Objecthood, Agency and Mutualism in Valenced Farm Animal Environments

Selective breeding and intensive management of farm animals have increased their productivity. At the same time, the ability of the animal to cope with challenges from its environment has decreased. The manner in which the animal interacts with its environment influences its ability to cope. In recent models of brain function, neural tissue is understood to predict the sensations that arise from behavioural activities. The brain also predicts sensory input from physiological activities and from at least some activities of the immune system. An ability to predict and control sensory inputs provides the animal with agency, while a continuing discrepancy between predicted and actual sensory inputs leads to stress and negative emotional states. Through these processes, aspects of the environment acquire a negative or positive character: that is the environment becomes valenced. Predicting and controlling its environment gives the animal agency. Mutualism may represent a further step towards closer synchronisation between animal and environment. A better description of the environment from the animal’s perspective could improve our understanding of how cognition, behaviour, temperament, immune functions and metabolic activities are linked, and improve strategies to enhance farm animal welfare