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The lives of animals throughout history have not been entirely pleasant. A brief look into the history of animal welfare highlights many acts of cruelty that would be shunned and avidly rejected in today’s age. Besides the usual day-to-day processing of animals for food in markets, which involved beating and slaughtering livestock, blood sports were employed for the enjoyment of the general public. Bull-baiting, dog-fighting, monkey gladiators, bear pits, and cock throwing were all common-place activities that amused and entertained people of 16th and 17th century Europe. And no wonder, as for centuries many people believed that animals had no souls and were regarded as ‘less than humans’. With no evidence of thought, reason, or belief, animals were seen and used as tools to make the lives of humans easier.
Mercifully, times (and opinions) in the west began changing around the early 1600’s. For centuries prior, eastern cultures had been practising ‘non-violence’ towards all living beings. Known as ahimsa (Sanskrit for noninjury), this religious principle was observed in various Indian doctrines such as Hinduism, Jainsim, and Buddhism, and promoted the ‘ethical principle of not causing harm to other living beings’.
In Ireland in 1635, an act was passed through Parliament that prevented ‘Plowing by the Tayle, and pulling the Wooll off living Sheep’ (none shall plough or work horses by the tail) – Act Against Cruelty to Horses-Sheep (Ireland), 1635. A few years later in the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, an English settlement in North America, the first legal code was established in New England. Calleded the Body of Liberties (1641), this document listed various prohibited actions towards ‘Bruite Creatures’, such as the forbidding of ‘any Tirranny or Crueltie towards any bruite Creature usuallie kept for man’s use’.
Perhaps it was the move towards industrialisation in the mid-1700s that shifted people’s perceptions towards animals as equipment. The First Industrial Revolution in Great Britain, western Europe, and the United States saw the transition of processing and manufacturing from livestock-driven, subsistence agriculture, to large-scale coal- and steam-powered machinery, and mechanized, factor-based industry.
Animals were being seen in a different light; they were no longer just property – they were also pets.
The concept of animal welfare was first officially introduced in London, Great Britain, in 1822. Animals were primarily being used for work, especially in agriculture. Richard Martin, a member of the UK Parliament, passed the first Act against animal cruelty, named ‘The Cruel Treatment of Cattle Act’. This Act ensured the prevention of cruelty to cattle. The Cruel Treatment of Cattle Act 1822 (3 Geo. IV c. 71) was the very first piece of animal welfare legislation ever recorded.
The first conviction of animal cruelty as legislated by the Act was against a man, Bill Burns, accused of beating his donkey (image below). Looking closely at the image of Burn’s trial, one can see the evidence of the mistreatment of his donkey – ribs showing, saddle sores along the spine, and blood-matted fur. It was said that members of the court laughed in amusement at the animal’s condition, an indication of the lack of empathy people had towards animals.
The Trial of Bill Burns, by P. Mathews, 19th century. Alamy.
Bill Martin later formed the well-known Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in 1824, prompting the replacement of the Cruel Treatment of Cattle Act with a more comprehensive Cruelty to Animals Act. Now known as the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) after royal patronage in 1837, this SPCA has been monitoring and working for animal welfare for over 200 years.
Over in the States, Henry Bergh established the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) in 1866, while the National Anti-Vivisection Society was set-up in 1875 in Britain. It seems that by that time there was a great deal more momentum towards the better treatment of animals. The 20th century saw the foundation of the Vegan Society in Britain (1944), the establishment of the Animal Legal Defense Fund (1979), and the creation of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) (1980). Fast forward twenty years, and the 21st century is jammed with actions promoting the welfare and rights of animals. Activities such as wearing fur, dissecting animals for school, testing cosmetics on animals, and showing marine mammals such as dolphins and orcas at aquariums were coming under fire.
Back in South Africa, things were slightly different. A history of poverty and unemployment across Africa has resulted in a slow uptake in the addressing of animal welfare issues, especially because animals are essential as economical ‘tools’ for labour. Unfortunately, prescribed force-free methods of restraint, as well as medical treatment and transport of animals is expensive and unavailable to many South Africans.
However, since then, interest in the improvement of the lives of domestic animals has seen a significant increase. Currently, there are hundreds of not-for-profit organisations across the country that aim to ensure the health, welfare, and well-being of domestic animals. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) was founded in 1955. Shortly after its establishment, the name was changed to the National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA). It is the oldest animal welfare organisation in the country and is a registered Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) with the Department of Social Development. Today, there are more than 90 official SPCAs across South Africa. The NSPCA is a statutory body that has the power under the law to institute private prosecutions.
An educational campaign lead by the South African NSPCA in 2016, encouraging the public to report animal cruelty. (@NSPCA_SA).
However, in simple terms, legislation in South Africa still views animals as property. For example, South African law describes an animal as ‘any quine, bovine, sheep, goat, pig, fowl, ostrich, dog, cat, or other domestic animals or bird, or any wild animal, wild bird, or reptile which is in captivity or under the control of any person’. Then, an animal owner ‘in relation to an animal, includes any person having the possession, charge, custody, or control of that animal’. If you read through these definitions, there are a number of worrying terms that highlight the way animals may be treated and perceived in the eyes of the law.
There are only two sets of legislation that address the care of domestic animals in South Africa. The Animals Protection Act, 1962 (Act 71 of 1962), and the Performing Animals Protection Act, 1935 (Act 24 of 1935). The Animals Protection Act serves ‘to consolidate and amend the laws relating to the prevention of cruelty to animals’, while the Performing Animals Protection Act was promulgated ‘to regulate the exhibition and training of performing animals and the use of dogs for safeguarding’. As you can see, these acts are decades old and often don’t reflect the contemporary views and thoughts behind animal care.
Currently, there are no official regulations behind these two acts, which means there are no clear guidelines or interpretations of these laws. This does not bode well for the treatment, welfare, wellbeing, or rights of domestic animals in South Africa.
Across most of the world, legislation governing the health and wellbeing of animals is based on a number of guiding principles, namely:
So, how can the ‘five freedoms’ and ‘three R’s’ concepts contribute to improving animal welfare in South Africa? Firstly, let’s define the Five Freedoms. This benchmark in animal welfare was developed in Britain in 1965 as a result of a book written by Ruth Harrison (Animal Machines), brutally describing the livestock and poultry farming practises at that stage. The book highlighted the often shocking lives of farm animals, and assisted in increasing the public’s awareness of the suffering of animals in agriculture. Following the release of Harrison’s book, a report was compiled that detailed the condition that animals in farming should be housed, namely, the freedom ‘to stand up, lie down, turn around, groom themselves and stretch their limbs.’ These five ‘freedoms’ were later expanded to encompass the welfare and wellbeing of all domestic animals, as below:
The Five Freedoms are defined as:
These standards in animal welfare aim to address an animal’s mental and physical well-being, and assist in understanding an animal’s ability to cope in its environment. They are regarded as a basis in the treatment of any domestic animal and should be viewed as minimum standards in care.
The three R’s is a set of principles developed by two scholars at the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (UFAW) in 1959, William Russel and Rex Burch, to guide the ethical evaluation of animal use. These are:
Lately, however, it has been implied that the Five Freedoms and Three R’s do not sufficiently address the emotional, physical, and mental well-being of domestic animals. A critique of the Five Freedoms by McCulloch (2013) suggests that this framework may not be sufficient to ethically and adequately determine the levels required by and for animal welfare.
Where to from here? A paper written in 1994 by Mellor and Reid suggested a new model to systematically identify and rate the severity of various forms of welfare by redesigning the Five Freedoms as the ‘Five Domains’ of nutrition; environment; health; behaviour; and mental state. They suggest that the terms animal welfare and well-being are synonymous, and the Five Domains emphasise the extent of welfare compromise, instead of the absence of compromise. The Five Domains as detailed by Mellor and Reid (1994) are explained as follows:
The idea behind the Five Domains is that the first four domains will combine to have an impact on the fifth domain, or the animal’s mental experience; thus, it focuses more on the mental state of the animal and the rating suggests that welfare can be both a negative and positive experience.
Schematic of the contributions of the Five Domains to the state of welfare in an animal (Mellor, Beausoleil, Littlewood, McLean, McGreevy, Jones and Wilkins, 2020)
A paper by Algers (2011) suggests that trends in global welfare are starting to show more of a focus on animal-based measures, such as positive emotions, in a multidisciplinary approach to animal care. World Animal Protection, an international non-profit organisation, is currently campaigning for a Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare (UDAW) to be backed by the United Nations. This declaration aims to unite the globe in an agreement that:
Animal welfare has come a long way since 1822. One imagines that one day we will look back at the way we have treated animals and bow our heads in shame. For now, let’s encourage everyone to treat all animals with the dignity and respect that any sentient, emotional individual deserves.
Algers, B. (2011). Animal welfare – Recent developments in the field. in CAB Reviews Perspectives in Agriculture Veterinary Science Nutrition and Natural Resources · May 2011
DOI: 10.1079/PAVSNNR20116010.
McCulloch, S.P. A Critique of FAWC’s Five Freedoms as a Framework for the Analysis of Animal Welfare. J Agric Environ Ethics 26, 959–975 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10806-012-9434-7
Mellor DJ, Beausoleil NJ, Littlewood KE, McLean AN, McGreevy PD, Jones B, Wilkins C. (2020). The 2020 Five Domains Model: Including Human–Animal Interactions in Assessments of Animal Welfare. Animals. 2020;10(10):1870. doi:10.3390/ani10101870
Mellor, D. J., & Reid, C. S. W. (1994). Concepts of animal well-being and predicting the impact of procedures on experimental animals. Improving the well-being of animals in the research environment, 3-18.
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