Abstract
Imagine the collision of two massive cultural forces: cowboys of the West and Bernard E. Rollin, PhD, of Brooklyn, NY. The amazing outcome of these two diverse and divergent powers has led to a career filled with productive inquiry, hundreds of invited presentations, and 10 book-length publications, two of which have been reissued twice and one in a third edition. In much of his early work, Prof. Rollin spent a lot of time exposing and describing the many problems in animal use and suggesting resolutions for many of the ill-conceived or underexamined aspects of veterinary medicine and “animal science,” a concept he abhors.
In this most recent work, Rollin has moved forward, enlisting the aid of a previous collaborator, G. John Benson, as coeditor and assembling an international selection of experts in farm animal management, with clinical scholars addressing issues of pain and euthanasia. As was done in previous books, the text is divided into I) Theoretical Framework (nine chapters covering Ethical Imperative, Human-livestock Interaction, Quality of Life, Pain, Feelings, Physical Needs, Handling Animals, Handling Facilities, and Personnel) and II) Practical Applications (Beef Cattle, Dairy Cattle, Swine, Sheep, Poultry, Painful Management Practices, Alternative Production Methods, and Euthanasia). Throughout the text, authors challenge the “productivity standard” (…animals that are producing lots of milk, gaining lots of weight, etc., must have good welfare…) using laboratory and behavioral testing as repeatable measures of health and welfare. All 17 chapters are rich in information, although two stand out for their excellence: Chapter 4, Pain in Farm Animals: Nature, Recognition, and Management (Benson), is a scholarly tour de force of scientific basis and clinical presentation and should be required reading for all scholars engaged in animal experimentation and Chapter 11, Animal Well-being in the US Dairy Industry (Garry), which addresses the enormous shifts in the milk industry in the last half century and points out the remaining strengths and weaknesses of dairy production. The chapter is excellently researched and makes numerous suggestions for improving the lives of cattle in a milk herd.
Chapter 17, Euthanasia (Meyer and Morgan Morrow), is of interest to all who engage in animal research and production, and this chapter explores negative psychologic aspects of the procedure on those administering the coup de grace as well as criteria for euthanasia of production animals. The authors make the point that refinement of currently available methods is our most likely hope for advances in the “good death.”
Whether one sees the increasing regulation of animal experimentation as an impediment to scientific freedom or as a needed reform of animal handling, reading this book will provide methods for better animal care, animal handling, and animal health. Use of this text will provide authority and support for IACUC proposals and for submitted articles. The Well-being of Farm Animals was a badly needed compendium for research care of food animals.