Assessing Animal Welfare: A Guide to the Valid Use of Indicators of Affective States (UFAW Animal Welfare) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1394182198 ISBN 13: 9781394182190

Publisher: Wiley, 2026

Synopsis

A clear, practical guide on how to use validated indicators of affective states

Assessing Animal Welfare is a guide on how to use accurate indicators to assess the welfare of animals. The basis for this book is construct validity: how we can validate different indicators that are commonly used to assess animal welfare and apply this knowledge when using these indicators.

Starting with two chapters on the challenges of assessing emotions and moods in animals, and the importance and basis of construct validation, the following chapters evaluate the validity of 11 indicators that range from being suitable for assessing short-term emotions to assessing cumulative negative affect over a lifetime. Each chapter further highlights the limitations of each indicator and provides clear, useful guidance on its interpretation to avoid associated pitfalls. The book also shows how different indicators can complement each other, with real-life examples showing how to put theory into practice. The final chapter concludes by discussing some of the remaining challenges.

Written by leading experts in their respective fields, Assessing Animal Welfare presents:

• Five key approaches to assessing the construct validity of a welfare indicator: using humans as models; observing how indicators change in rewarding or punishing situations, or when in the presence of threats to/promoters of ancestral fitness; taking a pharmacological approach; and assessing co-variance with already validated indicators
• Indicators of emotion, focusing on preference/avoidance, vocal signals, acute corticosteroid responses, body temperature and heart rate, ideal for assessing short-term events like handling, transport, etc.
• Indicators of cumulative welfare focusing on abnormal repetitive behaviour, cellular aging, and hippocampal plasticity
• Indicators of mood, focusing on judgement biases, play, the hormone DHEA, and measures of reward responsiveness, ideal for assessing effects of long-term situations such as housing conditions
• How each valid indicator may sometimes yield false leads (suggesting affective states that are absent) or false null results (overlooking affective states that are present), and ways to avoid these pitfalls.

Assessing Animal Welfare serves as a clear and practical guide for animal welfare researchers, veterinarians, and students of animal welfare science, helping them evaluate and use the most accurate affective state indicators for a given situation.

About this title

About the Author

About the Editors

Professor Georgia J. Mason, Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare (CCSAW), Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Canada.

Dr Birte L. Nielsen, Research Director, Science for Animal Welfare, United Kingdom.

Professor Michael T. Mendl, Animal Welfare and Behaviour Research Group, Bristol Veterinary School, University of Bristol, Langford House, Langford, United Kingdom.

From the Back Cover

Praise for Assessing Animal Welfare

“This exciting book addresses the most complex and challenging questions head-on, providing the conceptual tools and empirical benchmarks necessary to stimulate a great leap forwards in animal welfare science.”
―Professor Christine Nicol, Royal Veterinary College, UK

“… a very timely book on a subject of emerging and highest importance in animal welfare science… It is written in an easily accessible, yet scholarly thorough language and will therefore be of great interest to anyone concerned about animal welfare, laypeople and scientists alike.”
―Professor emeritus Per Jensen, Linköping University, Sweden

“Throughout the book it is emphasized that affective states should be studied rigorously before drawing conclusions, and the authors provide guidance through text examples and illustrations on how to achieve this. Overall, this book is a must-read for animal welfare students and researchers regardless of their career stage.”
―Dr Irene Camerlink, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland

“An essential resource that will shape how animal welfare is taught, studied, and interpreted for years to come.”
―Dr Carly Moody, UC Davis California, US

“This urgently needed book addresses a core ongoing challenge in animal welfare science: how to validate indicators of animal affective states. It brings together clear explanation of the theoretical background with a comprehensive review of current indicators, to help practitioners choose the best indicator (or set of indicators) for their context. It’s accessible even to non-specialists, with effective use of examples and diagrams throughout. An essential resource for anyone working in animal welfare.”
―Dr Heather Browning, University of Southampton, UK

“…not just scientifically authoritative but also an unapologetic, elegant, accessible and joyful portrayal of the core work of those dedicated to understanding and improving the welfare of other animals.”
―Professor Ngaio Beausoleil, Massey University, New Zealand

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1394182198
• ISBN 13: 9781394182190
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352
• Editor: Mason Georgia J., Nielsen Birte L., Mendl Michael T.