**1. Introduction**

Disturbance has been defined as "a change in conditions which interferes with the normal functioning of a biological system" [1]. A "disturbed habitat" is an ecological concept indicating a temporary change in environmental conditions, which causes a pronounced change in the ecosystem. Disturbances can be human-caused or natural. Human disturbances include plowing, digging, construction activities, mowing, spraying weed-killing chemicals, clearing land for a garden, burning, severe livestock overgrazing, and so on. Natural disturbances include lightning strikes and fire; temperature changes, strong winds, ice storms, and tornadoes that topple or damage trees, heavy rain, flooding, hail, and erosion; and drought and earthquakes.

The existence of relationships between the changes in the environment and health is well known, and it has been documented by numerous scientific studies conducted over the past half century within all animal species and humans. Moreover, it has become generally accepted that poor health conditions can produce behavioral alterations and consequently affect the quality and safety of animal products.

In the recent years, consumers paid a great attention to the health and welfare of reared animal species. In 2007, in the article 13 of the Lisbon Treaty [2], the European Union has recognized animals as "sentient beings," capable of feeling pleasure and pain. The OIE code recognizes the "Five Freedoms" as valuable guidance in farm animal welfare/health [3]. The Five Freedoms concept analyzes the main domains related to the raising and handling of animals like feeding/nutrition, housing, health, and behavior, and it is used by various animal welfare standards to assess the animals' conditions. They were formulated in the early 1990s and are now well recognized as highly influential in the animal welfare arena. However, a marked increase in scientific understanding over the last two decades shows that the Five Freedoms do not capture, either in the specifics or the generality of their expression, the breadth and depth of current knowledge of the biological processes that are germane to understanding animal welfare and to guiding its management [4].

**129**

**Figure 2.**

*The Disturbed Habitat and Its Effects on the Animal Population*

well beyond the basic survival needs of farm animals [4].

*Intensive livestock farming: (A) cattle, (B) pig, (C) horses, and (D) poultry.*

In fact, welfare criteria and parameters vary among and within species and depend directly on human utilitarian interests about them. The establishment and governance of animal care procedures impact directly on welfare of every managed species and should be carried out with "human care," thus anticipating and pre-

Advocacy groups often claim that animals in human care "only" deserve a good life "worth living." For animals to have "lives worth living," it is necessary, overall, to minimize their negative experiences and at the same time to provide them with opportunities to have positive experiences. To ensure this, during the last 10–20 years, national and international regulations or codes of welfare have increasingly included provisions that extend the welfare management focus to include elements

Stressing factors due to an unsuitable habitat may produce behavioral, biochemical, and endocrine modifications in all the individuals that may be monitored by a series of well-known stress indicators such as the hematological profile, adrenal

This chapter will discuss the pathological modifications affecting farm, zoo, and wild animals due to "disturbed habitat" addressing specific critical points (**Figure 1**) detected in standard breeding systems (**Figure 2**) for farm animals and species living in natural/semi-natural habitat for zoo/wild animals. Sections have been organized according to the following division: farm animals (cattle and small ruminants, pigs, equine species, poultry, and fish), zoo, and

hormones (cortisol and its metabolites), acute-phase proteins, and d-ROMs. Biochemical modifications may lead to morphological alterations clinically mani-

cisely estimating the resources to be provided to the animals by humans.

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84872*

fested or not.

wild species.

**Figure 1.** *Main critical points for animal welfare.*

### *The Disturbed Habitat and Its Effects on the Animal Population DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84872*

*Habitats of the World - Biodiversity and Threats*

The existence of relationships between the changes in the environment and health is well known, and it has been documented by numerous scientific studies conducted over the past half century within all animal species and humans. Moreover, it has become generally accepted that poor health conditions can produce behavioral alterations and consequently affect the quality and safety of animal products.

In the recent years, consumers paid a great attention to the health and welfare of reared animal species. In 2007, in the article 13 of the Lisbon Treaty [2], the European Union has recognized animals as "sentient beings," capable of feeling pleasure and pain. The OIE code recognizes the "Five Freedoms" as valuable guidance in farm animal welfare/health [3]. The Five Freedoms concept analyzes the main domains related to the raising and handling of animals like feeding/nutrition, housing, health, and behavior, and it is used by various animal welfare standards to assess the animals' conditions. They were formulated in the early 1990s and are now well recognized as highly influential in the animal welfare arena. However, a marked increase in scientific understanding over the last two decades shows that the Five Freedoms do not capture, either in the specifics or the generality of their expression, the breadth and depth of current knowledge of the biological processes that are germane to understanding animal welfare and to guiding its management [4].

**128**

**Figure 1.**

*Main critical points for animal welfare.*

In fact, welfare criteria and parameters vary among and within species and depend directly on human utilitarian interests about them. The establishment and governance of animal care procedures impact directly on welfare of every managed species and should be carried out with "human care," thus anticipating and precisely estimating the resources to be provided to the animals by humans.

Advocacy groups often claim that animals in human care "only" deserve a good life "worth living." For animals to have "lives worth living," it is necessary, overall, to minimize their negative experiences and at the same time to provide them with opportunities to have positive experiences. To ensure this, during the last 10–20 years, national and international regulations or codes of welfare have increasingly included provisions that extend the welfare management focus to include elements well beyond the basic survival needs of farm animals [4].

Stressing factors due to an unsuitable habitat may produce behavioral, biochemical, and endocrine modifications in all the individuals that may be monitored by a series of well-known stress indicators such as the hematological profile, adrenal hormones (cortisol and its metabolites), acute-phase proteins, and d-ROMs. Biochemical modifications may lead to morphological alterations clinically manifested or not.

This chapter will discuss the pathological modifications affecting farm, zoo, and wild animals due to "disturbed habitat" addressing specific critical points (**Figure 1**) detected in standard breeding systems (**Figure 2**) for farm animals and species living in natural/semi-natural habitat for zoo/wild animals. Sections have been organized according to the following division: farm animals (cattle and small ruminants, pigs, equine species, poultry, and fish), zoo, and wild species.

**Figure 2.** *Intensive livestock farming: (A) cattle, (B) pig, (C) horses, and (D) poultry.*
