Bergin Daniel, Nijman Vincent
a Oxford Wildlife Trade Research Group , Oxford Brookes University , Oxford , United Kingdom.
J Appl Anim Welf Sci. 2019 Jul-Sep;22(3):279-288. doi: 10.1080/10888705.2018.1492408. Epub 2018 Aug 13.
The welfare of wild-caught animals in markets has generally been overlooked by both wildlife trade and welfare studies, despite the potential negative impacts on the animals. Morocco is a member of the World Organisation for Animal Health and has proposed draft legislation prohibiting mistreatment or abuse of animals in captivity. There is still, however, a bustling wild animal trade, and vendor compliance with industry-standard best practices is lacking. This study provides insight into the conditions of 2113 wild-caught animals in markets in six of the largest cities in Morocco by scoring their welfare based on four of the Farm Animal Welfare Committee Five Freedoms: freedom from hunger and thirst, freedom from discomfort, freedom to express normal behavior, and freedom from distress. Over 88% of animals were housed in situations that broke all four of the freedoms measured, and only 9 animals were in situations that broke none. Access to water, sun/heat exposure, and ability to hide from stressors were particularly poor. We urge the Moroccan government to fulfill its commitment to establish welfare laws and devote resources to their application.
尽管对野生动物有潜在负面影响，但野生动物贸易和福利研究普遍忽视了市场中野生捕获动物的福利状况。摩洛哥是世界动物卫生组织的成员，并已提出禁止圈养动物遭受虐待或伤害的立法草案。然而，野生动物贸易依然活跃，且供应商缺乏对行业标准最佳做法的遵守。本研究通过依据农场动物福利委员会五项自由中的四项对2113只在摩洛哥六个最大城市市场中野生捕获动物的福利进行评分，深入了解了这些动物的状况，这四项自由为：免于饥饿和口渴、免于不适、有表达正常行为的自由、免于痛苦。超过88%的动物所处环境违反了所衡量的全部四项自由，只有9只动物所处环境未违反任何一项。获取水的情况、暴露于阳光/高温下的情况以及躲避压力源的能力尤其糟糕。我们敦促摩洛哥政府履行其制定福利法的承诺，并投入资源用于这些法律的实施。
