The use of low stress, force and fear free handling techniques is less stressful for animals than more forceful handling or restraint. Using handling techniques which minimise fear, anxiety, and stress is important for companion animal welfare.

When fear and stress are minimised, animals are calmer and more willing to interact with people, resulting in safer and more successful interactions.

Animals benefit from early socialisation and reward-based training and these approaches can be used to encourage them to participate voluntarily with routine handling.

SPCA supports cooperative care approaches where animals are trained to voluntarily participate in handling and care.

Cooperative care involves training an animal to not only tolerate handling and animal care procedures, but to be an active, willing participant in these experiences. Using cooperative care techniques, animals can be trained to participate in handling and day to day care, including training them to allow examinations, take medications, walk onto a scale, claw trimming and other grooming procedures.

SPCA advocates that where restraint of a companion animal is required, the minimal amount of restraint required should be used.

Where an animal must be restrained as part of a necessary handling procedure, they should be allowed to choose the position they hold their head or body, including their limbs, and be allowed to change these positions whilst being handled. This can reduce how much an animal struggles and leads to fewer indicators of fear, anxiety, and distress than more forceful restraint. Where an animal needs to be restrained in a manner where they cannot choose their position, the minimal restraint needed to allow the task to be performed safely should be used.

Some restraint techniques may exacerbate existing health conditions (e.g. respiratory problems). For example, brachycephalic (flat‐faced) animals and those with existing respiratory problems, or glaucoma and protruding eyes are particularly at risk of welfare harm such as breathlessness (‘air hunger’) or high intraocular (eye) pressure.

SPCA opposes the scruffing of cats and other companion species.

‘Scruffing’ describes a method of restraint where a person uses their hands or a clip to firmly grip an animal by the loose skin at the back of the neck to induce an immobility response. Cats and other companion animals must not be scruffed to restrain or lift them, as this causes pain and distress. The forceful restraint imposed by scruffing by hand or with a clip, or in full body restraint is stressful for animals.

SPCA considers that scruffing, use of skin clips, and use of full body restraint are no longer acceptable to use during veterinary examinations. Scruffing will often cause the animal to be fearful and panic and provoke or escalate defensive aggression.

SPCA opposes handling techniques used to induce tonic immobility.

Tonic immobility is a state of temporary paralysis triggered in response to an inescapable stressor. This is an involuntary defensive response found in many species and typically induced by restraint and inversion. Handling methods used to induce this state in rabbits are commonly referred to as ‘trancing’ or ‘hypnotising’.

Inducing tonic immobility should not be used to restrain rabbits or other species. Animals in a state of tonic immobility show signs of stress including increased heart and respiratory rates and elevated cortisol (stress hormone) levels.

SPCA advocates for veterinary clinics to adopt Fear Free® and Low Stress Handling® principles to reduce stress associated with veterinary visits.

Visiting the veterinary clinic and veterinary examinations can cause fear, anxiety and stress for both companion animals and their owners. People may be reluctant to bring their companion animal into the veterinary clinic for routine veterinary care if this a stressful experience for the animal. This can act as a barrier to accessing routine veterinary care such as vaccinations and cause owners to delay or forgo necessary veterinary treatments.

Owners can also take steps at home to reduce the stress associated with veterinary visits.

SPCA supports free or low-cost Fear Free® and Low Stress Handling® education for animal shelters.

The shelter environment is inherently stressful. Use of Fear Free® and Low Stress Handling® can support reduced animal stress during handling and risk of injury to animals, staff and volunteers. While initial examinations may take longer using Fear Free or Low Stress handling methods, use of these techniques reduces fear and stress in animals leading to increases in efficiency and safety in future interactions.