BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY AND THE WELFARE OF EXTENSIVELY FARMED ANIMALS

The paper discusses whether the methods of behavioural ecology (derive d from studies of wild animals) may be used to identify and suggest so lutions to welfare problems in animals farmed under extensive conditio ns. Behavioural ecology involves looking at the interplay between an a nimal's behaviour and ecology as it manoeuvres itself through the proc esses of survival and reproduction. The costs and benefits of the beha vioural decisions an animal uses to solve ecological problems are meas ured in the currency of biological fitness. This functional approach t o behaviour pays little attention to causation and development, a majo r limitation. There are many differences between the circumstances of wild and extensively farmed animals. Extensively farmed animals may be less under our control than intensively farmed animals and have more freedom to express and control their behaviour but they are not wild; natural and sexual selection are disrupted in many ways. Nevertheless, domesticated species often still have a rich repertoire of adaptive b ehaviour and in many situations behavioural ecological methods are app licable. When animals are kept under artificial conditions we hope tha t there is enough flexibility in their behaviour for them to adjust an d survive. Behavioural ecological methods may be used to assess whethe r the conditions provided approach or exceed the range of those which the animals can handle without excessive stress. Particularly appropri ate features to study include time budgets, foraging behaviour and die t, social relationships, and competition for resources.