Hostname: page-component-669899f699-tpknm Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-04-26T10:35:01.672Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Welfare of Free-Living Wild Animals: Methods of Assessment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2023

J K Kirkwood ,
A W Sainsbury  and
P M Bennett
J K Kirkwood*
Affiliation:
Institute of Zoology, Regent's Park, London NW1 4RY, UK
A W Sainsbury
Affiliation:
Institute of Zoology, Regent's Park, London NW1 4RY, UK
P M Bennett
Affiliation:
Institute of Zoology, Regent's Park, London NW1 4RY, UK
*
† Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In assessing the relative merits of farm animal production systems or research procedures using live animals, the impact on the welfare of the animals involved is increasingly being taken into account. Many human activities and human-induced environmental changes can, similarly, adversely affect the welfare of free-living wild animals. As part of a study to investigate the ways in which, and the extent to which this occurs, we considered methods for the assessment of wildlife welfare. Although it is widely accepted that animals can experience and suffer pain and stress, there are difficulties in measuring the intensities of these states (and continuing debate about the terminology and meaning of these and related concepts as applied to animals). In attempting to scale the degree of harm in the various cases examined, a number of factors need to be considered, including: the nature of the harm caused its duration, the numbers of animals affected and their capacity for suffering. We explored ways of quantifying these. The study was undertaken to provide a basis for prioritizing actions to alleviate existing wildlife welfare problems and for assessing the possible wildlife welfare impact of future environmental changes or changes in industrial, agricultural and other practices.

Keywords

animal welfarebirdsmammalspainstresswelfare assessmentwildlife
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 3 , Issue 4 , November 1994 , pp. 257 - 273
Copyright
© 1994 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Balazs, G H 1985 Impact of ocean debris on marine turtles: entanglement and ingestion. In Shomura R S and Yoshida H 0 (eds) Proceedings of the Workshop on the Fate and Impact of Marine Debris. Hawaii, November 1984. US Department of Commerce, NOAA Technical Memo 54: 387–429Google Scholar
Bateson, P 1991 Assessment of pain in animals. Animal Behaviour 42: 827–839CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bevanger, K 1990 Topographic aspects of transmission wire collision hazards to game birds in the Central Norwegian coniferous forest. Fauna Norvegica Series C13: 11–18Google Scholar
Britt, D P (ed) 1985 Humane Control of Land Mammals and Birds. Universities Federation for Animal Welfare: Potters BarGoogle Scholar
Brodie, D A and Hanson, H M 1960 A study of the factors involved in the production of gastric ulcers by the restraint technique. Gastroenterology 38: 353–360CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Broom, D M 1985 Stress, welfare and the state of equilibrium. In Wegner, R-M (ed) Proceedings of the Second European Symposium on Poultry Welfare pp 72–81. Celle: World Poultry Science AssociationGoogle Scholar
Broom, D M 1992 Welfare and conservation. In Ryder, R D (ed) Animal Welfare and the Environment pp 90–101. Duckworth: LondonGoogle Scholar
Calder, W A III 1984 Size, Function and Life History. Harvard University Press: MassachusettsGoogle Scholar
Camphuysen, C J 1989 Technisch Rapport Vogelbescherming 1. Wekgroep Noordze: AmsterdamGoogle Scholar
Camphuysen, C J 1990 Entanglement of seabirds in plastics: an increasing problem? Sula 4: 12–18Google Scholar
Cohn, L A 1991 The influence of corticosteroids on host defence mechanisms. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine 5: 95–104CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Command Paper 2836 1965 Report of the Technical Committee to Enquire into the Welfare of Animals Kept Under Intensive Livestock Husbandry Systems. HMSO: LondonGoogle Scholar
Cooper, J E 1989 Care, cure or conservation: developments and dilemmas in wildlife rehabilitation. Proceedings of the Inaugural Symposium of the British Wildlife Rehabilitation Council pp 14–23. British Wildlife Rehabilitation Council: LondonGoogle Scholar
Crook, J H 1983 On attributing consciousness to animals. Nature 303: 11–14CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Davis, J W 1982 Acute chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticide poisoning. In Hoff, G L and Davis, J W (eds) Noninfectious Diseases of Wildlife pp 38–43. Iowa State University Press: Ames, IowaGoogle Scholar
Duncan, I J H and Dawkins, M S 1983 The problem of assessing ‘well-being’ and ‘suffering’ in farm animals. In Smidt, D (ed) Indicators Relevant to Farm Animal Welfare pp 13–24. Martinus Nijhoff: BostonCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Erickson, E 1950 Childhood and Society, 2nd edition. Norton: New YorkGoogle Scholar
Ewbank, R, Parker, M J and Mason, C W 1992 Reactions of cattle to head-restraint at stunning: a practical dilemma. Animal Welfare 1: 55–63CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Furness, R W 1988 The predation of tem chicks by sheep. Bird Study 35: 199–202CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gentle, M J 1992 Pain in birds. Animal Welfare 1: 235–247CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haas, D 1993 Clinical signs and treatment of large birds injured by electrocution. In Redig, P T, Cooper, J E, Remple, J D and Hunter, D B (eds) Raptor Biomedicine pp 180–183. University of Minnesota Press: MinneapolisGoogle Scholar
Harris, S 1989 The release of wild mammals after treatment: rationale, problems and techniques. In Harris, S and Thomas, T (eds) Proceedings of the Inaugural Symposium of the British Wildlife Rehabilitation Council pp 94–108. British Wildlife Rehabilitation Council: LondonGoogle Scholar
IUCN/UNEP/WWF 1991 Caring for The Earth: A Strategy for Sustainable Living. International Union for the Conservation of Nature, United Nations Environment Programme, World Wide Fund for Nature: Gland, SwitzerlandGoogle Scholar
Jessup, D A 1988 Relocation of wild ruminants: overview of management considerations. Proceedings of the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians: 115–118Google Scholar
Johnson, A R 1991 Conservation of breeding flamingoes in the Camargue (southern France). Species 17: 33–34Google Scholar
Johnson, E O, Kamilaris, T C, Chrousos, G P and Gold, P W 1992 Mechanisms of stress: a dynamic overview of hormonal and behavioural homeostasis. Neuroscience and Behavioural Reviews 16: 115–130CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kirkwood, J K 1991 Welfare and ethical aspects of wildlife medicine. In Bradley, A and Schofield, W L (eds) Proceedings of the First AVS Animal Welfare Symposium pp 21–30. AVS: CambridgeGoogle Scholar
Kirkwood, J K 1993 Interventions for wildlife health, conservation and welfare. Veterinary Record 132: 235–238CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kitchell, R L 1987 Problems in defining pain and peripheral mechanisms of pain. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 191: 1195–1199Google ScholarPubMed
Kitchell, R L and Johnson, R D 1985 Assessment of pain in animals. In Moberg, G P (ed) Animal Stress pp 113–140. American Physiological Society: BethesdaCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kitchen, H, Aronson, A L, Bittle, J L, McPherson, C W, Morton, D B and Pakes, S P 1987 Panel report on the colloquium on recognition and alleviation of animal pain and distress. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 191: 1186–1191Google Scholar
Lewis, J C M and Stocker, L 1993 Orthopaedic surgery in wild animals. Veterinary Record 133: 23CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McKeever, K 1979 Care and Rehabilitation of Injured Owls. WF Rannie: Lincoln, OntarioGoogle Scholar
Macphail, E M 1982 Brain and Intelligence in Vertebrates. Clarendon Press: OxfordGoogle Scholar
Martin, R D 1981 Relative brain size and basal metabolic rate in terrestrial mammals. Nature 293: 57–60CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mason, G and Mendl, M 1993 Why is there no simple way of measuring animal welfare? Animal Welfare 2: 301–319CrossRefGoogle Scholar
May, R M 1988 Control of feline delinquency. Nature 332: 392–393CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moberg, G P 1985a Biological response to stress: key to assessment of well-being? In Moberg G P (ed) Animal Stress pp 27–49. American Physiological Society: BethesdaCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moberg, G P 1985b Influence of stress on reproduction: a measure of well-being. In Moberg, G P (ed) Animal Stress pp 245–268. American Physiological Society: BethesdaCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moberg, G P 1987 Problems of defining stress and distress in animals. Journal of the Veterinary Medical Association 191: 1207–1211Google ScholarPubMed
Monaghan, P 1992 Seabirds and sandeels: the conflict between exploitation and conservation in the northern North Sea. Biodiversity and Conservation 1: 98–111CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morton, D B and Griffiths, P H M 1985 Guidelines on the recognition of pain, distress and discomfort in experimental animals and an hypothesis for assessment. Veterinary Record 116: 431–436CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moss, R (ed) 1992 Livestock Health and Welfare. Longman Scientific and Technical: HarlowGoogle Scholar
Øen, E O 1992 Norwegian penthrite grenade for minke whales: hunting trials with prototypes of penthrite grenades in 1984 and results from the 1984, 1985 and 1986 seasons. Workshop on Humane Killing Methods. IWC/44/HKW 5. International Whaling Commission: GlasgowGoogle Scholar
Ormerod, S J, O’Halloran, J, Gribbin, S D and Tyler, S J 1991 The ecology of dippers Cinclus cinclus in relation to stream acidity in upland Wales: breeding performance, calcium physiology and nestling growth. Journal of Applied Ecology 28: 419–433CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Osterhaus, A D M E and Vedder, E J 1988 Identification of a virus causing recent seal deaths. Nature 335: 20CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pearce, J M 1987 Introduction to Animal Cognition. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: LondonGoogle Scholar
Peterle, T J 1991 Wildlife Toxicology. Van Nostrand Reinhold: New YorkGoogle Scholar
Pierce, V 1991 The effects of the Arabian Gulf oil spill on wildlife. Proceedings of the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians 1991: 370–375Google Scholar
Plowright, W 1988 Viruses transmissible between wild and domestic animals. Symposia of the Zoological Society of London 60: 175–199Google Scholar
Porter, D G 1992 Ethical scores for animal experiments. Nature 356: 101–102CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Radcliffe, H L, Luginbuhl, H, Schnarr, W R and Chacko, K 1969 Coronary arteriosclerosis in swine: evidence of a relation in behaviour. Journal of Comparative Physiological Psychology 68: 385–398CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rowan, A N 1988 Animal anxiety and animal suffering. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 20: 135–142CrossRefGoogle Scholar
RSPCA 1991 Flight to Freedom: Wild-caught Birds - the Facts Behind the Trade. Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: HorshamGoogle Scholar
Sainsbury, D W B 1986 Farm Animal Welfare. Collins: LondonGoogle Scholar
Sainsbury, A W S, Bennett, P M and Kirkwood, J K 1993 Wildlife Welfare in Europe. Unpublished Report under Contract No B4-3060(92) 12596 European Communities Subsidy to European Organisations for Animal Protection, BrusselsGoogle Scholar
Sandøe, P and Simonsen, H B 1992 Assessing animal welfare: where does science end and philosophy begin? Animal Welfare 1: 257–267CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanford, J, Ewbank, R, Molony, V, Tavernor, W D and Uvarov, O 1986 Guidelines for the recognition and assessment of pain in animals. Veterinary Record 118: 334–338Google Scholar
Seal, U S, Ellis, S A, Foose, T J and Byers, A P 1993 Conservation assessment and management plans and global captive action plans. Captive Breeding Specialist Group News 4: 5–10Google Scholar
Smith, J A and Boyd, K M (eds) 1991 Lives in the Balance: The Ethics of Using Animals in Biomedical Research. Oxford University Press: OxfordGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spinelli, J S and Markowitz, H 1987 Clinical recognition and anticipation of situations likely to induce suffering in animals. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 191: 1216–1218Google ScholarPubMed
Swingland, I 1992 The human impact on wildlife and the environment. In R D Ryder (ed) Animal Welfare and The Environment pp 17–26. Duckworth: LondonGoogle Scholar
Wall, P D 1992 New thinking is indivisible. In Ryder, R D (ed) Animal Welfare and The Environment pp 102–117. Duckworth: LondonGoogle Scholar
Wallace, J, Sanford, J, Smith, M W and Spencer, K V 1990 The assessment and control of the severity of scientific procedures on laboratory animals. Laboratory Animals 24: 97–130Google Scholar
Walvoort, H C 1991 Assessment of distress through pathological examination. In Hendriksen, C F M and Koeter, H B M W (eds) Animals in Biomedical Research: Replacement, Reduction and Refinement: Present Possibilities and Future Prospects pp 265–271. Elsevier: AmsterdamGoogle Scholar
WCMC 1992 Biodiversity 1992: The Status of the Earth ‘s Living Natural Resources. World Conservation Monitoring Centre: CambridgeGoogle Scholar
Wiepkema, P R and Koolhaas, J M 1993 Stress and animal welfare. Animal Welfare 2: 195218CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilkins, D 1992 Animal welfare and the environment: are they always compatible? In R D Ryder (ed) Animal Welfare and The Environment pp 73–80. Duckworth: LondonGoogle Scholar
Woodford, M H and Kock, R A 1991 Veterinary considerations in re-introduction and translocation projects. Symposia of the Zoological Society of London 62: 101–110Google Scholar
Woodford, M H and Rossiter, P B 1993 Disease risks associated with wildlife translocation projects. Revue Scientifique et Technique de L Office International des Epizooties 12: 115135Google ScholarPubMed
Yalden, P E and Yalden, D W 1990 Recreational disturbance of breeding golden plovers Pluvialis apricarius. Biological Conservation 51: 243–262CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zimmerman, M 1986 Behavioural investigation of pain in animals. In Duncan, A H and Moloney, V (eds) Assessing Pain in Farm Animals pp 16–29. Commission of the European Communities: LuxembourgGoogle Scholar