The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Small prey species' behaviour and welfare: implications for veterinary professionals

Small prey species' behaviour and welfare: implications for veterinary professionals
Small prey species' behaviour and welfare: implications for veterinary professionals
People have obligations to ensure the welfare of animals under their care. Offences under the UK Animal Welfare Act (HMSO 2006) are acts, or failures of action, causing unnecessary suffering. Veterinary professionals need to be able to provide current, scientifically-based prophylactic advice, and respect the limits of their expertise.
The ethical concept of a life worth living and the Five Freedoms are core to welfare (FAWC 2009; Broom and Fraser 2015). Behaviour is a central component, both influencing and influenced by physical health. Keepers of small prey mammals (SPM) frequently misunderstand their behaviour and how to meet their needs.
This review provides insight into the physical-social (external) and the cognitive-emotional (internal) environments of SPM, contextualised within an evolutionary perspective. This is extrapolated to captivity and practical suggestions given for meeting behavioural freedoms and enhancing client understanding and enjoyment of their animals, thereby improving welfare for both.
Behaviour, Welfare, Medicine-General, Rodents, Rabbits, Exotics
Mcbride, Elizabeth
8f13b829-a141-4b67-b2d7-08f839972646
Mcbride, Elizabeth
8f13b829-a141-4b67-b2d7-08f839972646

Mcbride, Elizabeth (2017) Small prey species' behaviour and welfare: implications for veterinary professionals. Journal of Small Animal Practice. (doi:10.1111/jsap.12681).

Record type: Review

Abstract

People have obligations to ensure the welfare of animals under their care. Offences under the UK Animal Welfare Act (HMSO 2006) are acts, or failures of action, causing unnecessary suffering. Veterinary professionals need to be able to provide current, scientifically-based prophylactic advice, and respect the limits of their expertise.
The ethical concept of a life worth living and the Five Freedoms are core to welfare (FAWC 2009; Broom and Fraser 2015). Behaviour is a central component, both influencing and influenced by physical health. Keepers of small prey mammals (SPM) frequently misunderstand their behaviour and how to meet their needs.
This review provides insight into the physical-social (external) and the cognitive-emotional (internal) environments of SPM, contextualised within an evolutionary perspective. This is extrapolated to captivity and practical suggestions given for meeting behavioural freedoms and enhancing client understanding and enjoyment of their animals, thereby improving welfare for both.

Text
Pre publication accepted JSAP paper - Accepted Manuscript
Download (1MB)

More information

Submitted date: 15 August 2015
Accepted/In Press date: 3 March 2017
e-pub ahead of print date: 17 May 2017
Keywords: Behaviour, Welfare, Medicine-General, Rodents, Rabbits, Exotics
Organisations: Clinical Neuroscience

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 406885
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/406885
PURE UUID: 5b8c4a3b-a806-44f4-b475-2a7789b8d1ae

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 25 Mar 2017 02:04
Last modified: 06 Jun 2024 04:16

Export record

Altmetrics

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×