Ethical and philosophical focus on animal welfare

Food animal health impacts on productivity, animal welfare and human health. What happens to an animal on the farm and its resulting health status has an important influence on the quality, safety and wholesomeness of the meat and offal obtained from that animal. Our research has largely been focused on the environmental influences on beef cattle and sheep health, the farm environment and management, in particular and how it impacts on veterinary public health, i.e. food safety, and animal welfare. The main objective of the study was to examine the use of information about the health and management of cattle and lambs on the farm to predict the risk of visible lesions at slaughter. Th e feasibility of identifying farm-level risk factors for gross lesions detectable during post-mortem meat inspection has been investigated, from which the findings of the sheep study have been published (Edwards, et al. 1999).

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Attitudes towards animals and belief in animal mind among first-year veterinary students before and after an introductory animal welfare course

Animal Welfare ◽

10.7120/09627286.30.4.004 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 30 (4) ◽

pp. 409-418

Author(s):

JA Robbins ◽

JA Danielson ◽

AK Johnson ◽

RL Parsons ◽

MW Jorgensen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Animal Welfare ◽

Female Gender ◽

First Year ◽

Veterinary Students ◽

Sociodemographic Variables ◽

Animal Mind ◽

Food Animal ◽

Positive Attitudes ◽

Before And After ◽

Students Attitudes

Veterinarians are increasingly looked to for guidance on matters relating to animal welfare, yet little is known about US veterinary students' attitudes and beliefs about animals. In 2019, we surveyed all first-year veterinary students at a major US veterinary college (n = 123) before and after taking a required one-credit introductory animal welfare course. Attitudes were measured using the Pests, Pets and Profit (PPP) scale and belief in animal mind (BAM) was measured using an ad hoc measure adapted from previous work. Pre- and post-course comparisons indicated the introductory animal welfare course had no immediate effect on veterinary students' attitudes or BAM. Veterinary students' attitudes were most positive for animals considered pets, followed by pests and those used for profit. Students believed most species possess a wide variety of mental capacities, including many secondary emotions often considered uniquely human (eg guilt, embarrassment, jealousy). Sociodemographic variables consistently associated with more positive attitudes towards animals were: female gender, vegetarianism and liberal political ideology. Preferring a career involving large or food animal practice was consistently associated with less positive attitudes towards animals. Belief in animal mind explained 3% of the variation in attitude scores, whereas sociodemographic variables explained 49% of variation in attitude scores. Female gender, vegetarianism and preferring small (vs large or food animal practice) were all associated with greater BAM scores. Understanding veterinary student attitudes towards animals and beliefs about the mental capacities of animals is important when evaluating a veterinarian's ability to adhere to their oath.

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THE IMPACT OF FOOD ANIMAL WELFARE ON HUMAN WELLBEING: SCIENTIFIC AND ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVES

International Journal of Modern Trends in Social Sciences ◽

10.35631/ijmtss.28002 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 12-22

Author(s):

Cho Zaw @ Raheema Cho ◽

Myat Min @ Mohd Omar

Keyword(s):

Animal Welfare ◽

Well Being ◽

World Health ◽

Meat Industry ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Ethical Guidelines ◽

Human Wellbeing ◽

Food Animal ◽

Food Animals ◽

The Impact

Animal warfare includes consideration for all aspects of animal welfare and meeting their physical and mental needs. It generally concerns at keeping, handling, providing nutrition and disease prevention of animals especially in three important stages which are production, transportation, and slaughtering process for food animals. From the holistic medicine point of view, human wellbeing covers all aspects of physical, social, psychological and spiritual. About 80 percent of the human population of the World relies on animals for their food in which the food animals serve as the main source for most of the protein, fats, iron, and some vitamins. World Health Organization (WHO) reported that chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular and dental diseases, cancer and osteoporosis are related to human diet and nutrition. The welfare of food animals should be considered not only for the sake of animals but also for human wellbeing because the cruelty to animals is linked with animal stress which in turn have negative effects on human wellbeing. This paper uses the literature search and analytical method. It aims to explore the impact of food animal welfare to human wellbeing with the research scope on the Islamic perspectives as well as the scientific findings in the related area. Islam provides fundamental ethical guidelines in dealing with animals and highlights the importance of halalan toyyiban to achieve meat quality for human wellbeing. The scientific findings supported that mishandling of animals while keeping or slaughtering lead them to face physical and psychological stress which in turn affect the quality of the meat and chances of getting foodborne diseases. Both scientific and Islamic perspectives pointed out the requirement of animal welfare for human well-being. Thus, the welfare of food-producing animals such as ruminants and poultry should not be neglected since they have positive and negative consequences on human wellbeing. The food animal welfare should be implemented and integrated the existing and established guidelines of the meat industry to achieve the optimal value of human wellbeing.

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183 Food Animal Welfare: Why Producers Should Care about Animal Welfare

Journal of Animal Science ◽

10.1093/jas/skz258.025 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 97 (Supplement_3) ◽

pp. 13-13

Author(s):

Karen Christensen

Keyword(s):

Animal Welfare ◽

Continuous Improvement ◽

Agricultural Production ◽

Accurate Information ◽

The Public ◽

Food Animal ◽

The Us ◽

Asking Questions ◽

Production Practices ◽

Food Animals

Abstract How food animals are treated has become a significant topic for meat producers, customers and consumers. The US population is now many generations away being actively engaged in agricultural production and are asking questions about how their food is produced. Unfortunately, the information that is available to consumers is not always accurate or positive for livestock producers. Farmers have little or no trust with the consumer and they are looking to other sources for information. How we communicate with our customers, consumers and the public is key to providing accurate information and creating trust in our industry. Auditing can play a role in providing a bridge to our customers and consumers. The goal is transparency of our production practices and documenting continuous improvement. Communicating that our values are aligned with the consumers values will be the key to improving trust with our customers and consumers

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