The DOI matches its Crossref record; 119 of the 119 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Assessment of positive welfare: A review
Abstract
As a complement to the concentration on negative states in welfare science, scientists are increasingly considering the desirability of measuring positive outcomes. Since evaluation of an animal's mental state is a critical goal for welfare assessment, considerations of both positive feelings (what an animal "likes") and resources that an animal is motivated to obtain (what an animal "wants") appear to be important. However, since animals may make choices that are not in their long-term interests, an assessment of positive feelings and resources should include an evaluation of any associated actual or potential harms, such as fear, distress, pain, injury and disease. A review of current evidence suggests that positive welfare can be best assessed by evaluation of resources (i.e. inputs) that are valued by an animal and by positive outcomes such as behavioural responses, influences on cognitive processes and physiological markers. Since negative welfare is often inversely correlated with positive welfare measures, current welfare policy will have been achieving some positive welfare outcomes, however the explicit inclusion of positive welfare outcomes in the framework allows for analyses that are both deeper and more in tune with commonsense, which can hopefully yield more objective policies.
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“Immunoglobulin A (IgA) is among the novel biomarkers used as a positive welfare indicator and also in assessments of immune function (104).”
From Comparison of animal welfare assessment tools and methodologies: need for an effective approach for captive elephants in Asia (2024) · cites this paper as [104]
Citations
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The 2020 five domains model: including human-animal interactions in assessments of animal welfare
Mellor, D. J., Beausoleil, N. J., Littlewood, K. E., McLean, A. N., McGreevy, P. D., Jones, B., & Wilkins, C. (2020) · Animals · doi:10.3390/ani10101870 · Cited by 985
Updating Animal Welfare Thinking: Moving beyond the “Five Freedoms” towards “A Life Worth Living”
Mellor, D. (2016) · Animals · doi:10.3390/ani6030021 · Cited by 948
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Mellor, D., & Beausoleil, N. (2015) · Animal Welfare · doi:10.7120/09627286.24.3.241 · Cited by 627
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Metadata
- Authors
- Yeates, J. W., & Main, D. C. J.
- Affiliations
- University of Bristol (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Main, D.C.J.
- Venue
- The Veterinary Journal
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2008-03
- Volume
- 175
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 293-300
- ISSN
- 1090-0233 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2089394830
- Cited by
- 504
- References
- 116
- Citations by year
- 2026: 28 · 2025: 28 · 2024: 34 · 2023: 44 · 2022: 34 · 2021: 35 · 2020: 32 · 2019: 32 · 2018: 34 · 2017: 33 · 2016: 22 · 2015: 22 · 2014: 29 · 2013: 22 · 2012: 17
- FWCI
- 2.33
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Veterinary Journal (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Animal Science and Zoology › Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies
- Health Sciences › Veterinary › Small Animals › Veterinary Pharmacology and Anesthesia
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Keywords
- positive welfare, animal welfare assessment, animal mental states, animal motivation, animal preferences, behavioral responses, physiological markers, cognitive processes, fear and distress, welfare policy
- MeSH terms
- Affect, Animals, Animal Welfare, Behavior, Animal
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