice, rats and birds, which make up 95-98% of the animals used in research, and there are many difficulties in addressing some issues including statistics on pain experiences and usages. It also excludes production animals including livestock and poultry that are used for food, fiber, or other agricultural purposes, horses that are not used for research purposes, and all coldblooded animals like reptiles. Just by looking at the least of the species, we could sense that the major population of the victims are simply ignored in the process. With such improper definition of Animal, it is nothing to be surprised to see the huge disparage between estimated number of animals in research, which is millions in United States, and the actual number reported, which was only 1.02 million. This can be also seen from number of animals in local animal shelters, where more than 20 millions of dogs and cats are estimated to be impounded every year, less than 20% of that number actually become reported. All these issued evolve because there is no strong enforcement of the act, forcing those organizations to adhere to the law. Even the NIH admits that adherence is & primarily through voluntary compliance which basically completely endorse the quality of lives and the lives of the animals themselves to the persons in charge of the institutions. Animals in the industries simply have their lives in Page 12

13 jeopardy, completely depending on the consciousness of the human that takes care of them. Surely one would come in to question; is this law for animals? Or is it for human? Simply having an act for animal welfare will not solve the problem, while animals cannot be defined as animals. With strong enforcement and a broader perspective on welfare regardless of species, many of the suffering lives will be saved. Sent to: Sincerely, Soo Jin Park editor@thebark.com Animal Welfare Issues: Getting the Word Out There Animal welfare is often a term well known by people, but not necessarily well understood and its meaning is often confused with the definition of animal rights. Information on animal welfare is available out there, but it has to be actively sought out by interested individuals, and even then, you have to sort through the information to make sure what you are getting is from a valid source. The lack of information that consumers have about the subject seems to be the root of most animal welfare issues. A lot of the problems we see are a result of the lack of knowledge that people have about their pets, and while it may be easier to tell them what they are doing is wrong and point accusing fingers, it would be better to educate them about why they are in the wrong so that they can prevent it from happening in the future. It is up to those individuals who work in the animal industry, such as veterinarians, pet store employees, etc., to know about these issues and to educate those people about them. But where would those individuals get their information? A course designed specifically for this purpose should be offered for individuals in the field. Beginning with students in the animal science field, and broadening its scope to individuals in the field, such a course would be beneficial to anyone working with animals. Of course, the scope of animal welfare issues is a large one, and is not limited to only our companions, but this is a good place to start. If we can spread the word about these issues, then we can work towards reducing and eventually eliminating these problems altogether. Sincerely, Gralat Xue Page 13

14 Works Cited 1. "Issues in Animal Welfare." American Veterinary Medical Association. Web. 29 Nov < 2. Hewson, Caroline J. "What Is Animal Welfare? Common Definitions and Their Practical Consequences." June Web. 29 Nov < _ _false_an-overview-of-animals-in-entertainment-english_tcm pdf Page 14