We are an unusual organisation in that we provide rescue, rehabilitation, rehoming, release, education, public information, prevention, investigation and prosecution activities as well as our evidence, advocacy and campaigning work—and our farmed animal welfare assurance scheme. Our work is delivered through a family for independent branches, our centres and the national ‘hub’ organisation.
This means we balance priorities across different functions and audiences. For example our priorities for our education work might be different from that for our rescue work, or our campaigning work. However in general the factors we consider are the severity, scale and duration of suffering (we use the 5 domains model as the basis for our welfare assessment), and then internal and external factors such as our skill sets and specialisms, the work of other organisations, the likelihood of achieving change and the timescales. We strive to have a data and insight informed approach, but this can be challenging. For example one of our specialisms is around animal neglect, whilst there is some data and evidence around contributing factors to neglect, there is very little research into the comparative effectiveness of different interventions. We also try to contribute to the sector as a whole, so for example when we identify a data or evidence gap, like the one just mentioned, we think about how we could contribute to filling that gap.
We also try to take an ambitious-pragmatism approach to creating change—challenging ourselves to consider what will be the most effective route to creating change.
What are the Five Domains?
The Five Domains framework is a way of thinking about animal welfare – going beyond just eliminating or minimising negative experiences to achieve a neutral state of animal welfare and encouraging positive experiences in four functional domains, with the idea being an output is the fifth domain, a mental domain.
To determine an animal’s wellbeing the following should be considered:
Nutrition
Environment
Health
Behavioural interactions
Mental State
For every physical experience an animal has, there may also be an effect on their mental wellbeing.
What process does the RSPCA use to decide what their top priorities are?
We are an unusual organisation in that we provide rescue, rehabilitation, rehoming, release, education, public information, prevention, investigation and prosecution activities as well as our evidence, advocacy and campaigning work—and our farmed animal welfare assurance scheme. Our work is delivered through a family for independent branches, our centres and the national ‘hub’ organisation.
This means we balance priorities across different functions and audiences. For example our priorities for our education work might be different from that for our rescue work, or our campaigning work. However in general the factors we consider are the severity, scale and duration of suffering (we use the 5 domains model as the basis for our welfare assessment), and then internal and external factors such as our skill sets and specialisms, the work of other organisations, the likelihood of achieving change and the timescales. We strive to have a data and insight informed approach, but this can be challenging. For example one of our specialisms is around animal neglect, whilst there is some data and evidence around contributing factors to neglect, there is very little research into the comparative effectiveness of different interventions. We also try to contribute to the sector as a whole, so for example when we identify a data or evidence gap, like the one just mentioned, we think about how we could contribute to filling that gap.
We also try to take an ambitious-pragmatism approach to creating change—challenging ourselves to consider what will be the most effective route to creating change.
Some context around the 5 domains (I think):
What are the Five Domains? The Five Domains framework is a way of thinking about animal welfare – going beyond just eliminating or minimising negative experiences to achieve a neutral state of animal welfare and encouraging positive experiences in four functional domains, with the idea being an output is the fifth domain, a mental domain. To determine an animal’s wellbeing the following should be considered: Nutrition Environment Health Behavioural interactions Mental State For every physical experience an animal has, there may also be an effect on their mental wellbeing.
link here: https://www.rspcaqld.org.au/blog/animal-welfare/the-five-domains#:~:text=The Five Domains framework is,fifth domain%2C a mental domain.