Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

• A quick online search suggests you can take a yoga class with just about any cute animal you like.
• As an animal welfare scientist, yoga with animals rings some alarm bells for me: it often seems to be focused on human wellbeing, with animal welfare an afterthought.
• But research shows how animal-assisted activities like this can be improved, and how we can all play a role in making animal welfare a higher priority.

Ethical issues exposed

• The ethics of animal yoga have been a hot topic since a a recent investigation in the United Kingdom exposed distressing practices.
• Puppies as young as six weeks old were denied sleep and water while working in puppy yoga sessions.
• Classes took place in hot rooms for hours at a time, with no capacity for the young pups to opt out of interactions.

How can science help?

• My research centres around understanding the animal experience and using this evidence to inform good practice and policies.
• Read more:
  Here's what the science says about animal sentience

  With that understanding comes a moral obligation for us to care for animals in a way that includes their mental experiences as well as their physical needs.

Social licence pressure

• The impact of community attitudes is sometimes called “social licence pressure”.
• When communities trust and accept that an operator is acting ethically and responsibly, the industry or individual has a “social licence to operate”.
• Increasingly, the idea of social licence is becoming relevant to our interactions with animals in contexts such as racing, farming, and now animal yoga.

Animal welfare assurance

• One approach to make animal-assisted activities more ethical is through “one health” and “one welfare” initiatives, which focus on the interconnectedness of human, animal and environmental wellbeing.
• For animal-reliant operations to be sustainable, they need be transparent and proactive in assuring the public that animal wellbeing is a priority.

The five domains of animal welfare

• When assessing indicators of animal welfare, scientists increasingly use the “five domains” framework.
• The first four domains are nutrition, physical environment, health, and behavioural interactions (with people, other animals and the environment).
• A young animal whose sleep is interrupted may feel worried, have reduced concentration, and be more prone to illness.

How to make change

• The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Kennel Club have condemned the yoga classes, and called on the parliamentary group that monitors animal welfare to ban the practice.
• Closer to home, we can all exert this kind of pressure through the choices we make.