Can Animal Welfare Be Measured, or Is It Still a Matter of Perception?

When we see a free-roaming dog resting outside a hotel, a group of cats living near a restaurant, or animals moving through a tourism destination, it is easy to make assumptions.

"They look healthy."

"They seem happy."

"The community takes care of them."

Or perhaps the opposite:

"This looks like a serious animal welfare problem."

Perception can be an important starting point. It can help us recognize when something deserves attention.

But perception alone does not provide a consistent way to understand animal welfare, compare conditions or determine whether things are improving over time.

This raises an important question:

Can animal welfare actually be measured?

Increasingly, animal welfare science says yes.

Not by relying on a single observation or whether an animal simply appears to be fine, but by using structured frameworks that consider multiple aspects of an animal's physical and mental wellbeing.

One of the most recognized approaches is the Five Domains Model of Animal Welfare.

What Are the Five Domains?

The Five Domains Model provides a structured way of considering an animal's overall welfare.

Rather than focusing only on whether an animal is surviving, the model considers the experiences that contribute to its overall quality of life.

1. Nutrition

Nutrition considers access to sufficient and appropriate food and water.

For free-roaming and stray cats and dogs, this can be complex. Animals may rely on residents, visitors, businesses, scavenging or organized feeding programs.

Questions may include:

• Is access to food and water reasonably consistent?
• Are animals showing signs of poor nutritional condition?
• Are feeding practices supporting wellbeing?
• Could current practices be creating unintended risks?

The goal is not simply to provide more food. It is to understand whether the overall approach supports animal wellbeing.

2. Environment

The environment in which an animal lives can have a significant influence on its welfare.

For free-roaming and stray cats and dogs, this may include:

• Shelter and protection from weather
• Exposure to traffic and other hazards
• Safe places to rest
• Overcrowding
• Access to appropriate spaces
• Risks within the surrounding community

Every tourism destination is different. An island, beach community, historic city or resort destination may present very different conditions.

Understanding the environment can help identify practical opportunities for improvement.

3. Health

Health considers injury, disease, pain and access to appropriate veterinary care.

For CANDi, this may include understanding:

• Sterilization
• Vaccination
• Access to veterinary treatment
• Disease prevention
• Injury and illness
• Parasite management
• Humane population management

Health is not simply a question of whether an organization is present in a destination.

It is also important to understand whether there is sufficient veterinary capacity and a sustainable approach to ongoing care.

4. Behavioural Interactions

Animals need opportunities to interact with their environment, other animals and people in ways that are appropriate to their species and individual circumstances.

This is particularly relevant in tourism destinations.

Visitors may feed animals, approach them, photograph them or attempt to interact with them. These interactions can influence animal welfare in both positive and negative ways.

Questions may include:

• Are interactions creating stress or conflict?
• Are animals able to move away from unwanted interactions?
• Are feeding and interaction practices being managed responsibly?
• Are human activities changing normal behaviour?
• Are there opportunities for positive and appropriate interactions?

Human behaviour is part of the environment in which free-roaming and stray cats and dogs live.

Understanding those interactions is an important part of Humane Tourism.

5. Mental State

The fifth domain brings the other four together.

An animal's mental state reflects the experiences created by its nutrition, environment, health and behavioural interactions.

This is one of the important shifts in modern animal welfare thinking.

The question is not simply:

Is the animal surviving?

It is also:

"What kind of life is the animal experiencing?"

The Five Domains Model recognizes the importance of reducing negative experiences while also considering the conditions that may contribute to positive welfare.

Why Does This Matter for Humane Tourism?

Tourism destinations often have their own informal understanding of the cats and dogs living in their communities.

Some animals may be known and cared for by residents. Others may be supported through local initiatives or veterinary programs. Some destinations may have established sterilization and vaccination efforts, while others have limited veterinary access.

But without a structured approach, it can be difficult to answer important questions:

• What are the current conditions affecting free-roaming and stray cats and dogs?
• Where are the greatest needs?
• What should be prioritized?
• Are current programs improving outcomes?
• Are conditions changing over time?

This is where measurement becomes valuable.

Measurement does not mean reducing animal welfare to a single score.

It means developing a clearer understanding of the starting point, identifying opportunities for improvement and monitoring progress over time.

Moving From Perception to Understanding

The Five Domains Model is an established animal welfare framework. However, applying animal welfare principles to free-roaming cat and dog populations across an entire tourism destination presents additional challenges.

Unlike animals living under centralized human care, free-roaming animals may move throughout a community, access resources from multiple sources and experience very different conditions from one animal to another.

There is an opportunity to explore how established animal welfare principles can be thoughtfully adapted to these realities.

For CANDi, this means looking beyond a single issue or intervention.

Sterilization is important. Veterinary care is important. Vaccination and responsible population management are important.

But understanding overall conditions requires a broader view.

A practical Humane Tourism approach may consider:

• Animal welfare
• Population management
• Veterinary capacity
• Community conditions
• Human and animal interactions
• Tourism activities
• Local resources
• Long-term sustainability

Together, these areas can help create a clearer picture of what is happening within a destination and where meaningful improvements may be possible.

What CANDi Is Exploring

At CANDi, we believe Humane Tourism should be informed by more than good intentions or perception.

We are exploring how established animal welfare principles, including the Five Domains Model, can help inform practical approaches to understanding the conditions affecting free-roaming and stray cats and dogs in tourism destinations.

This does not mean applying an existing model without adaptation.

It means asking how established animal welfare science can be considered alongside humane population management, veterinary knowledge, community realities and destination conditions.

Our goal is to support a more informed approach that can help destinations:

• Establish a clearer understanding of local conditions
• Identify priorities for improvement
• Support practical and humane solutions
• Monitor progress over time
• Better understand the outcomes of Humane Tourism initiatives

Because the question should not simply be:

Are we doing something?

It should also be:

"What are we learning, and are conditions improving?"

As Humane Tourism continues to develop, measurement will play an increasingly important role.

The more clearly we understand the conditions affecting free-roaming and stray cats and dogs, the better positioned we are to identify practical opportunities for improvement.

At CANDi, that is part of what Humane Tourism means.

Understanding the destination. Identifying practical opportunities. Supporting meaningful progress.