Episode 266 Dr Michaela Hempen What Is The “Mind”? Pt 3 Welfare Assessments

Equiosity

This is Part 3 of a conversation with Dr Michaela Hempen in which we consider the question: What is consciousness? What is the mind? Each person’s answer will very much effect their level of concern over animal welfare. Positive animal welfare assessments seek to provide animals not only with the conditions that they need to survive, but also with what they need to thrive and to enjoy their lives. The more you move towards positive animal welfare the more complicated the assessment becomes. How do you measure such abstract qualities contained in the phrase: enjoy a good life? How do you assess this? In Part 3 Michaela reviews the current welfare assessments and asks what are they actually measuring? It’s often not what is intended. We begin with the question: how do you assess emotions? In the five freedoms model how do you assess if animals are free from fear and stress? In the positive welfare model how do you assess if an animal is happy?