Some of you may have heard of the 3 Fs or the Five Freedoms, maybe even some of you have heard of the Five Domains, if you’ve followed my page for a while. The problem with the Five Freedoms is that it focuses on the absence of negative states ie. hunger, thirst, cold, etc. It doesn’t really address whether all the animal’s needs are being met and how they feel about their life. Not just the physical, but mental and emotional as well, more than just covering their basic survival.
I think the Five Domains is a really excellent model to gauge the welfare status of our animals; to assess as best as we are able, if they’re “happy”.
Professor David Mellor: “Keeping social animals with congenial others in spacious, stimulus-rich and safe environments provides them with opportunities to engage in behaviours they may find rewarding, in other words, it provides opportunities for them to experience “positive affective engagement”. In general terms, the associated positive affects are considered likely to include various forms of comfort, pleasure, interest, confidence and a sense of being in control, and, more specifically, may include the following feelings: being energised, engaged, affectionately sociable; rewarded maternally, paternally or as a group when caring for young; and being nurtured, secure or protected, excitedly joyful, and/or sexually gratified.”
If you’d like to read more about Professor Mellor’s Five Domains, you can follow the link here:
You can find the link to the pdf here: