Impact of Animal Welfare on Costs and Viability of Pig Production in the UK

The European Union welfare standardsfor intensively kept pigs have steadilyincreased over the past few years and areproposed to continue in the future. It isimportant that the cost implications of thesechanges in welfare standards are assessed. Theaim of this study was to determine theprofitability of rearing pigs in a range ofhousing systems with different standards forpig welfare. Models were constructed tocalculate the cost of pig rearing (6–95 kg) in afully-slatted system (fulfilling minimum EUspace requirements, Directive 91630/EEC); apartly-slatted system; a high-welfare,straw-based system (complying with the UK-basedRoyal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty toAnimals, Freedom Food standards) and afree-range system. The models were also used toassess the consequences of potential increasesin space allowance, and to estimate the cost ofrearing pigs under organic standards.The cost of rearing pigs ranged from92.0 p/kg carcass weight (cw) and 94.6 p/kgcw forthe partly-slatted and fully-slatted systems,to 98.8 p/kgcw and 99.3 p/kgcw for the FreedomFood and free-range systems respectively. Whenspace allowance was increased by 60% to levelsin a recent proposal to revise pig welfareDirective (91/630/EEC), the rearing costs wereunchanged for the free-range system but rose by4.6 p/kgcw for the fully-slatted system. Rearingcosts under organic standards were 31% higherthan in the free-range system. These resultssuggest that improved pig welfare can beachieved with a modest increase in costAt present, price premiums received for meatproduced under high welfare systems in the UKoffset the higher costs of production in thesesystems. To ensure profitability in the longterm, it is important that these premiums aremaintained.     

Taking Ethics into Account in Farm Animal Breeding: What can the Breeding Companies Achieve?

Animal welfare and the ethical issues it raises have been discussed intensively for a couple of decades. The emphasis has been on the direct effects of housing and husbandry, but more attention is now being given to problems originating in selective breeding. European attempts to adjust animal welfare legislation to deal with these problems have been largely unsuccessful, but the fact that selective breeding can introduce welfare problems continues to place an ethical responsibility on the animal breeding industry. Since breeding decisions are made centrally and, increasingly, internationally, strategic change is only likely to occur if it is embedded in an international agreement of some kind. The aim of this paper is to describe the key ethical issues facing animal breeding and assess the suggestion that the breeding industry itself can deal with ethical issues by means of an ethical code. Results from recent projects involving commercial breeding enterprises are presented.     

环境公益诉讼

环境公益诉讼制度在保护环境方面是一项很重要的司法救济制度。不论是从环境侵权的现实发展角度,还是从环境公益诉讼的理论发展角度,我们都需要探索环境公益诉讼体制,来实现环境保护的社会目标。     

Media Framing of Zoos and Aquaria: From Conservation to Animal Rights

Zoos and aquaria are controversial institutions, vilified by animal rights activists and championed by those who value their entertainment and educational resources. Examining media frames of these institutions can identify public perspectives. A qualitative content analysis was conducted for print and online magazine articles that discussed zoos and aquaria in North America. Sixty-five articles were analysed, and eight different frames were identified. The diverse frames highlight the differing roles of zoos and aquaria. Most of the articles were positive and supportive of zoos; 11% were negative. Animal welfare was the most common frame, from both positive and negative perspectives. Other frames, such as conservation and education, were less prevalent in the sample than expected, since zoos and aquaria portray themselves to be leaders in these fields. The unbalanced media discourse and small publication rate over the four years sampled suggest opportunities for increased media engagement on zoos and aquaria.     

新型城镇化背景下失地农民福利变化研究

基于森的可行能力理论,从经济状况、居住条件、居住环境、社会保障及社会机会等方面构建失地农民福利评价指标体系。并进一步基于农地价值理论视角,将失地农民可获得的福利划分为经济福利、社会福利和生态福利3个部分。在此基础上利用江苏省苏州市、南通市及宿迁市540户农户调查数据对征地前后农民福利水平进行测度,以探索不同城镇化发展阶段土地征收对失地农民福利变化的影响。结果表明:(1)由于实行了"土地换社保"征地补偿方式,苏州市和南通市目前处于城镇化发展改革阶段,且前者在"人的城镇化"方面更为成熟;宿迁市采取一次性货币补偿方式,仍处于传统城镇化发展阶段。(2)苏州市和南通市失地农民福利水平呈上升趋势,总模糊指数分别从0.444、0.369上升到0.529、0.385;宿迁市样本农户福利水平则有所下降。(3)除苏州市外,南通市和宿迁市样本农户的经济福利均出现下降,下降幅度分别为36.1%、34.5%;三个地区失地农民社会福利均有所提升,且苏州市和南通市农户福利改善程度明显优于宿迁市;生态福利方面,除南通市外,苏州市和宿迁市均出现下降。(4)传统城镇化发展模式下,失地农民的福利水平明显受损,城镇化改革一定程度上缓解了农民福利受损,尤其是社会福利得到较大提升。加快新型城镇化建设,真正实现"土地城镇化"与"人口城镇化"同步发展,在提高征地补偿标准的同时,政府还需通过完善失地农民社会保障体系、加强就业指导培训、提供一定就业安置等途径实现征地补偿方式多元化,并加大对农村基础设施、配套设施、环境保护等的投入。     

福建省生态福利绩效影响因素研究

生态福利是进入新时代以来备受关注的议题,是影响区域可持续发展的重要因素。文章基于DEA方法构建生态福利绩效指标体系,采用考虑非期望产出的两阶段Super-NSBM模型评估福建省2012—2019年生态福利绩效水平,并进一步构建Tobit回归模型检验生态福利绩效的影响因素。结果表明：(1)福建省整体生态福利绩效较高,但区域间差距较大;(2)经济规模、产业结构、人口密度、森林资源对福建省生态福利绩效产生负向作用;(3)森林生态补偿的不足阻碍了生态福利绩效的提升,绿色发展技术创新的薄弱也导致科技进步对生态福利绩效的提升作用未能发挥。提出对策建议如下：(1)强化绿色发展模式,优先推动绿色创新;(2)优化生态补偿机制,推动海陆协同发展;(3)加快公共服务体系建设,因地制宜推动城市扩张;(4)持续有效强化环保投入,深化对外经贸技术交流。     

Minimization of socioeconomic disruption for displaced populations following disasters

In the aftermath of catastrophic natural disasters such as hurricanes, tsunamis and earthquakes, emergency management agencies come under intense pressure to provide temporary housing to address the large‐scale displacement of the vulnerable population. Temporary housing is essential to enable displaced families to reestablish their normal daily activities until permanent housing solutions can be provided. Temporary housing decisions, however, have often been criticized for their failure to fulfil the socioeconomic needs of the displaced families within acceptable budgets. This paper presents the development of (1) socioeconomic disruption metrics that are capable of quantifying the socioeconomic impacts of temporary housing decisions on displaced populations; and (2) a robust multi‐objective optimization model for temporary housing that is capable of simultaneously minimizing socioeconomic disruptions and public expenditures in an effective and efficient manner. A large‐scale application example is optimized to illustrate the use of the model and demonstrate its capabilities ingenerating optimal plans for realistic temporary housing problems.     

Animal Care Ethics, ANZCCART, and Public Perceptions of Animal Use Ethics

The public attitude to animal use in Australia and New Zealandcan be inferred from survey results and political activity. The publicis concerned about the rights of animals as far as any uses causing painare concerned, but takes a more utilitarian view of the taking of lifewhere no suffering is involved. Many of the participants in two recentANZCCART conferences fall short in their knowledge of and attitudetoward these concerns. Animal welfare legislation and standards need tobe reformed so that painful animal use is eliminated, even if economicgrowth suffers as a result.     

Do Regulators of Animal Welfare Need to Develop a Theory of Psychological Well-Being?

The quest for a ``theory of nonhuman minds' to assessclaims about the moral status of animals is misguided. Misframedquestions about animal minds facilitate the appropriation ofanimal welfare by the animal user industry. When misframed, thesequestions shift the burden of proof unreasonably to animalwelfare regulators. An illustrative instance of misframing can befound in the US National Research Council's 1998 publication thatreports professional efforts to define the psychologicalwell-being of nonhuman primates, a condition that the US 1985animal welfare act requires users of primates to promote. Thereport claims that ``psychological well-being' is a hypotheticalconstruct whose validity can only be determined by a theory thatdefines its properties and links it to observed data. Thisconception is used to contest common knowledge about animalwelfare by treating psychological well-being as a mentalcondition whose properties are difficult to discover. Thisframework limits regulatory efforts to treat animal subjects lessoppressively and serves the interests of the user industry.A more liberatory framework can be constructed by recognizing thecontested nature of welfare norms, where competing conceptions ofanimal welfare have implications about norm-setting authority, asit does in other regulatory contexts, e.g., food safety. Properlyconceptualized welfare should include both the avoidance ofdistressful circumstances and the relationship between ananimal's capacities to engage in enjoyable activities and itsopportunities to exercise these capacities. This conception ofanimal welfare avoids appropriation by scientific experts.The development of the psychological well-being regulation is agood illustration of how social norms are contested and thenappropriated, and a critique of this appropriation shows how itcan be challenged.     

中等收入阶层幸福感测度及影响因素研究

基于2014年中国质量观测调查的数据,实证测度了转型时期中国中等收入阶层的幸福感,并运用统计描述、相关性分析以及结构方程模型等方法,从财富拥有、社会福利与个体能力三个维度分析了幸福感的影响因素与作用机制。研究结果表明:1中等收入阶层幸福感女性高于男性,农村人群高于城市人群,已婚人士高于未婚人士,在不同的年龄阶段、教育程度、职业类型以及家庭结构中,幸福感呈现明显差异;2个人目标实现能力、社会公平与物价稳定是影响中等收入阶层幸福感最为显著的因素,而家庭消费、消费环境以及社会治安是相对不显著的影响因素;3财富拥有、社会福利会以及个体能力三个维度的因素均与幸福感显著正相关,其中个体能力维度对幸福感的正向作用最大;个体能力除了直接正向作用于幸福感之外,还会通过正向地影响财富拥有及社会福利来间接作用幸福感。因此,当前中国中等收入阶层幸福感的关键影响因素在于个体能力维度。进一步优化经济社会发展结构与环境,为中产阶层个体能力展现提供公平畅通的渠道,是转型时期提升中等收入阶层幸福感的首要之义。