Broom D M
Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Behav Processes. 1991 Dec;25(2-3):117-23. doi: 10.1016/0376-6357(91)90014-Q.
Poor welfare occurs in situations in which the effects on the animal are adverse in that there is reduced fitness or clear indications that fitness will be reduced, ie. the animal is stressed, and in situations where the individual has difficulty in coping with its environment. Welfare is improved by increased control over the environment. There is a wide variety of measurements of welfare. Behaviour measurements are of particular importance but should be combined with physiological, immunological, injury, disease, mortality risk, growth and reproduction measures in order to obtain complete information. Suffering is an important aspect of poor welfare but welfare can be poor in the absence of suffering. There are many measures of poor welfare which do not necessarily indicate suffering. Welfare should not be defined solely in terms of subjective experiences.
当动物受到不利影响，即健康状况下降或有明确迹象表明健康状况将会下降（例如动物处于应激状态），以及当个体难以应对其所处环境时，就会出现福利状况不佳的情况。通过加强对环境的控制可以改善福利。衡量福利的方法多种多样。行为测量尤为重要，但应与生理、免疫、损伤、疾病、死亡风险、生长和繁殖测量相结合，以获取完整信息。痛苦是福利不佳的一个重要方面，但在没有痛苦的情况下福利也可能不佳。有许多衡量福利不佳的指标并不一定表明存在痛苦。福利不应仅根据主观体验来定义。
