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[av_heading heading=’Animal welfare, what does it really mean?’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY LUIS BUENAFLOR JR.
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Friday, January 27, 2017
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I WANTED to talk about the Mamasapano Massacre and the liability of that nincompoop Noynoy Aquino and his cohorts Alan Purisima and Mar “Daang Matuwid” Roxas.
Considering that there are a lot of idiots out there who have no idea at all what Animal Welfare is, I decided to put the Mamasapano Massacre for the next column. Animals are massacred in the name of culture and arts, let’s give them a voice.
Animal welfare is the physical and psychological well-being of animals. The term “animal welfare” can also mean human concern for animal welfare or a position in a debate on animal ethics and animal rights
In Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary, animal welfare is defined as “the avoidance of abuse and exploitation of animals by humans by maintaining appropriate standards of accommodation, feeding and general care, the prevention and treatment of disease and the assurance of freedom from harassment, and unnecessary discomfort and pain.”
Systematic concern for animal welfare can be based on awareness that non-human animals are sentient and that consideration should be given to their well-being, especially when they are used by humans. These concerns can include how animals are killed for food, how they are used for scientific research, how they are kept as pets, and how human activities affect the survival of endangered species.
Animal welfare began to take a larger place in Western public policy in the 19th-century Britain. Today it is a significant focus of interest or activity in veterinary science, in ethics, and in animal welfare organizations.
Sentience is the ability to feel, perceive or be conscious, or to have subjective experiences.
The concept is central to the philosophy of animal rights, because sentience is necessary for the ability to suffer, which entails certain rights.
In the philosophy of animal rights, sentience implies the ability to experience pleasure and pain. Animal-rights advocates typically argue that any sentient being is entitled at a minimum to the right not to be subjected to unnecessary suffering, though they may differ on what other rights
There are two forms of criticism of the concept of animal welfare, coming from diametrically opposite positions. One view, dating back centuries, asserts that animals are not consciously aware and hence are unable to experience poor welfare. The other view is based on the animal rights position that animals should not be regarded as property and any use of animals by humans is unacceptable.
But significant progress in animal welfare did not take place until the late 20th century. In 1965, the UK government commissioned an investigation – led by Professor Roger Brambell – into the welfare of intensively farmed animals, partly in response to concerns raised in Ruth Harrison’s 1964 book, Animal Machines. On the basis of Professor Brambell’s report, the UK government set up the Farm Animal Welfare Advisory Committee in 1967, which became the Farm Animal Welfare Council in 1979. The committee’s first guidelines recommended that animals require the freedoms to “stand up, lie down, turn around, groom themselves and stretch their limbs.” The guidelines have since been elaborated to become known as the five freedoms:
* Freedom from thirst and hunger – by ready access to fresh water and a diet to maintain full health and vigour.
* Freedom from discomfort – by providing an appropriate environment including shelter and a comfortable resting area.
* Freedom from pain, injury, and disease – by prevention or rapid diagnosis and treatment.
* Freedom to express normal behaviour – by providing sufficient space, proper facilities and company of the animal’s own kind.
* Freedom from fear and distress – by ensuring conditions and treatment which avoid mental suffering.
Currently, a number of animal welfare organizations are campaigning to achieve a Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare (UDAW) at the United Nations. In principle, the Universal Declaration will call on the United Nations to recognise animals as sentient beings, capable of experiencing pain and suffering, and to recognize that animal welfare is an issue of importance as part of the social development of nations worldwide.
Finally, to put to rest the most common misconception prevalent in the Philippines, just because someone is a Veterinarian it does not automatically mean that person is an expert or even espouses animal welfare. Being a Veterinarian is a profession and you can become one by going to university and graduate with a degree in Veterinary Medicine, animal welfare on the other hand is an advocacy and it is not normally a course you will find in most universities. It is something that comes from the heart, either you have it or you don’t and in the Philippines, animal welfare is not even part of the curriculum of veterinary schools./PN
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