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Methods Of Assessing Animal Welfare
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There is a need for welfare assessment measures that are scientifically validated, that address both the physical and psychological aspects of animal welfare, and that work under field conditions. However the science required in meeting this need is complex because:
- there is no accepted ‘gold standard’ against which to validate welfare measures
- physical measures (e.g. condition score) also need to be validated in terms of the animals’ experience
- measures of animals’ psychological (subjective) states are at a relatively early stage of development and subject to much scientific debate
At SAC we are focusing on:
- species specific animal-based measures (e.g. lameness; behaviour) as the most direct approach to assessing welfare
- linking research on the biology of animal welfare (see above) to development of animal welfare measures (e.g. relationships between temperament and health in dairy cattle; development of welfare measures based on animal choices)
- using quantitative biology and statistics in development of welfare measures (e.g. changes in feeding time as early warning of disease in cattle)
- Qualitative Behaviour Assessment (QBA), which uses Free Choice Profiling (FCP) to describe animal body language
Policy Relevance
Development of valid, robust and practical welfare measures remains a key element of Scottish, UK and EU policy on animal welfare with a growing focus on animal-based measures. Such measures are useful to all stakeholders involved in ensuring good standards of health and welfare in farmed livestock. QBA is successfully making the transition from an experimental methodology to a practical welfare assessment tool. Stakeholders and scientists find the development of an assessment tool based on ‘whole animal’ language useful and timely.