Digital Commons Network^™

Crow Whisperer, Andrew Rowan

Tales of WellBeing

A recent story of a “crow whisperer” in Oakland, California, resolving a seemingly intractable situation for a local family and its dog highlights crows’ recognition of specific human individuals.

Do School Closures Cause A Surge In Dog Bites To Children?, Harold Herzog

Herzog - Companion Animals and Health

The number of children being seen in hospital emergency departments with dog bites skyrocketed during the pandemic in both Colorado and the United Kingdom. Both studies attributed the increase to children staying at home and having more frequent contact with dogs during the day. When children returned to school in the UK, dog bite rates, as measured by the number of children seen in hospital emergency rooms, began to fall.

Do School Closures Cause A Surge In Dog Bites To Children?, Harold Herzog

One Health

Studies in the USA and the UK reported a significant surge in children treated for dog bites in hospital emergency rooms during the lockdown. Dog bites to children usually increase during the summer months but the increases during the summer of 2020 were much greater than usual. This increase may have been caused by the closer contacts between children and dogs during the lockdown or dog behavior may have changed with more people in the home. As schools re-opened in the UK, the number of dog bite admissions at the hospital emergency room began to decline.

How Much Money Is Your Pet Worth To You?, Harold Herzog

Herzog - Companion Animal Issues

What determines the dollar value of a pet? While we increasingly think of pets as people, from a legal perspective, the dogs and cats in our lives are considered property. Like a used car, it is perfectly legal to buy, sell, or give away a companion animal. But there is a difference between determining the value of a used car and a personal pet.

"Making Peace With Nature", Andrew N. Rowan

WellBeing News

The loss of intact global wilderness areas is leaving little productive land for wild animals. United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) in its Making Peace with Nature report identifies eight specific areas where transformative change is required. The report also identifies three levers that can be used to promote and implement these changes. The world has lost half of its forests and wild grasslands to the growth of crops and domestic animal grazing over the last century. This loss is driven largely by what we eat. Our diets need to be changed to achieve the transformation called for in Making Peace …

Companion Animal Demographics: When Are They Good Enough?, Andrew N. Rowan

WellBeing News

The best current estimate of the USA dog and cat population is 135 million from a survey conducted every five years. Another survey produces a very different result (180 million) but there is minimal discussion as to why different surveys produce different results. The media and stake-holders simply report whatever number is most convenient. Key stakeholders should pay more attention to the available data and address gaps and variances to determine actual trends.

Study Finds Therapy Dogs Have No Effect On Anxiety In Teens, Harold Herzog

Herzog - Companion Animals and Health

The study was carefully done and controlled for individual differences in teenager anxiety, had adequate number of subjects, and included both objective and subjective measures. In the end, the study found that the presence of a real dog, or being able to touch a real dog, did not reduce subject anxiety.

Study Finds Therapy Dogs Have No Effect On Anxiety In Teens, Harold Herzog

One Health

The use of therapy dogs has increased and the number of scientific papers examining the impact of therapy dogs on human health has also increased from 19 in 1990 to 698 in 2020. However, why canine therapy works remains something of a mystery. In a recent paper, researchers from Tufts University looked at two mechanisms that might underlie any benefits of canine therapy – social support and the physical contact provided by the dogs. The researchers were confident that teen anxiety would drop in the presence of the dogs but wanted to explore possible mechanisms for such a drop. However, …

Why Do Children Prefer To Save Dogs Over People?, Harold Herzog

Herzog - Companion Animal Issues

A new study looked at the attitudes of children and adults in a "shipwreck" situation where one has to decide who to save - a certain number of humans versus a certain number of dogs. Adults typically choose to save the humans but children are much more likely to save the dogs.

The Economics Of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review. (Abridged Version)

General - Environmental Sustainability

The report presents a comprehensive economic review of biodiversity and calls for an urgent and transformative change in how we think about and act towards the natural world and its economic value. The framework presented by the review is grounded in a a deep understanding of ecosystem processes and how they are affected by human economic activity. The report argues that nature is our most precious asset but that rapid declines in biodiversity are undermining the resiliency and adaptability of nature. This, in turn, places human economies, livelihoods and well-being at risk.

Drug Company Research And Animal Use, Andrew N. Rowan

WellBeing News

Over the years, the use of laboratory animals by drug companies and other commercial laboratories has elicited more than its share of criticism. In the late 1970s, animal advocates turned their attention to the testing of cosmetics and personal care products on animals, with particular attention to lethal dose testing in rats and eye irritancy testing in rabbits. In 1980, a campaign against Revlon led to that company funding a research program at Rockefeller University to develop an alternative to eye irritancy testing on rabbits (producing the Neutral Red Test protocol, OECD Test Guideline 432, still widely used today.) Revlon’s …

Animal Relinquishment And Pet-Owner Resilience, Arnold Arluke, Andrew N. Rowan

WellBeing News

In 2021, it is hoped that the world will slowly return to normal as an increasing proportion of national populations are vaccinated. Such a return will likely mean fewer people working from home and more pets spending their days with less human companionship. Animal groups are concerned that people who have obtained new pets may surrender them to shelters when social distancing measures are relaxed and, perhaps, when moratoriums on foreclosures due to arrears in rent and mortgage are lifted. However, a recent study of pet ownership in a low-income community and an examination of pet surrender in previous financial …

The Comfort Dog Project Of Northern Uganda: An Innovative Canine-Assisted Psychosocial Trauma Recovery Programme, Meg Daley Olmert

One Health

In 2012, BIG FIX Uganda, an American-based animal welfare organisation, began offering veterinary health services and animal welfare education in northern Uganda to improve the wellbeing of animals and their guardians. In 2014, the organisation expanded its inclusive health platform with the creation of the Comfort Dog Project − an animal-assisted psychosocial intervention for survivors of war trauma through the facilitation of human-dog companionship. This article focuses on how blending community trauma counselling with dog training and bonding instruction can improve the social and emotional skills of dog guardians while creating loving, stress- buffering relationships with their dogs. Fifty-nine guardians …

The Comfort Dog Project Of Northern Uganda: An Innovative Canine-Assisted Psychosocial Trauma Recovery Programme, Meg Daley Olmert

Human Health

n 2012, BIG FIX Uganda, an American-based animal welfare organisation, began offering veterinary health services and animal welfare education in northern Uganda to improve the wellbeing of animals and their guardians. In 2014, the organisation expanded its inclusive health platform with the creation of the Comfort Dog Project − an animal-assisted psychosocial intervention for survivors of war trauma through the facilitation of human-dog companionship. This article focuses on how blending community trauma counselling with dog training and bonding instruction can improve the social and emotional skills of dog guardians while creating loving, stress- buffering relationships with their dogs. Fifty-nine guardians …

If We Build It, Will They Come?, Lewis Bollard

Diet

You know things are going well when Bill Gates is talking up the potential of plant-based meat with Anderson Cooper on 60 Minutes. Gates even told Forbes that beyond Meat and Impossible Foods’ success has given him hope for solving meat’s climate impact.Other investors are equally excited. In just the first seven months of 2020, they invested about $1.5B in alternative protein startups (see chart below). The Good Food Institute now tracks 510 companies working on plant-based, cultivated, or fermented alternatives to animal proteins. Many of these companies are racing to make alternatives as cheap and tasty as animal …

The Economics Of Biodiversity The Dasgupta Review Abridged Version, Sir Partha Dasgupta

Environmental Economics

In 2019, Her Majesty’s Treasury (UK) commissioned Sir Partha Dasgupta, an economist and Professor Emeritus at Cambridge University to produce an independent, global review on the Economics of Biodiversity. Sir Partha was assisted by a multi-disciplinary Advisory Panel that included representatives of public policy, science, economics and business. The Review argues that countries should de-emphasize GDP as an index of progress and instead should focus on a national Wealth measure that includes an accounting for Natural Capital. After World War II, when the world was very different from what it is now, Sir Partha argues the economic questions being faced …

The Impacts Of A Nature-Based Mentorship Program On Students’ Self-Regulation: Harnessing The Anticipation Effect, J. Gandenberger, E. Flynn, M. Mueller, K. N. Morris

One Health

Self-regulation is essential to youths’ long-term mental well-being and healthy functioning and positive anticipation of future events may support healthy emotional regulation. Green Chimneys, a school in New York that serves students with special education needs and psychosocial challenges, offers its students weekly one-on-one nature-based mentoring sessions with school staff. We used a modified version of the State Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (S-DERS) to explore how these sessions impacted students’ emotional regulation both before and after their sessions. Results indicated that students’ behavior may improve in the 1-4 hours prior to participation. Further research is needed to test these …

Rspca Australia National Statistics 2020-2021, Rspca Australia

General - Animal Welfare

The RSPCA receives thousands of animals every year in every state and territory in Australia. Annual statistics on the numbers of animals received, reclaimed or rehomed are compiled on a national basis by RSPCA Australia. The following statistics cover the 2020 to 2021 financial year and give details on the receipt and placement of animals by each state and territory RSPCA during that period. The statistics also include the number of cruelty complaints received by the RSPCA Inspectorate and prosecutions undertaken. Detailed information is provided in the following report.

Can A Moral Machine Make Good Decisions About Animals?, Harold Herzog

Herzog - Animal policy and attitudes

An artificial intelligence algorithm called Delphi that mimics how humans make ethical judgments has been developed by a team at the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence.  Delphi was tested on a variety of ethical issues involving human use of animals where she mimicked many of the inconsistencies found in surveys of human attitudes.  For example, as with actual humans, Delphi concluded that animals had the same rights as humans but then concluded that it was acceptable for humans to kill and eat cows.

We Know Animals Have Personalities. Does That Make Them Persons?, Harold Herzog

Herzog - Animal policy and attitudes

In 1990, there were no studies on animal personalities.  In 2020, there were over 900 published studies on animal personality.  It has been found that some species (e.g., dogs, chimpanzees and orcas) can also be distinguished on the basis of the Big Five personality characteristics reported in humans.  The paper concludes that there are excellent arguments for granting some basic rights to some animal species but having a personality is not one of them.

Do Anxious Owners Raise More Anxious Dogs?, Harold Herzog

Herzog - Companion Animal Issues

Recent studies have reported similarities between the personalities of dog owners and their pets. The reasons for this relationship are unclear but several studies suggest the causal arrow points from owner to pet.

Genes May Have A Big Influence On Vegetarianism, Harold Herzog

Herzog - Dietary Issues

A Dutch research project found that identical twins were more similar than fraternal twins in giving up meat. This suggests that one’s genetic make-up may play a role in whether one is a vegetarian or not. The genetic effect became less influential in males than in females as they grew older.

Review Of The Evidence Of Sentience In Cephalopod Molluscs And Decapod Crustaceans, Jonathan Birch, Charolotte Burn, Alexandra Schnell, Heather Browning, Andrew Crump

General - Animal Feeling

Birch and colleagues have developed an important and useful framework for evaluating the evidence for sentience – namely, the capacity to experience pain, distress and suffering, in cephalopod molluscs (cuttlefish, octopods and squid) and decapod crustaceans (including crabs, crayfish, lobsters, prawns, shrimps). Birch and colleagues develop eight criteria in their evaluation framework which are used to weigh the evidence from over 300 scientific publications. The report also investigates the potential welfare implications of current commercial practices on these species. The report concludes that cephalopods and decapod crustaceans are probably sentient.

The Economics Of Biodiversity The Dasgupta Review Full Report, Sir Partha Dasgupta

Environmental Economics

In 2019, Her Majesty’s Treasury (UK) commissioned Sir Partha Dasgupta, an economist and Professor Emeritus at Cambridge University to produce an independent, global review on the Economics of Biodiversity. Sir Partha was assisted by a multi-disciplinary Advisory Panel that included representatives of public policy, science, economics and business. The Review argues that countries should de-emphasize GDP as an index of progress and instead should focus on a national Wealth measure that includes an accounting for Natural Capital. After World War II, when the world was very different from what it is now, Sir Partha argues the economic questions being faced …

Are Pets As Good For Us As We Think They Are? What Does The Science Really Say About The Impact Of Pets On Human Health?, Harold Herzog

Herzog - Companion Animals and Health

The “pet effect” is the idea that having a companion animal will improve one’s physical and mental health. However, numerous studies have not found this effect to be a real phenomenon with a recent study from Tufts University being the most recent. The reasons for the mismatch between what people believe about the health benefits of pets and the negative results from research projects are unclear.

An End To Cages In Europe?, Lewis Bollard

General – Farm Animal Issues

The European Commission has promised the biggest animal welfare legal reform in history — a ban on almost all cages and crates across the European Union (EU). If enacted, the ban would cover more than 340M caged hens, rabbits, pigs, and other animals. It could also set a new global standard for farm animal welfare. A major fight now looms. This Monday, several EU governments told the Commission that its proposal was too ambitious, and requested extensions and loopholes. Europe’s powerful farm lobby, Copa and Cogeca, is already lobbying to weaken the measure. This presents advocates with a unique opportunity: …

The Promise And Perils Of Insect Farming, Lewis Bollard

General – Farm Animal Issues

Insect farming is on the rise. Recent news stories have touted insects as “a six-legged solution to world hunger” (Time), “the next sustainable food revolution” (The Independent), and “the future of food” (NY Times). Insect protein is increasingly promoted alongside plant-based and cultivated meat as a green alternative to conventional meat.

Investors have noticed. In just the last year, French insect farming startups Ynsect and InnovaFeed raised $372M and $165M respectively, more than the whole sector had raised in all prior years combined. The UK’s first industrial-scale insect farm recently secured backing from retailer Tesco, startup incubator Y Combinator, and …

Why Do Chapman & Huffman Think Humans Are Not Different?, Nick Zangwill

Animal Sentience

This commentary discusses various shortcomings in Chapman & Huffman’s (2018) denial of differences between human beings and animals and the ethical consequences they think turn on this. Rationality is proposed as a candidate for such a difference, one that also has acceptable ethical consequences.

Extending Animal Welfare Science To Include Wild Animals, Walter Veit, Heather Browning

Animal Sentience

Ng’s (2016) target article built on his earlier work advocating a science of welfare biology (Ng 1995). Although there were problems with the models proposed in Ng’s original paper regarding the balance of pleasure and suffering for wild animals, his call for a science of wild animal welfare was a sound one. This does not require a new discipline but just an extension of the existing frameworks and methods of animal welfare science to include wild animals.

Animal Sentience: History, Science, And Politics, Andrew N. Rowan, Joyce M. D'Silva, Ian J.H. Duncan, Nicholas Palmer

Animal Sentience

This target article has three parts. The first briefly reviews the thinking about nonhuman animals’ sentience in the Western canon: what we might know about their capacity for feeling, leading up to Bentham’s famous question “can they suffer?” The second part sketches the modern development of animal welfare science and the role that animal-sentience considerations have played therein. The third part describes the launching, by Compassion in World Farming, of efforts to incorporate animal sentience language into public policy and regulations concerning human treatment of animals.