The Five Domains Model: A Modern Welfare Framework

The Five Domains model has largely superseded the Five Freedoms as the gold standard framework for assessing animal welfare. Understanding it transforms how we evaluate animal care.

Key Facts

The Five Domains model was developed by Professor David Mellor in New Zealand in the 1990s and updated in 2017
It replaces the negative-focused Five Freedoms with a model that includes positive welfare states
The five domains are: Nutrition, Physical Environment, Health, Behaviour, and Mental State
The Mental State domain captures the subjective experience of animals — absent from the original Five Freedoms
The model requires assessing both negative and positive welfare indicators in each domain
It is used by zoos, farms, shelters, and research institutions globally as a welfare audit tool

Welfare Considerations

The shift from Five Freedoms to Five Domains represents a maturation of welfare science. The Five Freedoms, developed in the 1960s, focused on minimising suffering — a valuable but incomplete framework. The Five Domains explicitly recognises that good welfare requires positive states (pleasure, engagement, curiosity, calm) not merely the absence of negative ones. Practically, this means welfare assessors must ask not just whether an animal is free from pain, but whether it experiences positive behavioural opportunities, satisfying social interactions, and a mental state that includes positive affect. This demands richer environments and more nuanced monitoring.

What You Can Do

Share the Five Domains framework with farmers, shelter workers, and pet owners in your network
Advocate for Five Domains assessment to replace Five Freedoms in farming welfare audits
Support research that develops validated positive welfare indicators for different species
Ask zoos, shelters, and farms you visit whether they use the Five Domains model in assessments
Include positive welfare provisions in any animals you care for — not just the absence of suffering