Features September 2021∣Youth Hong Kong
Pet welfare
taking care and being fair by Monica Chan
As pet ownership is on the rise across the world, do we really understand enough about the meaning of animal welfare? Imagine a polar bear confined in a 300 square foot enclosure. Does it look as if its welfare is being considered? Then imagine a dog kept in a 100 or 200 square foot flat without outdoor access. To many, the former demonstrates compromised animal welfare. However, not many consider keeping pets in small flats to be a problem, especially in Hong Kong where the majority of households are of medium to small size. What is animal welfare? It concerns sentient1 animals and according to a report by the British Brambell Committee in 19652 it depends on five criteria of assessment, namely the Five Freedoms which have influenced the perception of animal welfare in many contexts. They
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include freedom from thirst and hunger, freedom from discomfort, freedom from pain, injury and disease, freedom to express normal behaviour and freedom from fear and distress. The concept was developed in DJ Mellor’s Five Provisions, published in 2016, which have a similar intention but which emphasize positive protection.3 Research findings such as these have helped us understand the physiological, social and psychological needs of different species better while legislation in countries such as Switzerland and the UK protects animal welfare by specifying animals’ needs based on scientific evidence. For instance, Swiss legislation lists requirements of enclosure sizes for different species and require that social animals like guinea pigs should be kept in groups of at least two because they may feel stress when alone.
