Beyond Suffering: A Framework for Quantifying Positive Animal Welfare in Individuals and Populations Wladimir J Alonso, Cynthia Schuck-Paim Center for Welfare Metrics, Brazil https://welfarefootprint.org/team-mission Main Takeaways The Welfare Footprint Project … Continue reading Quantifying Positive Animal Welfare in Individuals and Populations
Could Transparency Interntional be a model for improved animal welfare?
Could Transparency International Be a Model to Improve Farm Animal Welfare? Cynthia Schuck-Paim, Wladimir J Alonso, In a recent article shared on the Effective Altruism Forum, we discuss a new … Continue reading Could Transparency Interntional be a model for improved animal welfare?
Short agony or long ache? Comparing intensity and duration of pain
Short agony or long ache: comparing sources of suffering that differ in duration and intensity Cynthia Schuck-Paim; Wladimir J. Alonso; Cian Hamilton Summary The Welfare Footprint framework quantifies the cumulative … Continue reading Short agony or long ache? Comparing intensity and duration of pain
Announcing Our New Virtual Office Hours Program
Announcing Our New Virtual Office Hours Program We are thrilled to announce the launch of our new initiative, the Welfare Footprint Project’s Office Hours Program. This program is designed to … Continue reading Announcing Our New Virtual Office Hours Program
A Novel Proposal for the Definition of Pain
IASP’s definition of pain is overly human-centric and fails to fully encompass its evolutionary, cognitive, and affective dimensions. It overlooks key aspects of this sensory phenomenon, such as its inherent consciousness, its independence from learning, and its evolutionary role extending beyond mere tissue injury. In an effort to address these shortcomings, we propose the following alternative definition
Introducing Pain-Compare: A Tool for Visualizing Welfare Loss Estimates in Animals
As a part of our ongoing efforts to quantify animal welfare and enable its incorporation into policy-making, economic and environmental analyses, we have recently launched the first of a series of visualization tools: Pain-Compare. This tool, inspired by the Global Burden of Disease Compare tool, invites users to compare the estimated time in pain an individual endures as a result of welfare challenges experienced. The tool shows multiple challenges experienced under different circumstances, production conditions and by different species.
Assessing Animal Emotions: Optimism, Pessimism, or a Matter of Risk Tolerance?
This article delves into the world of animal emotions, addressing traditional interpretations of ‘optimistic’ and ‘pessimistic’ choices in judgment bias tests. It discusses whether these choices should be interpreted as directly reflecting an animal’s emotional state, as they may emerge from an animal’s tolerance for risk and propensity for exploration. It suggests that terms like ‘novelty-seeking’ or ‘risk-seeking’ are more appropriate (affectively neutral) descriptors of an animal’s seemingly optimistic choices.
Major gaps in poultry welfare research
Despite substantial progress over the last decades in the understanding of poultry welfare, critical research gaps still abound
Welfare Footprint Project’s Highlights from the European Symposium on Poultry Welfare 2023
Highlights from the European Symposium on Poultry Welfare 2023
Animal welfare science must look at time!
Time is at the heart of how conscious organisms experience life
Metrics vs. Indicators: Clarifying Essential Concepts in Animal Welfare Assessment
Welfare Metrics and Welfare Indicators: Clarifying Essential Concepts in Animal Welfare Assessment Wladimir J. Alonso & Cynthia Schuck-Paim It may initially appear that discussions around the concepts of welfare metrics … Continue reading Metrics vs. Indicators: Clarifying Essential Concepts in Animal Welfare Assessment
The role of attention on affective experiences and the concept of ‘Potential for Positive Welfare’
How attention modulates the perceived intensity and duration of simultaneous affective experiences, and the potential for positive welfare Implications for refining Cumulative Pain estimates and for determining the potential for … Continue reading The role of attention on affective experiences and the concept of ‘Potential for Positive Welfare’
Productivity and mortality of sows are worse in gestation crates
Productivity of mother pigs is lower, and mortality higher, in countries that still confine them in gestation crates We have just published the first version of a Brief Report “Productivity … Continue reading Productivity and mortality of sows are worse in gestation crates
The Broiler Welfare Book is now on Amazon
The Broiler Welfare Book is now available on Amazon In 2021 we focused most of our work on understanding the impact of welfare reforms for broiler chickens, particularly the adoption … Continue reading The Broiler Welfare Book is now on Amazon
The Routledge Handbook of Animal Welfare is out!
The Routledge Handbook of Animal Welfare is out! The Routledge Handbook of Animal Welfare, edited by Andrew Knight, Clive Phillips and Paula Sparks, can now be pre-ordered at Routledge’s site. The handbook … Continue reading The Routledge Handbook of Animal Welfare is out!
Call for papers: Influence of Farm Animal Welfare on Epidemic and Pandemic Risks
Influence of Farm Animal Welfare on Epidemic and Pandemic Risks We have recently just opened a call for papers in the journal ‘Animals’, on the “Influence of Farm Animal Welfare … Continue reading Call for papers: Influence of Farm Animal Welfare on Epidemic and Pandemic Risks
Our ‘Pain-Track’ article at BMC Research Notes
Publication at BMC Research Notes We are glad to know that our research note on the Pain-Track approach has just been published at BMC Research Notes! The article is open-source, … Continue reading Our ‘Pain-Track’ article at BMC Research Notes
Contrary to industry claims, mortality is not inherently higher in cage-free systems
Laying hen mortality in different indoor housing systems: a meta-analysis of data from commercial farms in 16 countries This research was based on the largest to-date analysis of commercial data … Continue reading Contrary to industry claims, mortality is not inherently higher in cage-free systems