Animal Welfare or Living Conditions

This article from the journal British Politics presents an overview of animal protection-related politics in Great Britain. The author supports the "philosophical validity" of at least part of animal rights, while also suggesting that animal "welfare" embodies more realistic goals.

This paper explores the notion of animal suffering, including examining traditional definitions of suffering and attempting to provide a more expansive definition of suffering as the "experience of one's life going." This includes, but is not limited to, physical pain and negative emotions.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture report highlights significant epidemiological events of 2007 and provides insight into the nation's animal health surveillance activities. The report also presents an update on programs, both new and existing, that strive to maintain healthy livestock, poultry, and aquaculture populations.

This report offers from Concensus, a pro-aquaculture group, provides information on efforts to improve the sustainability of European aquaculture. Specifically, it addresses the welfare of farmed fish as producers seek out stocking densities and handling practices that optimize growth and health status while minimizing suffering. Scientific studies have identified indicators of fish welfare which can enable producers to measure the welfare of their farms.

Higher standards of animal welfare can provide positive benefits to producers and consumers, but producers by themselves are unlikely to maximize either animal or social welfare. Consequently, government involvement is warranted to ensure that the interests of consumers who care about animal welfare are considered. This paper analyzes the economic benefits of improving the welfare of "broiler" chickens.

Research conducted among Turkish veterinarians showed that, in general, this group supports animal welfare concerns with the exception of statements regarding the "stunning of ruminants pre-slaughter," the "phasing out of battery cages for poultry," and the "not operating on animals for aesthetic purposes."

The U.S.-based Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) highlights the considerable differences that exist among animal protection laws in Canada by ranking every province and territory on the relative strength and general comprehensiveness of its animal protection laws.

In pig farming, welfare concerns should be ranked on the basis of effect and "manipulability" (likeliness of being able to be implemented by farmers). Lameness may be one of the most important concerns, having a profound impact on reproductive performance and consequently economics.

This brief overview of the International Egg Commission's (IEC) meeting in Shanghai, China summarizes recent developments in the North American egg industry. Animal welfare concerns continue to effect the egg industry in both Canada and the United States, but they do not currently have a major impact on consumers or the market in Mexico.

Growing interest among consumers regarding how their food is produced is becoming increasingly evident; the majority of consumers would favor a ban on sow crates during pregnancy, according to a survey by Michigan State University. Among pork producers, nearly half of those with sows indicated that there would be no adjustment costs if a ban were implemented.