In the animal world, it can be a real struggle to get an animal's approval and consent - really, we can only tell by body language, and sometimes that is tough to decipher. I was at a plaza a few weeks ago, and a man had his large puppy on a choke-collar. Certainly the dog was not 'consenting' to be choked every time he moved away from the man. Many birds are 'forced' into their cages when it's time to be put away. They don't 'consent' to go in their cages. Often, birds also don't consent to be touched or held by strangers - they're just small and it's easy to force them to do stuff.
Humans in prison don't have as many opportunities for consent - they are forced into cells as well - but usually because their rights haven't been taken away from them. Pets are born into a world with little 'consent' (even as much as we love them). They are born into a world where we force them into travel carriers or into the bath, where we pick them up and carry them into their little pens or cages. (Or they know they have no choice, so they go in 'voluntarily', wishing not to be touched and forced.)
The 'force free' movement is largely based on training animals (through Applied Behavioral Analysis/clicker training) to behave in certain ways so that they are set up to 'consent' to activities and interactions. I largely try to practice this - Isabelle goes into her cage because she 'consents' to do so - there are lots of treats and fresh toys in there, and she's curious and excited to see what she'll find. Ellie 'consents' to step onto her play stand through force free principles, because I've trained her to with a treat. Some people have trained their pets to comfortably and voluntarily go into carriers - and some have even trained them to go through vet visits (and get shots) on a voluntary, force-free basis! I will be the first to say I am not perfect, but I try very hard to adhere to this standard.
So - force-free trained pets are much, much happier pets!
Force-free, however, hasn't, I think, had the opportunity yet to address matters of free will. Humans still make the major choices for our pets, and then we train them to be comfortable with those choices--to voluntarily engage in them. I have always clipped my birds' wings because I have friends who have lost their birds through accidents - collisions with windows and fans, flying out of an accidentally-opened door. My birds appear to experience no distress during a clipping - and afterwards they get treats and then hop along on their way to the next fun activity.
I also choose to allow my birds--with their wings clipped and on non-breezy days--to sit with me in the garden, playing in the hose, or just watching butterflies. "Outside" is our vocabulary word for this - and it's their favorite activity, period. (I am constantly scanning the sky for predators, and we go inside if there is any threat. I understand that this is a controversial choice, but it is what it is.)
And I make this choice - they are allowed outside--there is some risk involved--and I clip their wings.
This week It Was Time again. Ellie's wings were getting longer, and I found the proud stinker everywhere - on top of doors, and across the room. It always makes me sad to clip their wings. I wish they could safely fly, but they love being outside with me, and--for me, at this point--being able to fly outside isn't an option. But I thought, "What if I could let her choose to either learn to fly or to have clipped wings and go outside?"
I never think these things are going to work - she's a bird, how could she understand the gravity of choosing clipped wings and going outside, or learning to fly, and being inside? But she's surprised me often enough that now I record our interactions, just in case!
One more word about consent - it is possible to consent, not knowing what one is consenting to. Isabelle can choose to go into her cage because it is fun, but is she really consenting to be in her cage for the following eight hours? So consent and informed consent are two vastly different things. The force-free/ABA model I think largely addresses 'consent' - the animal goes in the carrier, but is the animal really consenting to go to the vet? (Can the animal be given this health choice? Do they have the capacity to understand it?)
For the wing-clipping vs. flight issue with Ellie, I felt that a reminder of vocabulary terms combined with her past experience would make her consent more of the informed nature. As a baby, she learned to fly - and she flew for many months (maybe even a year). She also experiences clippings - she (one would assume, since she's a bright bird) understands that after a clip, she is no longer able to fly as far as she had before the clip.
So - I had her recall-fly to me a few times - and I told her "fly," so that she would understand the vocabulary word fly was linked to that behavior and ability. Then I brought out scissors and pretended to clip her wings. I said, "Clip wings!" several times so that she could have the opportunity to link the action with the knowledge of the consequence - clipped wings.
Then I created flash card sentences for her to read - "If Ellie fly, Ellie no go outside" and "If Ellie fly outside, Ellie could get hurt." I had her read them silently (I wasn't trying hard not to cue her - it wasn't a reading test - just trying to help her understand.) Then I had her choose the one I was reading.
Then I created flash cards that said, "Clipped wings = outside" and "Fly = inside" and paired the concept as well.
Then I asked her these questions and it was so interesting!!! :)
Here's the longer training video!
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