The Mirror's Health , Lifestyle and Fashion
Animal welfare and their guiding principles
The welfare needs of animals are not limited to companion animals, but to every living creature.
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According to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the principles that guide a good state of welfare include the ‘five freedoms’, which describe the society’s obligations to animals, particularly those under human control.
These freedoms include:
1. Freedom from hunger, malnutrition and thirst. It is the responsibility of the pet owner or caretaker to ensure that the daily nutritional requirements of their pets are at every stage of life.
2. Freedom from fear and distress. Knowing your pet is a great step towards providing a safe and stress-free environment.
Owners should be aware of what scares, encourages, excites, and methods that allow their pets to learn without harsh treatments.
3. Freedom from heat stress or physical discomfort. This involves providing a setting, including housing to shield the pet from the elements.
When your pet is under stress or disturbed, it affects its entire being, making it less productive.
4. Freedom from pain, injury and disease. To prevent infections, schedule frequent visits with your vet for vaccinations and check-ups.
Do not wait until infection gets full blown before visiting your vet. This helps to reduce pain, discomfort and to relieve the animal of any illness.
5. Freedom to express normal patterns of behaviour. Taking note of your pet’s biology and behaviour, owners are entreated to provide pet’s needs and avoid depression.
Some pets would need companions, others are solitary animals, whilst some may require more space to move around.
Much advocacy has gone against cruelty to animals involving neglect, physical injury and trauma, starvation and inhumane experimentation.
Animals form part of the ecosystem and it is our responsibility to keep them safe and sound.
The authors, Richard Dogbatse, Drs. William Tasiame, Yesutor Kojo Soku, Ekua Esuon Thompson, Benjamin Kissi Sasu and Victor Frimpong, are a team from KNUST writing articles on animal health and related issues.
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