Clark J D, Rager D R, Calpin J P
Department of Medical Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens 30602-7381, USA.
Lab Anim Sci. 1997 Dec;47(6):571-9.
The concepts of stress and distress are integral parts of consideration of animal well-being. Generally, stress refers to a state of threatened homeostasis, but precise clinical definitions, causes, and biological measurements have been controversial and confusing. Numerous factors associated with needs, life in captivity, threatening events, or aversive stimuli may threaten homeostasis. An animal's well-being or quality of life is an individual's internal somatic and mental state that is affected by what it knows or perceives; its feelings and motivational state; the responses to internal or external stimuli or environments; interacting variables; and phylogeny and ontogeny. Threats to homeostasis activate a complex pattern of behavioral changes and responses in the central and autonomic nervous and endocrine systems. Some responses can be considered normal adaptive and coping activities, satisfactorily handling the threats and therefore contributing to well-being. Other responses may be considered abnormal, maladaptive, and affective disorders. A persistent threat may lead to prolonged hyperactivity of the neuroendocrine system, which impairs rather than contributes to well-being. Except for extremes, differentiation between normal and abnormal internal states is frequently unclear. Individual adapting and coping styles may be more important than the stimuli in determining the varied responses. In animals, perception of a stimulus or life event is as important as the actual situation or environment. As caregivers, humans may know that an event or situation is no threat, but the animal usually does not function with the same information base as humans. A principal component in controlling an animal's response to an external event is determining how the animal perceives a situation. Mental and biological well-being is more likely to exist in animals if they are familiar with their environment, including social groups, and if they can predict or anticipate changes in the environment.
应激和痛苦的概念是动物福利考量中不可或缺的部分。一般来说，应激是指体内平衡受到威胁的一种状态，但精确的临床定义、病因及生物学测量一直存在争议且令人困惑。与需求、圈养生活、威胁性事件或厌恶刺激相关的众多因素都可能威胁体内平衡。动物的福利或生活质量是个体的内在躯体和精神状态，它会受到动物所知晓或感知的事物、其情感和动机状态、对内部或外部刺激或环境的反应、相互作用的变量以及系统发育和个体发育的影响。对体内平衡的威胁会激活中枢和自主神经及内分泌系统中一系列复杂的行为变化和反应。有些反应可被视为正常的适应性和应对活动，能令人满意地应对威胁，从而有助于动物的福利。其他反应则可能被视为异常、适应不良和情感障碍。持续的威胁可能导致神经内分泌系统长期过度活跃，这不仅无助于动物的福利，反而会损害其福利。除了极端情况外，正常和异常内部状态之间的区分往往并不明确。在决定各种反应时，个体的适应和应对方式可能比刺激因素更为重要。在动物中，对刺激或生活事件的感知与实际情况或环境同样重要。作为照顾者，人类可能知道某个事件或情况并无威胁，但动物通常不会基于与人类相同的信息基础来做出反应。控制动物对外部事件反应的一个主要因素是确定动物如何看待某种情况。如果动物熟悉其环境，包括社会群体，并且能够预测或预期环境变化，那么它们更有可能拥有精神和生理上的健康状态。
