Advances in animal welfare in New Zealand

Abstract

Extract

The term ‘animal welfare’ became popular in the 1970s after Ruth Harrison's book entitled “Animal Machines” (1964), which described intensive poultry and livestock farming. This book stimulated the government of the United Kingdom to establish the Brambell Committee, whose report (1965) established the concept of the “five freedoms” and encouraged scientific research into animal welfare. The veterinary profession has always considered itself to be a defender of animal welfare but has tended to specialise in the area of health and productivity with little emphasis on the psychological wellbeing of animals (Gumbrell 1983).