Battery hens name their price: Consumer demand theory and the measurement of ethological `needs’
Publication Type: |
Journal Article |
Year of Publication: |
1983 |
Authors: |
Marian Stamp Dawkins |
Publication/Journal: |
Animal Behaviour |
Keywords: |
chickens, ethological needs |
ISBN: |
0003-3472 |
Abstract:
The concept of an ‘ethological need’ has assumed a prominent place in recent discussions of animal welfare, although the term itself is surrounded by confusion. It is here argued that some of this confusion might be overcome by applying consumer demand theory to some of the problems of animal welfare. As an example, the postulated `need’ of battery-caged hens to scratch and dustbathe is reinterpreted in this light, using the economic definition of a `necessity’. Two attempts to measure the value that hens put on access to litter are reported. In experiment 1, birds were required to make an instantaneous choice between food and litter under different degrees of food deprivation. In experiment 2, choices were observed over longer periods of time under changes of income (time available). In neither case was there evidence of hens regarding litter as a necessity but these results should be regarded only as preliminary.