Study animal welfare
Do you have a strong desire to aid disadvantaged animals?
Take the first step towards a career in animal care and welfare by supporting your passion for animals with a credential.
You will be better prepared to turn your care and concern into a job if you have knowledge of animal welfare.
This is an excellent introductory course that covers a variety of animal welfare-related subjects.
Study the following topics related to animal welfare:
- Animal Sensitivity and Psychology
- In charge of animal welfare
- shelters and rescue facilities for animals
- Animal Welfare for Farm Animals
- Animal Welfare for Pets, Work Animals, and Sport Animals
- Wildlife Animal Welfare: Free and Captive
Lesson Structure
There are 9 lessons in this course:
- Scope and Nature of Animal Welfare
- History
- Definitions
- Ethics
- Physical functioning
- Mental and cognitive functioning
- Naturalness
- Scope of animal welfare
- Moral status
- Indirect theories
- Direct Unequal theories
- Moral equity theories
- Ethical theory
- Kantian theory
- Virtue theory
- Humean theory
- Utilitarian theory
- Rights theory
- Capability theory
- Animal rights
- Arguments against animal rights
- Animal Welfare today
- Animal slavery
- Conservation and wildlife research
- Entertainment
- Animal testing and research
- Other significant global issues​
- Psychology and Sentience
- Sentience
- Sapience
- Anthropomorphism and transference
- Compassionate conservation
- Sense and perception
- Cognition – attention, memory, spatial cognition, reasoning and insight
- Animal emotion – in primates, felines
- Animal psychopathology – depression, stress, eating disorders
- Activity anorexia
- Over eating, Under eating, weight loss, pica, coprophagia, thin sow syndrome
- Behavioural disorders
- Compulsive behaviour
- Lick granuloma
- Stereotypies (Zoochosis)
- Sentience influence on behaviour
- Managing Animal Welfare
- Duty of care
- Assessing animal welfare
- Preventing disease and injury
- Health checks and observations
- Importance of nutrition
- Providing water
- Exercise and Stimulation
- Appropriate safe environment
- Controlling pest and disease
- Veterinary Prevention
- Animal Protection Services
- Protection organisations
- Types of protection activities
- Companion animals
- Protection of farm animals
- Wildlife
- Understanding Health Issues
- Pathogens – Viral, bacterial, fungal protozoa
- Parasites – ectoparasites, endoparasites
- Fleas, lice, ticks, mites, nematodes
- Genetic disorders
- Pet breeding
- Metabolic and nutritional disease
- Inspecting animal health condition
- Temperature, pulse, respiration
- Signs of ill health
- Differential diagnosis
- Animal Rescue Services
- Introduction
- Shelters
- Health and welfare
- Basic needs of animals
- Animal first aid – aims, types of wounds (cuts, punctures, tears), treatments
- Infection
- Blood loss
- Fly control
- Bone and joint problems – sprains, broken bones, bone infections, Nutritional Bone diseases
- Luxations
- Tendon injury, Contusions, torn ligaments
- Poisoning – chemicals, grazing, other
- Restraining animals during first aid
- First aid for wildlife
- Animal Health Services
- Animal health services
- Routine health treatments
- Vaccination debate
- Quarantine
- Euthenasia
- De-sexing
- Complimentary health services – homeopathy, naturopathy, tactile therapies, natural nutrition, acupuncture, etc
- Employment
- Animal Welfare for Pets, Work Animals and Animals in Sport
- Welfare of companion animals
- Work animal welfare
- Welfare of animals in sport
- Animal Welfare for Farm Animals
- Farm animal welfare
- Intensive farming
- Pigs
- Cattle
- Poultry
- Organic farming
- Welfare during transport
- Animal slaughter
- Animal welfare labelling
- Welfare issues with animals bred for alternative products – down, wool, foie gras, etc
- Animal Welfare for Wildlife: Free and Captive
- Zoos and wildlife parks
- Circus animals
- Pet trade
- Free wild animals
- Habitat destruction
- Protecting from hunting and trapping
- The land and marine environments
- Legislation
- Codes of practice
- Animal behaviour
- Environmental law enforcement
- Case studies
Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school’s tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.
Aims
- What is meant by animal welfare? How may it be applied in society?
- Describe how animals’ feeling of awareness and cognition, as well as how their wellbeing may affect their mental health, may affect how they see the world.
- Explain the evaluation and enforcement of animal welfare.
- Explain the many animal protection services that are offered and what functions they serve.
- Explain animal rescue organisations and how they improve the wellbeing of animals.
- Explain the various animal health services that are offered and the advantages they provide for animal welfare.
- Provide examples of how animal welfare is used to safeguard pets, companion animals, working animals, and animals used in sports.
- to describe the application of animal welfare in the defence of agricultural animals.
Puppy welfare problems are more frequent than you may imagine…
Most animal protection and rescue organisations work to address problems involving household pets. Even while there are still far too many instances of purposeful animal abuse, the vast majority of animal suffering is caused by unintentional mistreatment. Many pet owners just lack the skills or money necessary to give their animals the care they require.
For those looking to make a difference in the welfare of pets, animal welfare services provide a variety of career options, from “on the ground” positions like Animal Welfare Inspectors or Rescue Officers to “behind the scenes” positions like Marketing and Fundraising.
Animal Welfare and Health
It is crucial for the owner or carer to seek veterinary care when an animal’s health is in danger; otherwise, this could become a welfare issue. Once more, if the animal’s welfare is a concern, this could have an impact on the animal’s general health.
It’s crucial to consider the following aspects to guarantee that an animal’s needs for health and welfare are satisfied:
- Fresh drinking water should be supplied, and the animal(s) should be fed a suitable food.
- Shelter that is safe and in good condition.
- Freedom to move around freely and act naturally in an enclosure while exercising.
- Live without discomfort, suffering, harm, or illness.
- Live without anxiety or mental pain.
- It may be necessary to rescue animals if their needs are not being met or if they are in immediate danger.
Pets’ Requirements
The animal should be provided an appropriate diet to maintain optimal health because feeding the wrong or inappropriate food can lead to a number of health problems. Guinea pigs serve as an illustration of this since they, like humans, are unable to synthesis vitamin C on their own and must obtain it through diet. Scurvy, a vitamin C shortage, results from feeding a comparable diet, such as rabbit mix, which does not have enough additional vitamin C. Similar to dogs, cats shouldn’t be fed dog food because it doesn’t have enough protein and they need taurine, an essential amino acid. Any animal should have access to a clean, healthy habitat and have enough shelter to protect them from weather conditions that could be harmful to their health. Severe cold may result in hypothermia, whereas high heat may cause sunburn and heatstroke. There should be no danger zones or places where someone could become trapped or injured. Also, they must be kept safe from rapacious animals and shielded from any threats, such as rivers and roadways.
Any animal should be allowed to exhibit natural behaviours and engage in appropriate exercise; this will help the animal stay in shape and lower its stress levels. Furthermore crucial to preventing boredom and ensuring a healthy, content animal is mental stimulation.
A veterinarian should be consulted if an animal is in pain or suffering. If an existing injury were to be ignored, this would cause distress and could even result in subsequent infections. To avoid further suffering, it is essential that an animal have a vet’s diagnosis and treatment if it is thought to have an illness or sickness.
Every animal should be able to live in peace and comfort. The animal is likely to undergo mental distress if the conditions and treatment as outlined in the aforementioned principles are not followed.
Those who work with animals can easily get knowledge on nutrition, veterinary care, animal handling techniques, socialisation, and environmental enrichment for their animals thanks to the accessibility of education on welfare policies, practises, and initiatives. Animal caretakers can learn to recognise and assess indicators of an animal’s wellbeing, such as energy levels, appetite, and coat and eye quality. Even now, scientists can evaluate an animal’s stress levels by looking at how much cortisol is present in its blood.
Regarding the welfare of animals, there are several laws, rules, and regulatory bodies, both locally and nationally. National laws governing, for instance, the welfare of zoo, circus, and marine animals; humane farm animal slaughter; the welfare of laboratory animals; commercial animal breeding; and many others are in existence worldwide in various forms. Additionally, there are other regional laws that are applicable to the ownership of animals everywhere. There are many different animal rescue organisations in the world, and it is they who mandate that animals should be kept in a humane manner. In general, if animals appear happy and the caretakers are using best practises, the degree of animal welfare is deemed satisfactory. If an animal is not receiving care or is not living up to expectations and is in pain, they may insist that the animal be surrendered and held in their custody while it is evaluated, treated, and hopefully recovers before being placed in a new home. Any animal’s owner or carer is responsible for seeing to its health and welfare. Anybody caring for or working with animals, even if they are not the owners, is referred to as a caretaker. A caretaker could be a veterinarian, a member of an animal shelter staff, a keeper at a zoo, a farmer, or a pet sitter.
What qualifications are necessary for a job in animal welfare?
Many animal lovers consider making their passion their profession. Having a love and enthusiasm for animals is crucial, but if you’re thinking about a career in animal welfare, education and experience will give you the knowledge and abilities you need to succeed there.
You should be aware of the hard realities that the animal welfare sector provides.
- Often, the labour is physically demanding.
- Even more difficult is the emotional roller coaster you will experience.
- You could have to perform your job in inclement weather, such as intense heat or cold.
- That is not a profitable sector of business.
But, if you are enthusiastic about feeling the immense satisfaction that comes from relieving an animal’s suffering and inspiring others to take meaningful action, the field of animal welfare is for you.
Where could this path lead you?
There are numerous careers in animal welfare that you might pursue after taking our course, yet most people are only familiar with the likes of animal shelter employees and animal welfare inspectors.
- Rescue personnel
- Pet resort employee
- Animal Rehabilitation
- Technician
- Ambulance Driver
- Pet Sitter
- Dog Walker
- Office Staff
- Pet Trainer
- groomer of animals
- Assistant Animal Technician
- Animal Caregiver
- Community Support Program
- Community Educator
- Veterinary Assistant
- Store employee, e.g. Pet Shop Attendant
- Volunteer
Get started on your career path right away if you’re looking for a course that has been especially created to provide you the skills you need for careers in animal welfare.
