Animal welfare – the Five Freedoms and the Five Domains explained

The Five Freedoms model of animal welfare was first developed in the 1960s and has shaped the development of evidence-based animal welfare standards for many years. The Five Freedoms are recognised internationally by animal welfare groups, NGOs, industries and governments in relation to standards, codes of practice, legislation, policy statements, and quality assurance schemes. They consist of:

• freedom from hunger and thirst;
• freedom from discomfort;
• freedom from pain, injury or disease;
• freedom to express normal behaviour;
• freedom from fear and distress.

The way we think about animal welfare has evolved over the past few years - away from solely meeting the basic needs of animals and minimising negative experiences to encouraging positive experiences and recognising animals’ emotional needs.

New Zealand was one of the first countries to explicitly recognise and enshrine animal sentience into New Zealand law in 2015. We now know that for animals to have a good quality of life, we need to go beyond minimising negatives to also focus on providing them with a life that is filled with positive experiences.

The Five Domains Model of animal welfare was developed in New Zealand and goes beyond the Five Freedoms. The two models contain essentially the same five elements, however, the Five Domains have greater focus on the mental state of an animal (how the animal ‘feels’) and acknowledges that welfare can be both positive and negative.

The Five Domains makes the distinction between the physical and behavioural factors that affect an animal’s welfare and the overall mental state of the animal arising from these. It also recognises that for every physical aspect that is affected, there may be an associated emotion or experience that may also affect the animals’ welfare. An animals’ emotional needs are considered equally important as their physical needs.

Animals deserve a good life and opportunities to have positive experiences. The Five Domains model allows SPCA Certified to extend our thinking beyond the Five Freedoms to place greater emphasis on providing environments that not only allow, but actively encourage, animals to engage in activities and express behaviours that are rewarding. For a pig this may be opportunities to wallow and laze in shade on a hot day; for a layer hen this may be perches on which to roost comfortably at night and suitable enrichment items to interact with during the day; and for a dog at doggy daycare it may mean a planned schedule of play activities and rest periods with suitable playmates.

The Five Domains model is a framework which aligns closely with the goals of SPCA Certified, as it focuses on how animals feel and allows us to look beyond minimising suffering to strive for a good life for animals.