Animal welfare: concepts and measurement

Broom's influential paper defined animal welfare as an animal's state regarding its attempts to cope with its environment, a definition that is scientific and measurable rather than purely emotive. He argued welfare ranges continuously from very poor to very good and can be assessed using indicators such as physiological stress responses, behaviour, health, immunity and reproductive success. The framework allowed welfare to be studied objectively and compared across conditions. Though not felid-specific, it underpins virtually all subsequent captive-cat welfare research, providing the conceptual basis for combining cortisol, stereotypy, body condition and breeding data into integrated welfare assessments. It remains one of the most cited definitions in the field.