The application of cost-benefit dominance analysis to the assessment of farm animal quality of life
Tóm tắt
A holistic approach to the subject of animal well-being suggests that it cannot be attributed to (or measured by) a single biological factor, but rather results from a summation of all influences upon an individual's quality of life with a satisfactory overall outcome. The application of traditional mathematical methods (such as indexing) to the assessment of animal quality of life is limited by the lack of a meaningful unit of comparison, and by the difficulty of determining the relative importance of the wide range of welfare-relevant factors. The principle of cost-benefit dominance (CBD) offers significant methodological advantages in this regard. CBD does not require a standard unit of measurement, since only qualitative comparisonswithin attributes are required. This eliminates the necessity of weighting, relatively or absolutely, the importance of satisfying animals' different biological needs. In addition, if some interattribute information is known, CBD offers the flexibility of four strategies to improve its effectiveness. A combination of these strategies with a functional classification of welfare-relevant information provides a useful methodological framework for the more objective assessment of animal husbandry systems.
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