This session first distinguishes animal welfare from animal protection advocacy, and uses the internationally recognised Five Freedoms as the assessment framework.

This session first distinguishes animal welfare from animal protection advocacy, and uses the internationally recognised Five Freedoms as the assessment framework. The principles are not law, but they help frontline officers link observable signs — chronic lack of food or water, falling body condition score (BCS), and prolonged confinement without room to stretch — to verifiable welfare deficits, rather than relying on personal feeling. The first freedom is freedom from hunger and thirst: animals must have adequate food and water. Lack of water kills faster than lack of food, so both body condition and hydration should be assessed.