(draft: not for duplication or quotation)

The farm animal welfare movement of 1960s England propelled/promoted scientists to evaluate animals’ welfare on farms, in homes, in zoos, and in laboratories. I call for us to shift our framework; animal welfare is more than just preventing pain and distress but also includes giving animals the best possible lives they can have. A dog running on the beach chasing a tennis ball is my gold standard of what we should aim for. I describe how welfare scientists combine a battery of physical and behavioral tests to develop the most reliable knowledge of what animals want,
need, loathe, or learn to tolerate. Animal welfare scientists and behavior experts can lead the way to better care of animals in labs, if we empower them. Their agenda will cost money for better animal housing and staffing to meet animals’ needs. They face barriers when vets prioritize physical health and hygiene over animals’ mental health, and when scientists believe—often erroneously—that enriched environments lead to too much variability in the animals, ruining their experiments. On the contrary, I show some of the many ways in which better animal welfare makes animals better research subjects that produce greater or more accurate medical progress, a win-win we should embrace.

Recommended Posts

No comment yet, add your voice below!


Add a Comment