Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-r6qrq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-27T09:34:48.399Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Animal agency, animal awareness and animal welfare

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

M Špinka
M Špinka*
Affiliation:
Department of Ethology, Institute of Animal Science, Prague, Czech Republic; email: spinka.marek@vuzv.cz
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In nature, animals need to actively engage with the environment in order to prosper in survival and reproduction. Hence, agency is a central adaptive characteristic of animal life. In this paper, I propose that from the adaptive/functional point of view, four levels of agency can be distinguished, namely passive/reactive agency (animal being behaviourally passive or purely reactive), action-driven agency (animal behaviourally pursuing current desirable outcomes), competence-building agency (animal engaging with the environment to gain skills and information for future use) and aspirational agency (the animal achieving long-term goals through planning and autobiographical reflection). Recent progress in affective neurobiology indicates that each tier of agency is supported by a different type of affective functioning, at least in the case of mammals. Furthermore, the particular agency levels can be linked to distinct degrees of awareness as defined by recent selfhood theories. Based on this coupling between agency adaptive functioning, affective neurobiology and animal awareness levels, I examine several links between animal agency and animal welfare, including the notion of animal boredom, and discuss how animal agency might be promoted in the restrictive frameworks of intensive animal farming.

Keywords

affective functioninganimal welfareawarenessboredominter-individual differencesontogeny
Type
Articles
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 28 , Issue 1 , February 2019 , pp. 11 - 20
Copyright
© 2019 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alcaro, A, Carta, S and Panksepp, J 2017 The affective core of the self: A neuro-archetypical perspective on the foundations of human (and animal) subjectivity. Frontiers in Psychology 8: 1424. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01424CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alcaro, A, Huber, R and Panksepp, J 2007 Behavioral functions of the mesolimbic dopaminergic system: an affective neuroetho-logical perspective. Brain Research Reviews 56: 283–321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainresrev.2007.07.014CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Alcaro, A and Panksepp, J 2011 The SEEKING mind: Primal neuro-affective substrates for appetitive incentive states and their pathological dynamics in addictions and depression. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 35: 1805–1820. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2011.03.002CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Allen, TA and Fortin, NJ 2013 The evolution of episodic mem-ory. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 110: 10379–10386. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1301199110CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bartoš, L, Fričová, B, Bartošová-Víchová, J, Panamá, J, Šustr, P and Šmídová, E 2007 Estimation of the probability of fighting in fallow deer (Dama dama) during the rut. Aggressive Behavior 33: 7–13. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.20162CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brajon, S, Ringgenberg, N, Torrey, S, Bergeron, R and Devillers, N 2017 Impact of prenatal stress and environmental enrichment prior to weaning on activity and social behaviour of piglets (Sus scrofa). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 197: 15–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2017.09.005CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burn, CC 2017 Bestial boredom: a biological perspective on animal boredom and suggestions for its scientific investigation. Animal Behaviour 130: 141–151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.06.006CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cardwell, BA, Newman, EJ, Garry, M, Mantonakis, A and Beckett, R 2017 Photos that increase feelings of learning pro-mote positive evaluations. Journal of Experimental Psychology-Learning Memory and Cognition 43: 944–954. https://doi.org/10.1037/xlm0000358CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chaloupková, H, Illmann, G, Bartoš, L and Špinka, M 2007 Effect of the pre-weaning housing system on play and agonistic behaviour in domestic pigs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 103:25–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2006.04.020CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DasGupta, S, Ferreira, CH and Miesenböck, G 2014 FoxP influences the speed and accuracy of a perceptual decision in Drosophila. Science 344: 901–904. https://doi.org/10.1126/sci-ence.1252114CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dawkins, MS 2008 The science of animal suffering. Ethology 114:937–945. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0310.2008.01557.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duncan, IJH 1996 Animal welfare defined in terms of feelings. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica Section A-Animal Science 46: 29–35Google Scholar
Ferbinteanu, J, Kennedy, PJ and Shapiro, ML 2006 Episodic memory - from brain to mind. Hippocampus 16: 691–703. https://doi.org/10.1002/hipo.20204CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Franks, B 2019 What do animals want? Animal Welfare 28: 1–10. https://doi.org/10.7120/09627286.28.1.001CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Franks, B and Higgins, ET 2012 Effectiveness in humans and other animals: A common basis for well-being and welfare. In: Olson, JM and Zanna, MP (eds) Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Volume46 pp 285–346. Academic Press: Cambridge, MA, USAGoogle Scholar
Fraser, D 2009a Assessing animal welfare: different philosophies, different scientific approaches. Zoo Biology 28: 507–518. https://doi.org/10.1002/zoo.20253CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fraser, D 2009b Understanding Animal Welfare: The Science in its Cultural Context. Wiley: London, UKGoogle Scholar
Fraser, D and Duncan, IJH 1998 ‘Pleasures’, ‘pains’ and animal welfare: toward a natural history of affect. Animal Welfare 7: 383–396CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fuhrer, N and Gygax, L 2017 From minutes to days. The abili-ty of sows (Sus scrofa) to estimate time intervals. Behavioural Processes 142: 146–155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2017.07.006CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Godfrey-Smith, P 2016 Individuality, subjectivity, and minimal cognition. Biology and Philosophy 31: 775–796. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10539-016-9543-1CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gordon, CJ, Becker, P, Killough, P and Padnos, B 2000 Behavioral determination of the preferred foot pad temperature of the mouse. Journal of Thermal Biology 25: 211–219. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0306-4565(99)00025-XCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goumon, S and Špinka, M 2016 Emotional contagion of distress in young pigs is potentiated by previous exposure to the same stressor. Animal Cognition 19: 201–511. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-015-0950-5CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gutmann, AK, Špinka, M and Winckler, C 2015 Long-term familiarity creates preferred social partners in dairy cows. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 169: 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applan-im.2015.05.007CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guzhva, O, Ardo, H, Herlin, A, Nilsson, M, Astrom, K and Bergsten, C 2016 Feasibility study for the implementation of an automatic system for the detection of social interactions in the waiting area of automatic milking stations by using a video surveil-lance system. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 127: 506–509. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2016.07.010CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gygax, L, Neisen, G and Wechsler, B 2010 Socio-spatial relationships in dairy cows. Ethology 116: 10–23. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0310.2009.01708.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hagen, K and Broom, DM 2004 Emotional reactions to learning in cattle. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 85: 203–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2003.11.007CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harley, HE 2013 Consciousness in dolphins? A review of recent evidence. Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Neuroethology Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology 199: 565–58210.1007/s00359-013-0816-8CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Held, SDE and Špinka, M 2011 Animal play and animal welfare. Animal Behaviour 81: 891–899. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbe-hav.2011.01.007CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Higgins, ET 2012 Motivation Beyond Pleasure and Pain: How Motivation Works. Oxford University Press: Oxford, UKGoogle Scholar
Inglis, IR and Langton, S 2006 How an animal's behavioural repertoire changes in response to a changing environment: a sto-chastic model. Behaviour 143: 1563–1596. https://doi.org/10.1163/156853906779367044Google Scholar
Inglis, IR, Langton, S, Forkman, B and Lazarus, J 2001 An information primacy model of exploratory and foraging behaviour. Animal Behaviour 62: 543–557. https://doi.org/10.1006/anbe.2001.1780CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jandt, JM, Bengston, S, Pinter-Wollman, N, Pruitt, JN, Raine, NE, Dornhaus, A and Sih, A 2014 Behavioural syn-dromes and social insects: personality at multiple levels. Biological Reviews 89: 48–67. https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12042CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kouwenberg, AL, Walsh, CJ, Morgan, BE and Martin, GM 2009 Episodic-like memory in crossbred Yucatan minipigs (Sus scrofa). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 117: 165–172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2009.01.005CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lane, SM and Briffa, M 2017 Boldness is for rookies: prefight boldness and fighting success in a sea anemone. Animal Behaviour 132: 13–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.07.012CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Larsen, H, Cronin, GM, Gebhardt-Henrich, SG, Smith, CL, Hemsworth, PH and Rault, JL 2017 Individual ranging behav-iour patterns in commercial free-range layers as observed through RFID Tracking. Animals 7: 21. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani7030021CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lawrence, AB, Newberry, RC and Špinka, M 2018 Positive welfare: What does it add to the debate over pig welfare? Advances in Pig Welfare pp 415–444. Woodhead Publishing: Cambridge, MA, USA. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-101012-9.00014-9CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mather, JA and Dickel, L 2017 Cephalopod complex cognition. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences 16: 131–137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2017.06.008CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matthews, SG, Miller, AL, Clapp, J, Plotz, T and Kyriazakis, I 2016 Early detection of health and welfare compromises through automated detection of behavioural changes in pigs. Veterinary Journal 217: 43–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2016.09.005CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mayr, E 2013 Understanding human agency; précis. Zeitschrift für philosophische Forschung 67: 132–136. https://doi.org/10.3196/004433013806045469CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGowan, RTS, Rehn, T, Norling, Y and Keeling, LJ 2014 Positive affect and learning: exploring the ‘Eureka Effect’ in dogs. Animal Cognition 17: 577–587. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-013-0688-xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McGowan, RTS, Robbins, CT, Alldredge, JR and Newberry, RC 2010 Contrafreeloading in grizzly bears: implications for captive foraging enrichment. Zoo Biology 29: 484–502CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Meagher, RK 2019 Is boredom an animal welfare concern? Animal Welfare 28: 21–32. https://doi.org/10.7120/09627286.28.1.021CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meagher, RK, Campbell, DLM and Mason, GJ 2017 Boredom-like states in mink and their behavioural correlates: A replicate study. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 197: 112–119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2017.08.001CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mendl, M, Brooks, J, Basse, C, Burman, O, Paul, E, Blackwell, E and Casey, R 2010 Dogs showing separation-related behaviour exhibit a ‘pessimistic’ cognitive bias. Current Biology 20: R839–R840. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2010.08.030CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Meunier, H 2017 Do monkeys have a theory of mind? How to answer the question? Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 82:110–123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.11.007CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Michalos, AC 1985 Multiple discrepancies theory (MDT). Social Indicators Research 16: 347–413. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00333288CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morin, A 2006 Levels of consciousness and self-awareness: A comparison and integration of various neurocognitive views. Consciousness and Cognition 15: 358–371. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2005.09.006CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morin, A 2017 Toward a glossary of self-related terms. Frontiers in Psychology 8: 280. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00280CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Naas, IA, Garcia, RG and Caldara, FR 2014 Infrared thermal image for assessing animal health and welfare. Journal of Animal Behaviour and Biometeorology 2: 66–72. https://doi.org/10.14269/2318-1265/jabb.v2n3p66-72CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nasirahmadi, A, Richter, U, Hensel, O, Edwards, S and Sturm, B 2015 Using machine vision for investigation of changes in pig group lying patterns. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 119: 184–190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2015.10.023CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nicol, CJ, Caplen, G, Edgar, J and Browne, WJ 2009 Associations between welfare indicators and environmental choice in laying hens. Animal Behaviour 78: 413–424. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2009.05.016CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nilsson, M, Herlin, AH, Ardo, H, Guzhva, O, Astrom, K and Bergsten, C 2015 Development of automatic surveillance of ani-mal behaviour and welfare using image analysis and machine learned segmentation technique. Animal 9: 1859–1865. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1751731115001342CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Normansell, L and Panksepp, J 1990 Effects of morphine and naloxone on play-rewarded spatial discrimination in juvenile rats. Developmental Psychobiology 23: 75–83. https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.420230108CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nussbaum, MC 2018 Working with and for animals: getting the the-oretical framework right. Journal of Human Development and Capabilities 19: 2–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/19452829.2017.1418963CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Panksepp, J 2005 Affective consciousness: core emotional feelings in animals and humans. Consciousness and Cognition 14: 30–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2004.10.004CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Panksepp, J 2011a The basic emotional circuits of mammalian brains: Do animals have affective lives? Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 35: 1791–1804. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neu-biorev.2011.08.003CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Panksepp, J 2011b Cross-species affective neuroscience decoding of the primal affective experiences of humans and related animals. PLoS One 6: e21236. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0021236CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Panksepp, J, Asma, S, Curran, G, Gabriel, R and Greif, T 2012 The philosophical implications of affective neuroscience. Journal of Consciousness Studies 19: 6–48Google Scholar
Panksepp, J, Lane, RD, Solms, M and Smith, R 2017 Reconciling cognitive and affective neuroscience perspectives on the brain basis of emotional experience. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 76: 187–215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neu-biorev.2016.09.010CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pellis, S and Pellis, V 2009 The Playful Brain. Venturing to the Limits of Neuroscience. Oneworld Publications: Oxford, UKGoogle Scholar
Penn, DC, Holyoak, KJ and Povinelli, DJ 2008 Darwin's mis-take: Explaining the discontinuity between human and nonhuman minds. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 31: 109–17810.1017/S0140525X08003543CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perry, CJ, Barron, AB and Chittka, L 2017 The frontiers of insect cognition. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences 16: 111–118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2017.05.011CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Philippi, CL, Feinstein, JS, Khalsa, SS, Damasio, A, Tranel, D, Landini, G, Williford, K and Rudrauf, D 2012 Preserved self-awareness following extensive bilateral brain damage to the insula, anterior cingulate, and medial prefrontal cortices. PLoS One 7: e38413. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0038413CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reale, D, Reader, SM, Sol, D, McDougall, PT and Dingemanse, NJ 2007 Integrating animal temperament within ecology and evolution. Biological Reviews 82: 291–318. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-185X.2007.00010.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roberts, WA, Feeney, MC, MacPherson, K, Petter, M, McMillan, N and Musolino, E 2008 Episodic-like memory in rats: is it based on when or how long ago? Science 320: 113–115. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1152709CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rollin, BE 2007 Cultural variation, animal welfare and telos. Animal Welfare 16: 129–13310.1017/S0962728600031833CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rorvang, MV, Herskin, MS and Jensen, MB 2018 The motivation-based calving facility: Social and cognitive factors influence isolation seeking behaviour of Holstein dairy cows at calving. PLoS One 13: e0191128. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0191128CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rutley, BD and Hudson, RJ 2001 Activity budgets and foraging behavior of bison on seeded pastures. Journal of Range Management 54: 218–225. https://doi.org/10.2307/4003237CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schön, PC, Puppe, B and Manteuffel, G 2004 Automated recording of stress vocalisations as a tool to document impaired welfare in Pigs. Animal Welfare 13: 105–11010.1017/S096272860002683XCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seip, KM and Morrell, JI 2007 Increasing the incentive salience of cocaine challenges preference for pup- over cocaine-associated stimuli during early postpartum: place preference and locomotor analyses in the lactating female rat. Psychopharmacology 194: 309–319. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-007-0841-9CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Seligman, MEP, Steen, TA, Park, N and Peterson, C 2005 Positive psychology progress - empirical validation of interventions. American Psychologist 60: 410–421. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.60.5.410CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Steward, H 2009 Animal agency. Inquiry 52: 217–231. https://doi.org/10.1080/00201740902917119CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Špinka, M 2012 Social dimension of emotions and its implication for animal welfare. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 138: 170–181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2012.02.005CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Špinka, M, Duncan, IJH and Widowski, TM 1998 Do domes-tic pigs prefer short-term to medium-term confinement? Applied Animal Behaviour Science 58: 221–232. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-1591(98)00109-9CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Špinka, M and Wemelsfelder, F 2011 Environmental challenge and animal agency. In: Appleby, MC, Mench, J, Olsson, A and Hughes, BO (eds) Animal Welfare pp 27–43. CABI International: Wallingford, UK. https://doi.org/10.1079/9781845936594.0027CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, PS, Hemsworth, PH, Groves, PJ, Gebhardt-Henrich, SG and Rault, JL 2017 Ranging behaviour of commer-cial free-range broiler chickens 2: Individual variation. Animals 7:55. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani7070055CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Topolinski, S and Reber, R 2010 Gaining insight into the ‘aha’ experience. Current Directions in Psychological Science 19: 402–405. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721410388803CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trezza, V, Campolongo, P and Vanderschuren, L 2011 Evaluating the rewarding nature of social interactions in laborato-ry animals. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience 1: 444–458. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2011.05.007CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tulving, E 2002 Episodic memory: From mind to brain. Annual Review of Psychology 53: 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.53.100901.135114CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vandermeulen, J, Bahr, C, Tullo, E, Fontana, I, Ott, S, Kashiha, M, Guarino, M, Moons, CPH, Tuyttens, FAM, Niewold, TA and Berckmans, D 2015 Discerning pig screams in production environments. PLoS One 10: e0123111. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0123111CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vanderschuren, LJMJ, Achterberg, EJM and Trezza, V 2016 The neurobiology of social play and its rewarding value in rats. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 70: 86–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.07.025CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wagman, JD, Lukas, KE, Dennis, PM, Willis, MA, Carroscia, J, Gindlesperger, C and Schook, MW 2018 A work-for-food enrichment program increases exploration and decreases stereo-typies in four species of bears. Zoo Biology 37: 3–15. https://doi.org/10.1002/zoo.21391CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weary, DM, Jasper, J and Hotzel, MJ 2008 Understanding weaning distress. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 110: 24–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2007.03.025CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wemelsfelder, F 1984 Animal boredom: Is a scientific study of the subjective experiences of animals possible?, In: Fox, MW and Mickley, LD (eds) Advances in Animal Welfare Science 1984/85 pp 115–154. The Humane Society of the United States: Washington, DC, USACrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wemelsfelder, F 1993 The concept of animal boredom and its relationship to stereotyped behaviour. In: Lawrence, AB and Rushen, J (eds) Stereotypic Animal Behaviour: Fundamentals and Applications to Welfare pp 65–95. CAB International: Wallingford, UKGoogle Scholar
Yeates, JW and Main, DCJ 2008 Assessment of positive wel-fare: a review. Veterinary Journal 175: 293–300. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2007.05.009CrossRefGoogle Scholar