Companion Animal Welfare Research Articles

Companion Animals, Natural Disasters and the Law: An Australian Perspective.

Simple SummaryOne of the issues raised by recent natural disasters in Australia is the management of companion animal welfare in disaster planning, response and recovery. Official inquiries following these disasters uncovered a number of shortcomings in addressing the management of animal welfare issues. This article suggests that despite some reform following these events, disaster management still fails to take seriously the interests of companion animals. This article examines the regulation of companion animal welfare during disasters, with some context provided by two recent major disaster events in Australia. Important general lessons for improved disaster management were identified in subsequent inquiries. However, the interests of companion animals continue to be inadequately addressed. This is because key assumptions underpinning disaster planning for companion animals—the primacy of human interests over animal interests and that individuals will properly address companion animal needs during times of disaster—are open to question. In particular these assumptions fail to recognise the inherent value of companion animals, underestimate the strong bond shared by some owners and their animals and, at the same time, overestimate the capacity of some owners to adequately meet the needs of their animals.

What about welfare?

Five years after the introduction of the Animal Welfare Act, Sally Everitt looks at the impact of the legislation and asks what vets can do to improve the welfare of companion animals.

Intimate partner violence and companion animal welfare

To investigate the effect of intimate partner violence (IPV) on companion animal welfare. Self-selected telephone survey of people meeting the criteria. Members of the Australian public with experience of IPV and concurrent companion animal ownership were invited to telephone a researcher for a semi-structured interview. In total, 26 Australian women reported one or more companion animals in the household being verbally and/or physically abused by their male partner, usually with prolonged effects on animal behaviour; 92% indicated that they had been unwilling to discuss the animal abuse with a veterinarian. Many were unaware of animal accommodation services for people fleeing violence and those who did know about these were unwilling to use them, citing their bond with the animals as the main reason. Animals targeted for abuse were most likely to be dogs and owned by women rather than men, children or both partners. Animals can be severely affected by domestic violence situations and many people experiencing violence are unwilling to confide in veterinarians or seek help from animal shelters.

In this issue – January/February 2012

Options for eradication of footrot in sheep · Johne's disease in Australian beef cattle herds · Digital extensor tendon transections in racehorses · Abalone viral ganglioneuritis · Haemochromatosis in a Brazilian tapir · Disseminated Scedosporium prolificans infection in a German Shepherd dog · Osteosarcoma and orthopaedic implants · Torsion of liver lobes and gallbladder · Intimate partner violence and companion animal welfare

Companion interview

Clare Rusbridge started at Glasgow Veterinary School when she was just 16. She worked at the University of Pennsylvania, spent time in general practice in Cambridgeshire and then specialized in neurology. She was presented with the J.A. Wight Memorial Award for outstanding contributions to the welfare of companion animals at Congress 2011.

Ten‐minute chat

Daniel Mills is professor of veterinary behavioural medicine at the University of Lincoln, where he leads the Masters course in clinical animal behaviour and an international research group examining companion animal behaviour and welfare.

Codes of Practice for the welfare of companion animals in England: dogs, cats and equines. A lesson in devolved decision-making?

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Ten‐minute chat

Sean Wensley is senior veterinary surgeon for communication and education at PDSA and a member of the Companion Animal Welfare Council; he is a trustee of the BVA Animal Welfare Foundation and a committee member of the BVA Ethics and Welfare Group.

Towards an Animal-Friendly Family Law

Companion animals have assumed a pivotal role as legitimate members of the family in contemporary Western liberal societies, including Australia. However, the legal position of Australian family pets following family breakdown has largely gone unexamined. Even though their welfare is promoted by animal protection laws, Australian family courts do not currently need to explicitly consider the welfare of companion animals when deciding their post-separation placement or ownership. Drawing upon the emergent field of animal law, as well as developments in North American family law, this article argues that Australian family law should not simply regard companion animals as equivalent to any other piece of personal property requiring distribution between the parties upon separation or divorce. In particular, this article proposes that specific provisions should be inserted into the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), distinct from existing provisions relating to the property and human children of the parties, stipulating that family courts explicitly consider the welfare of family pets in allocating them to the parties. Ultimately, the effect of treating family pets differently from personal property would be to acknowledge that companion animals are not merely chattels but, as living beings that are dependent on their human owners for their future welfare, are instead very similar to human children and therefore also require special legal protection and attention in family law proceedings.

Companion animal welfare assessment: outlining a possible future for UK pets

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The Human–Animal Bond in Veterinary Medical Education: Accessing Web-Based Information

Various aspects of the field known as the human-animal bond (HAB), or human-animal interactions, have expanded within veterinary medical education over the past quarter of a century. Using a variety of databases and informed search strategies, relevant information can be accessed, including recent articles, databases, journals, academic centers, societies and associations, programs, and key references. In this paper, methods for accessing resources supporting veterinary education on the HAB are organized into four subject areas: the HAB in veterinary school curricula; social work and support services for veterinary clients; the benefits of the HAB for human well-being, with applications of animal-assisted therapies, activities, and education; and companion animal behavior and welfare concerns. A related Web site can be accessed at http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/CCAB/humananimalinteractions.html.

How Is Animal Welfare Addressed in Canada's Emergency Response Plans?

In 2005, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita clearly revealed that even in the United States the welfare of companion animals and nonhuman animals in the wild, zoo, or aquarium was not considered within the evacuation plans for their human caretakers (owners). The lack of proper planning and trained individuals resulted in a huge loss of animal life as well as suffering and trauma to both animals and their owners. The present Canadian Federal Emergency Response Plan does not have adequate procedures for the evacuation of animals together with their owners, nor do Canada or the provinces and territories have a plan in place that consists of properly trained and equipped individuals to respond to this aspect of disaster management. The Canadian Veterinary Reserve (CVR) was thus organized at a national level to respond properly to disasters or emergencies of all types and thereby reduce animal suffering and loss of life. This article describes the formation of the CVR and its anticipated national role in addressing animal welfare during times of catastrophic need.

Interface of epidemiology, pet population issues and policy

Progress has been made towards eliminating Rowan's “statistical black hole” regarding pet populations and their dynamics, although deficiencies remain. The challenge in the coming decade will be to continue the progress, and generate meaningful epidemiologic data. Veterinary epidemiologists will continue to play an important role in the generation, dissemination and translation of results from their studies into coherent, effective companion animal welfare policy.

Current Status of Veterinary Vaccines

The major goals of veterinary vaccines are to improve the health and welfare of companion animals, increase production of livestock in a cost-effective manner, and prevent animal-to-human transmission from both domestic animals and wildlife. These diverse aims have led to different approaches to the development of veterinary vaccines from crude but effective whole-pathogen preparations to molecularly defined subunit vaccines, genetically engineered organisms or chimeras, vectored antigen formulations, and naked DNA injections. The final successful outcome of vaccine research and development is the generation of a product that will be available in the marketplace or that will be used in the field to achieve desired outcomes. As detailed in this review, successful veterinary vaccines have been produced against viral, bacterial, protozoal, and multicellular pathogens, which in many ways have led the field in the application and adaptation of novel technologies. These veterinary vaccines have had, and continue to have, a major impact not only on animal health and production but also on human health through increasing safe food supplies and preventing animal-to-human transmission of infectious diseases. The continued interaction between animals and human researchers and health professionals will be of major importance for adapting new technologies, providing animal models of disease, and confronting new and emerging infectious diseases.

The value of animal life: how should we balance quality against quantity?

AbstractIn many situations choices must be made that will have an impact on the welfare of companion animals. Often one of the options will be to euthanase the animal in question. The way in which one views this option will depend not only on one's assessment of the quality of the animal's life (or the lives of other affected parties), but also on how one values an animal life as such. Clearly, a companion animal may be valued by a human being or by another animal. A dog's death may affect its owner's quality of life (QoL), or it may affect the QoL of other animals in the household. But does the life of an animal have any value other than that? Is anything lost, for example, when a dog that lived with a sole owner, now deceased, is euthanased? Conversely, would anything be gained if the dog were re-homed (apart from the potentially positive contribution to the new owners' QoL)? More generally, in prolonging, or refraining from ending, the life of an animal, is it thereby ensured that something of value persists? There seem to be three main views on this matter. The first is that animal life has no value in itself. The second is that animal life has value to the extent that the life in question is worth living for the animal. The third view is that the life of an animal has a value that exceeds what is ‘in it’ for the animal in question. The view one accepts here will have a dramatic impact on one's attitude to many of the choices to be made about the treatment of companion animals — choices in which one must balance quality of life against, as it were, quantity of life. So the heart of the matter is not only quality of life. It is also value of life. Unfortunately it may prove much more difficult to agree about the value of animal life than it is to agree about the significance of animal welfare.

Proceedings of a workshop to identify dog welfare issues in the US, Japan, Czech Republic, Spain and the UK

The aims of this paper are first to review scientific and ethical considerations regarding the welfare of dogs in the US, UK, Czech Republic, Spain and Japan, as well as to examine research perspectives of people working within the field of applied ethology. As a guide, the Five Freedoms should be considered for dogs as with other species of animals [Brambell, F.W.R., 1965. Brambell, Report on the Technical Committee to Enquire into the Welfare of Livestock Kept Under Intensive Husbandry Systems, HMSO, London]. With pet dogs the use of drugs or shock therapy, neutering, caging, debarking and euthanasia for behaviour problems are all controversial not only among the general public but also among specialists in behavioural therapy. Breeding systems, evaluation of aptitudes, socialisation, training methods, and retired dogs’ lives are the major welfare concerns related to working dogs. Even within European countries, e.g. Spain, the Czech Republic, and the UK, there are different standards and attitudes towards dogs in each country. This suggests that scientific evidence and cultural consideration may be necessary to improving the welfare of companion animals. Different situations which exist between countries should be considered when seeking to establish international standards, however, these may also provide evidence for causes and inform possible modifications regarding canine behavioural issues. Sections contributed by authors from five countries discuss current issues and aim to produce a better understanding of local behaviour and welfare factors. It is concluded that there are still many welfare issues surrounding companion and working dogs internationally and further collaborative investigation is required in seeking to improve these.

“Concepts in Animal Welfare”: A Syllabus in Animal Welfare Science and Ethics for Veterinary Schools

Public attitudes toward animal welfare have improved with growing social affluence, and veterinarians are increasingly expected to be informed about animal welfare in a broader sense than health alone. However, animal welfare has not been a traditional component of the veterinary curriculum. To help address this lack, the World Society for the Protection of Animals(WSPA) and the University of Bristol School of Veterinary Science launched the ''Concepts in Animal Welfare'' syllabus in 2003. This comprehensive syllabus comprises seven core and 23 elective modules and covers a range of animal welfare issues, including farm and companion animal welfare, wildlife, and the use of animals in experiments. There are also modules on ethics and animal legislation. The syllabus is interactive, promotes critical analysis of issues from different angles, and may be adapted for use in any veterinary curriculum. WSPA provides training and workshops in developing countries and assists with the implementation of the syllabus.

Evaluación por métodos científicos del bienestar de los animales de compañía

Human history reveals that the way in which humans treat animals is based on their views of themselves as well as of the living environment around them. These views may vary from an assumption of human superiority to one of equality between humans and animals. Recent trends affecting companion-animal welfare are: modern philosophies on animal issues, the specialised and varied roles that companion animals play in modern societies, new results from animal neuroscience, human-animal interaction studies and the new profession of companion animal ethology. This paper concludes that applied ethology could provide science-based criteria to assess companion-animal welfare. Due to the integral part that companion animals play in human societies, the paper is divided into an animal component that deals with the animal's basic needs and its ability to adapt, and a human component assessing the living environment of animals as provided by humans and responsible companion-animal ownership. The greatest challenge for future research is to find ways to disseminate knowledge of companion animal ethology to companion animal owners.

Animal Welfare Special Issue on Genetics and Animal Welfare

The November 1999 issue of Animal Welfare will be published as a Special Issue, devoted to the topical subject of Genetics and Animal Welfare. The journal has established itself as the objective, international forum for quarterly publication of peer-reviewed papers on all aspects of farm, laboratory, zoo, wild and companion animal welfare science - from practical husbandry to ethical debates. In 1998, it ranked in the top 25 per cent of all veterinary/zoological journals covered by the Science Citation Index® - attesting to the quality and impact of its contents.

Prevalence of intercurrent disease in dogs and cats presented for vaccination at a veterinary practice.

A prospective study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of intercurrent disease in dogs and cats presented for vaccination in general practice. Fifty-two percent of animals were found to suffer from intercurrent disease and 3% had severe debilitating disease. A thorough clinical examination conducted at the time of routine vaccination appears to be an important element in maintaining companion animal health and welfare.