CONCEPT
WELFARE
ANIMAL SHELTER
Some people think that having a place to live and eat and drink every day means that they have fulfilled all the ‘animal needs’. But there’s actually a lot more to save animals and give them a happy life. ‘Preparation for Caring for Whole Life’.
By : Loes Schure, DVM, M.VSc
The individual animal needs can be translated into physical and
physiological needs. As we all know translated into
the 5 Freedoms of Animal Welfare
To be able to ensure these 5 Freedoms of Welfare,
the shelter needs to ensure they do not exceed their maximum capacity. Each shelter needs to assure they do not exceed the maximum number of animals they can keep.
This maximum number of animals is taking into account the maximum financial capacity plus the maximum care the caretakers can give physically and emotionally, besides the capacity of the housing. Going beyond the shelter‘s capacity is a gross violation of Animal Welfare.
As we all know, stress can lead to illness and even death. Creating a stress free and fear free environment is as important as shade against the sun and rain, water and food. In a shelter setting it is necessary to create a ‘safe-haven” for all, a ‘fear free” environment. Do not mix species. Cats and dogs might get along in your home setting because you taught them to respect each other. But a fear free environment for cats is very different of that for dogs. It all has to do with their species-specific behaviour. In a shelter separating the two species is strictly adamant. Understanding the natural behaviour of dogs and cats is key to creating a stress free shelter
By: Loes Schure, DVM, M.VSc
To ensure freedom of diseases and injury a tailored SOP for each shelter should be in place focusing on preventive care. Preventive care is a corner stone in keeping animals, the people interacting with the animals and shelter finances in a healthy state.
EMOTION FATIQUE
We are all animal lovers that are emotionally involved with the well-being of all animals in our care. We work long hard hours and can feel we haven’t done enough. We all have to realise we cannot rescue every suffering animal out there. We need to regain our energy by spending time with family and friends. Talking and debriefing about the
sad emotional things we experience. Keeping ourselves emotionally and pysically fit and healthy will benefit the animals in our care.
HOW TO ASSES BEHAVIOUR OF SHELTER ANIMAL
When we are talking about having animals in our care, the term “Quality of Life” is often used. Similar with animal welfare concept, we want to make sure that each animal is living a good life. The quality of life consists of on how the animals feel both physically and mentally in the environment. For instance, a dog that is well–fed but constantly feeling afraid with other dogs that are living in the same enclosure, might not necessarily have a good quality of life.
A cat that has access to first aid whenever injured, but lives in a smelly environment may neither have a good quality of life.
it is important to know that there are ways to measure the quality of life in a better way and a clear understanding of animal welfare is a crucial foundation. There might be difficulties and biases to self–assess our own system, so an assessment from colleagues or a non–judgemental, qualified welfare expert in a way might be beneficial. Ensuring a good quality of life in shelter will be rewarding by itself since it resonates with our very first reason why we rescue an animal.
By: Loes Schure, DVM, M.VSc
