Natural and artificial selection and suffering and well-being

INTRODUCTION In this essay I assume the existence of subjective states of suffering and wellbeing (welfare is often used as a synonym for well-being) in animals (Van Rooijen, 1981). For my opinion about the relation between suffering and well-being and the study of behavior, see Van Rooijen (1997). This article will compare suffering and well-being due to natural selection and suffering and well-being due to artificial selection. As far as I know this comparison is hardly made in literature. Lorz (1973, cited in Van Putten, 1981) has defined well-being of an animal as “Living in harmony with the environment and itself, both physically and psychologically.” In a healthy animal all bodily processes are tuned in with each other. We may say that the animal is in harmony with itself (its physiology is in harmony). However, healthy animals may suffer too. For instance, because their husbandry conditions are (or have been) too remote from the natural environment to which their wild counterpart has been adapted, as may be indicated by stereotypic behavior (Van Rooijen, 1984). During its phylogeny a species is adapted to its own natural environment. For instance, a polar bear is adapted to a polar environment. When the situation is not too extreme we may take the wellbeing of a polar bear in its natural situation for granted. However, a tropical bird will suffer under polar conditions. We may say that a polar bear is in harmony with a polar environment and a tropical bird with a tropical environment. In a similar way a camel is adapted to (in harmony with) an environment with little water while a whale is adapted to (in harmony with) an environment with plenty of water. When an animal is not in harmony with itself and/or with its environment we may assume that it suffers. When an animal is in harmony within itself and with its environment we may assume that it experiences well-being. We may distinguish predators and prey animals. Companion animals (cats, dogs, guinea pigs, rabbits, birds, fish, reptiles, etc.) are sometimes predators and sometimes prey animals. Farm animals are almost exclusively prey animals (horses, cows, goat, sheep, swine, hens, turkeys, rabbits, an exception are fur animals as minks and foxes). Laboratory animals may also be one of both types: dogs and cats are predators, rabbits, mice and rats are prey animals.