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Scientific uncertainty — how should it be handled in relation to scientific advice regarding animal welfare issues?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2023

P Sandøe ,
B Forkman  and
SB Christiansen
P Sandøe*
Affiliation:
Centre for Bioethics and Risk Assessment, The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Grønnegårdsvej 8, DK-1870 Frederiksberg C, Denmark
B Forkman
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Science and Animal Health, The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Grønnegårdsvej 8, DK-1870 Frederiksberg C, Denmark
SB Christiansen
Affiliation:
Centre for Bioethics and Risk Assessment, The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Grønnegårdsvej 8, DK-1870 Frederiksberg C, Denmark
*
* Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints: pes@kvl.dk
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Abstract

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The provision of advice on animal welfare is an important part of the work of scientists in applied ethology, neurophysiology, veterinary epidemiology and other disciplines. Those who request guidance often expect advice that will help them to make progress in difficult discussions. Scientists want to live up to these expectations, but it is also important for them to clarify any scientific limitations. They are normally aware of limits to their advice, but these limits are sometimes not explicitly stated. Using the phrase broadly, we call this kind of limitation ‘scientific uncertainty’. We distinguish between the following four types of uncertainty: I) Ontological uncertainty, relating to the existence of animal feelings and other states relevant for animal welfare. 2) Conceptual uncertainty, stemming from the fact that some of the concepts used in animal welfare science are value-laden if used outside a narrow scientific context. 3) Lack of scientific evidence, stemming from a lack of scientific data on the problem in question. 4) Uncertainty about priorities, relating to the practical conclusions to be drawn in a situation with an open-ended set of ethical and other practical considerations. Scientific uncertainty is unavoidable. It is therefore essential, when giving scientific advice, to state the assumptions on which the advice is based. This makes scientific advice more objective, but also of more limited value to those who do not share the underlying assumptions.

Keywords

animal welfareobjectivityopennessscientific advicescientific uncertainty
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 13 , Issue S1: Science in the Service of Animal Welfare: Proceedings of the UFAW International Symposium, Edinburgh, 2-4 April 2003 , February 2004 , pp. S121 - S126
Copyright
© 2004 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

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