animal physical health
Animal welfare science is used to define how an animal is coping with the conditions in which it lives. It considers actual feelings and sensations that an animal experiences and refers to the psychological well-being of the individual. There are a number of factors that will effect how an animal is feeling, ranging from the food they eat (is it tasty, satisfying, nutritionally appropriate?), how comfortable they may be, ability to carry out natural and normal behaviours, perceived control and appropriate social interactions to body condition and general physical health. Good animal care in captivity aims to minimise how often an animal experiences negative feelings (states) while promoting the experience of positive feelings (states). The Difference between Animal Health and Animal Welfare It can be easy to confuse animal health with animal welfare. An animal’s health has often been considered a principle mechanism by which animal welfare can be measured in captivity. Historically,...