Animal Welfare Investigation Report

Visit a place where animals are sold, kept, treated, and/or, or put on display, such as a vet’s office, zoo, pet store, animal shelter, doggie daycare, animal foster home, etc. (it doesn’t need to be dogs or cats – could be mice, fish, turtles, snakes, etc.).
Look closely at the conditions of the animal(s) confined. Feel free to ask the staff if you have questions about where the animals come, how long they are in cages, etc. Use the 5 freedoms scoring guide to rate the welfare of the animals.
Fill out the report on page 2 and upload or paste it in the Assignment.
--The 5 freedoms: (adapted from the UK Farm Animal Welfare Council (1979) adopted by every animal advocacy group

Freedom from hunger and thirst

Freedom from discomfort (in their environment)

Freedom from pain, injury, and disease

Freedom to express normal behaviors (ability to interact with others of its kind)

Freedom from fear and distress/mental suffering

Criteria judged on 1-5. Score of 2 or lower in 2 areas is animalcruelty

5= High quality of life

4= Good quality of life

3 = Borderline quality of life

2 = Poor quality of life

1 = Very Poor - Life not worth living

Animal Welfare Investigation Report

Place of business or organization visited: _______________________________________________

Date of visit: ___________________________

Which animals were observed: (species/number) ______________________________________________


Welfare Checklist

Score (1-5)

Comments

Observed overall Physical health

Freedom from hunger/thirst

Freedom from environmental discomfort due to space and conditions

Freedom from pain, injury, disease

Freedom to express normal species behaviors, have companionship, exercise

Freedom from fear, distress, mental suffering

Analyze your scoring for all the areas. What is the average of the scores? Does the score fall more on the side of a higher quality of life or a lower quality, or somewhere in the middle? What is your overall assessment?

List some improvements that this establishment should implement to increase the quality of life for its animals.