Module 3 What We Can Measure We Can Manage

What is speciesism?

• Wanting to do research with as many different animals as possible.

   

• Different levels of consideration given to an animal as a consequence of their species rather than any evidence of their ability to feel positive or negative emotions.

   

• Allocating the same consideration to all species no matter our personal bias towards particular animals.

   

What are the benefits to using an evidence based approach?

• Evidence based measures have been designed to allow for objective assessment of an animal’s response rather than an assessment based on our subjective feelings towards the animal or situation.

   

• With an evidence based approach, a large amount of laboratory equipment can be used to assess each animal and situation.

   
• An evidence based approach allows us to depend on our subjective feelings towards the animal or situation when deciding how the animal is reacting.

   

Why is it important to repeat the scientific process several times?

• To find out if your results are similar (which would confirm your hypothesis) or different each time (which would suggest your hypothesis is wrong).

   

• To make sure you get as many different results as possible

   
• In order to keep your sample size very small

   

Read the following, and then consider the answer statements listed. For each answer option, decide if it is true or false. Mark each statement you believe to be true, and leave unmarked each answer you believe to be false.

What kind of measurements are scientists able to routinely take from animals in order to assess their response to a situation?

• Immunological

   

• Behavioural

   
• Physiological

   

• Archaeological

   

• Feet size

   

What are the benefits of being able to objectively measure animal welfare parameters?

• We can use our emotion to develop environments where animals will be happy

   

• We are able to decide how to treat all species based on research done with one type of anima

   

• We are in a better position to understand what is positive and negative to an animal, meaning we are better able to manage their welfare

   

What does the term ‘anthropomorphism’ mean?

• Ascribing human traits, ambitions, emotions or entire behaviour to animals

   

• The physiological response of an animal to a stressor.

   

• Research involving humans.

   

Why is anthropomorphism a problem for animal welfare science?

• Anthropomorphism allows scientists to be objective about their research

   

• Anthropomorphism can make the animal uncomfortable during research

   

• Anthropomorphism can lead to misinterpretation of the animal’s response to a situation

   

Why is an ethogram (a list of behaviours and their descriptions) a useful tool in assessing animal behaviour?

• Having an ethogram means no one else will have to spend time watching and describing animal behaviour in future studies.

   

• An ethogram is the only way of recording an animal’s response to a situation.

   

• Having a standardised and clearly described list of behaviours means they can be accurately recorded and utilised by anyone wishing to repeat the research.

   

What do animal ‘choice tests’ allow us to measure?

• Why an animal’s behaviour changes over time.

   

• The physiological response of an animal to fear stimulus.

   

• What the animal prefers and what it actively avoids.

   

Using the principles of consumer-demand theory, an experiment was set up where a chicken was placed in a wire enclosure with the option to push through a weighted barrier that led to an enclosure with straw in it. The chicken continued to push through the barrier as its weight increased and would forage in the straw immediately after it gained access. What conclusions could be drawn from this experiment?

• The chicken was willing to ‘pay a price’ to reach the straw which suggests that the straw was of significant value to the animal.

   

• The chicken is physically healthy enough to push through weighted doors.

   

• The chicken was not willing to use energy to reach the straw which suggests that the straw was not of value

   

True or false? The sympathetic adrenal medullary (SAM) axis produces a fast acting response to stress to prepare the animal for fight or flight, while the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis is slower but longer acting.

• True

   

• False

   

Which one of the following statements is true?

• The production of cortisol is associated with the HPA axis and is a useful measure of how stress changes over time

   
• Adrenaline is associated with long term, chronic stress

   

• The production of cortisol is associated with the SAM axis and can only be measured as part of the fight or flight response

   

Read the following, and then consider the answer statements listed. For each answer option, decide if it is true or false. Mark each statement you believe to be true, and leave unmarked each answer you believe to be false.

Measuring cortisol is one way of assessing what situations cause an animal distress; in what ways can cortisol be measured?

• Behaviour

   
• Faeces

   

• Blood

   

• Air

   
• Urine

   

• Milk

   

• Saliva

   

True or false. It is better to use only physiological or only behavioural measures instead of using both to assess animal welfare.

• True

   

• False

   

True or false. Only factors that affect the offspring after they are born can have an influence on their development, behaviour and health in later life.

• True

   
• False

   

What is the ‘trust your eyes’ or ‘qualitative behaviour assessment’ approach for describing animal feelings, pioneered by Professor Wemelsfelder?

• A holistic method of assessing animal welfare that allows people to describe animal emotion without using objective measures; people showed surprising agreement and reliability in their labelling of behaviours

   

• Research that focused on the use of eye movement to describe an animal’s response to stimuli; left eye movements indicate distress

   
• An approach that uses colours rather than words to describe animal emotion