Abstract

Although attitudes towards animal welfare are strongly shaped by people's ethical views, animal welfare is also a topic of scientific investigation. Its focus is on determining what animals want and need, based on evaluation of their biological functioning, behavior, and feelings. This chapter describes the field of animal welfare science, the scope of animal welfare research, and approaches to improving animal welfare via research, technology transfer, and voluntary and involuntary regulation. It also focuses on farm animals, but some aspects of laboratory animal welfare are also discussed. Veterinarians should play a key role in evaluating and assuring animal welfare, but veterinary involvement has often been less than warranted given the importance of animal health to animal welfare. This is changing, but to provide effective leadership in animal welfare veterinarians need to be trained in animal behavior and affective states, ethics, and societal perspectives.