Animal Welfare Workshop
"How can animal enclosures meet the behavioural wants and needs, are all enclosures suitable for all species."
OPTIONAL TASK 3: Before you start, be aware that as part of our session on practical application of animal welfare, we are going to encourage you to take part in an assessment of the welfare in one of our current enclosures.
To do this we would ask you to look at and complete the "Animal Welfare Assessment Form" while watching the animal welfare workshop video.
The worksheet can be accessed here. Click the link Welfare assessment (5 Domains).pdf to view the file.
If no printer is available, you can simply record the required information with paper and pencil or Excel or the Google Sheets documents.
Google Sheets Animal welfare Assessment form or Excel Animal Welfare Assessment Form.xlsx links to view the files. {Please download a copy for your use).
This next video will hopefully explain how to complete the 5 Domains Animal Welfare Assessment form which can be downloaded above.
The animals to be studied will be the European Wolves at the Highland Wildlife Park. To find out more about this species you could look at:
websites like Animal Diversity Web or the IUCN Red Data list
There are other websites for more information about the European grey wolf.
The Aims and Objectives of this Exercise
You have been allocated a study animal the European grey wolf.
To assess the animals and enclosure correctly you will be expected to study the area, the animals and their behaviour for approximately 20-30mins (ish)
Answer as many of the questions as you can. All scoring is acceptable, but you must have justification for your scores.
This exercise will not only help you develop a critical eye
for animal welfare, but it will also offer a new insight to our animal keepers
as to how the public view the animals and their expectations. You may wish to watch the video more than once in order to complete the exercise.
Please be honest. The staff will not take your criticism personally. This is a development process for all!
When you are ready, click on the video below to start your animal welfare evaluation, good luck.
At the end of the exercise you should have a welfare score. Does the enclosure meet the species specific behaviours and the animals welfare requirements.
How did you rate the enclosure, what could you do to improve it? Remember to bear in mind the costs, the needs of the animal, the keepers and the public.