Inaugural Conference - June 2002

Paul Koene¹ and Bart Gremmen²

1. Ethology Group, Department of Animal Sciences, Wageningen University, Marijkeweg 40, 6709 PG Wageningen, The Netherlands
2. Applied Philosophy group, Department of Social Sciences, Wageningen University, Hollandseweg 1, 6706 KN Wageningen, the Netherlands

Living a natural life has its pros (freedom) and its cons (predators). What is animal welfare of wild animals as compared to domesticated ones? How much care must be given to animals returned to nature? In the discussions concerning animal welfare of and human care for large domesticated herbivores in nature reserves, the term potential wildness is used to predict whether animals can become wild again when back in nature. The potential wildness is related to the degree of irreversible changes that animals underwent during the domestication process. Those changes are of genetic, environmental and cultural origin. For introduction of domesticated animals in nature reserves those breeds are selected that have a low degree of domestication and a high potential wildness. It is
proposed that human care is dependent on the grazers’ potential wildness. If the potential wildness is maximal, animals must be seen as wild animals and no human care has to be given, as for example to feral horses. Until methods for measuring animal welfare and freedom are developed, a hands-off policy concerning such animals is implied. The study of dedomestication of large herbivores can build a bridge between concepts of domestic and wild animal welfare and freedom.

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