Animal Welfare Warriors require empathy, knowledge and experience.
Do you have a desire to work in a role where you can help counteract the ill treatment of animals?
Do you work with animals or interact with animals and want to ensure their best welfare?
Knowledge and experience are the key and this experiential short course in Animal Welfare is everything you need kick-start your way to fulfilling your goal.
Course Content:
There are nine lessons in this course as follows:
Lesson 1. 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
Lesson 2. 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
Lesson 3. 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
Lesson 4. 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
Lesson 5. 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
Lesson 6. 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
Lesson 7. Animal Welfare for Pets, Work Animals and Animals in Sport
- Welfare of companion animals
- Work animal welfare
- Welfare of animals in sport
Lesson 8. 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, etc
Lesson 9. 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
Course Aims:
- To understand what is meant by animal welfare and how it can be implemented in society.
- To explain how animals might perceive the world, their sense of awareness and cognition, and how welfare can influence their mental health
- To describe how animal welfare is assessed and upheld.
- To describe what animal protection services are available and what their roles are.
- To describe animal rescue services and how they contribute to animal welfare.
- To describe what animal health services are available and their benefits to animal wellbeing.
- To explain how animal welfare is implemented in the protection of pets & companion animals, work animals and animals in sport.
- To explain how animal welfare is implemented in the protection of farm animals.
- To explain how animal welfare is implemented in the protection of wild animals in their natural environments and in captivity.
LEARN TO APPRECIATE WHAT PETS DESERVE FROM ALL PEOPLE
Pets may be the prime responsibility of their owners; but they live within a wider human society, and all people need to be mindful of this.
It can be argued that by domesticating pets and bringing them into our society, mankind has undertaken a collective responsibility to treat all pets ethically.
In our modern world, thanks to the science and studies of animal behaviour, we know that animals are sentient beings who require similar basics for life, likewise to us humans. We now have a better understanding of an animal’s natural behaviour, therefore we can understand their needs and requirements. This is an important consideration when keeping any animal under captive conditions, especially to meet welfare standards. In order to achieve the minimal welfare standards, we should consider five important factors;
- Provide the captive animal with the correct diet for the species, and fresh drinking water. A diet must be suitable, and fulfil all the nutritional requirements to keep the animal in optimal health.
- The animal should be provided with a suitable environment for its needs. This can be different for each species, and it may refer to indoor and outdoor areas, housing and enclosures, and also size and space. The environment should protect the animal from the elements, potential predators or any harm.
- As we understand more about natural behaviours, any captive animal should be free to exhibit natural behaviours and be provided with an environment in which they can behave naturally.
- We must also take into consideration whether the animal is a social species, naturally living in groups or pairs. If this is the case then this can have an effect on the animal’s welfare. A social captive animal must be provided with social interaction.
- Finally, any animal deserves to live free from pain, injury, suffering and disease. If an animal is suffering, its welfare is under serious threat and it is important intervention takes place. It is unnecessary to cause an animal harm, or to not seek veterinary advice where required.
These five considerations can be used on any captive animal, and when assessing the welfare of an animal and their situation. These are only minimal considerations, and it is important to always try and improve animal welfare standards as best we can.
Where can this course lead you?
Give more to your domestic pets. Give more to the animals that provide us with food and entertainment. Give more to your career.
Whether you use it for self-development or career prospects, this online course will give you a great foundation knowledge in Animal Welfare.
- Provide your beloved pets with the best care by having a greater knowledge of how to look after the welfare of your animals.
- Monitor and adapt your choices when it comes to selecting food products.
This course has been developed as a starting point for students wanting to enter into jobs pertaining to animal welfare.
Find work in the following industries:
- Animal protection and rescue services
- Agriculture
- Zoos and Wildlife parks
- Animal research
- Pet products and services
- Education
- Volunteering
