An Australian Perspective

Is it a life worth living? This is how Dr. Peter White, Australian veterinarian, described the framework for understanding animal welfare. He moved us away from thinking in the context of the five freedoms (freedom from hunger and thirst; discomfort; pain, injury, and disease; fear and distress; freedom to express normal behaviors) towards a context that truly comes from the perspective of the animal: was that life worth it.

Dr. White lectured us in the morning about animal welfare in Australia and discussed topics including surgical procedures on livestock, the changing Australian climate and its effect on the livestock industry, and how other meat is managed in Australia, such as kangaroo hunting.

It was very interesting, and honestly, quite disturbing to learn was that Australia does not require any anesthetic when animals are castrated, dehorned, spayed, mulsed, tail docked or branded. Many of the procedures are done on the same day and it may take several days for the animal to fully be recovered, and during that process a farmer may never give the animal a form of pain relief. I was shocked when I heard this so I asked if veterinarians are taking part in legislation to change this and he explained that yes, there are newer technologies for user friendly anesthetics for farmers to use, but it is not wide spread yet. One medication is Trisulfan that can be used as a topical anesthetic and vasoconstrictor which aids in pain relief, but as of now, it does not have wide spread use, but hopefully we will see a change in this soon.

We also discussed how climate change impacts intensive and extensive farming practices. An extensive system, which is free range, is decreasing in popularity due to climate change all across Australia. Both coasts, which have the most farming, have had decreased rainfall each year and increased temperatures. This has impacted the topography of the regions and there are less trees, so there is less shade. This creates a situation that is not ideal for the welfare of livestock in an extensive system because they will overheat. This is why an intensive, more industrial, indoor system is being practiced more and creates a better environment for the livestock than just living outdoors.

Many changes are occurring in Australia, and globally, that impact animal welfare. The definition and interpretation of welfare is on a sliding scale,

but it must remain at the forefront of decision making. Veterinarians must play a leadership role in implementing animal welfare standards, and if this continues, we will eventually see policy changes in countries to help improve animal welfare standards globally.