Keywords: Consciousness

Preview:  “The term depopulation refers to the rapid de¬struction of a population of animals in response to urgent circumstances with as much consideration given to the welfare of the animals as practicable. Ur¬gent circumstances may include emergency situations, such as the need for immediate disease control or a response to natural or human-made disasters.[…] The challenge facing veterinarians and others tasked with depopulation is to balance aggressive management of and rapid response to an emergency situation with animal welfare concerns surrounding humane destruction. Veterinarians are positioned to offer sound professional judgment as the value of animals’ lives and their welfare is weighed against immediate risk to human beings, other populations of animals, or the environment."

The Opinion assesses a draft guide and takes into account the available scientific data and practices in other European countries. It identifies scientific and/or regulatory issues and puts forward recommendations supported by scientific evidencefor possible improvements and enhancements to the guide . It also provides answers to a list of detailed questions from the DGAl on particular issues identified by the latter.

The closely associated concepts of welfare and stress may be considered as opposites since welfare cannot be achieved under stress and vice versa. Stress was first considered as an unspecific response to any challenge taxing the organism's resources where the HPA axis plays a central role. Along the same lines, welfare was considered as the state of an individual on a continuum between poor and good depending on the efforts required to adapt to the environment. However, these views cannot explain opposite results such as up- vs. down-regulation of the HPA axis and hypo- vs. hyper-behavioural reactivity under chronic stress. ... It is therefore suggested that the discrepancies found in the literature in terms of responses of the HPA axis or modification of behaviour under aversive conditions may stem from differences in the way a situation is evaluated. It is argued that stress comes from the animal's evaluation of the outcome of a situation, and that welfare is the state resulting from that evaluation.

Highly detailed guide to all euthanisation methods for all species (domestic carnivores, livestock and laboratory animals)

Description of the different methods of slaughter with recommendations concerning animal welfare

The article addresses the issue of moral concern for domestic animals and for animal welfare defined as freedom from mortality and morbidity, freedom from stress, and the animal's freedom to express the natural behaviour of its species. While the first two definitions can lead to a failure to consider the animal in all its aspects, the third has the advantage of achieving this, taking into account the needs and social behaviours of livestock.

Farmed ruminants belong to gregarious species. Their social organisation is based on stable dominance-subordination relationships which ensure the resolution of many conflicts that are inherent in the promiscuity among animals in livestock farming. Social organisation is also based on affinity relationships that ensure group cohesion and increase tolerance between animals in situations of conflict. Furthermore, affinity relationships are closely involved in the adaptation of the animal to its living environment, since partners will influence the animal's response to its surroundings. Thus, whether through the development of behaviours that are more respectful of the animals' social needs, or by the management of periods of social transition, the adaptation and welfare of farm animals will be considerably increased.

The issue of the emotions of farm animals is part of a wider drive to improve farming conditions by taking animal welfare into account. The genesis of emotions derives from the cognitive capacity of individuals to perceive, evaluate and react to their environment. …. The parts of the brain involved in the neural network for emotions are linked to the perception and processing of information from the environment, and/or in the expression of emotional responses. ... . In light of this, it is now necessary to study the effects of early experiences on the development of the neural network for emotions and to better understand the role of cognitive evaluation in the genesis of emotions.