In nature, animals need to actively engage with the environment in order to prosper in survival and reproduction. Hence, agency is a central adaptive characteristic of animal life. In this paper, I propose that from the adaptive/functional point of view, four levels of agency can be distinguished, namely passive/reactive agency (animal being behaviourally passive or purely reactive), action-driven agency (animal behaviourally pursuing current desirable outcomes), competence-building agency (animal engaging with the environment to gain skills and information for future use) and aspirational agency (the animal achieving long-term goals through planning and autobiographical reflection). Recent progress in affective neurobiology indicates that each tier of agency is supported by a different type of affective functioning, at least in the case of mammals. Furthermore, the particular agency levels can be linked to distinct degrees of awareness as defined by recent selfhood theories. Based on this coupling between agency adaptive functioning, affective neurobiology and animal awareness levels, I examine several links between animal agency and animal welfare, including the notion of animal boredom, and discuss how animal agency might be promoted in the restrictive frameworks of intensive animal farming.

Diabetes requires challenging lifelong dietary management, affects quality of life and heightens the impact of affective functioning. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between Nutrition Quality of Life (NQOL) and affective functioning in a sample of Omani patients with type 2 diabetes. A sample of 149 adults with type 2 diabetes was conveniently recruited from seven Primary Health Centers (PHCs) during follow-up visits. Data were gathered via face-to-face interviews. Pearson correlation and χ2 test of independence were applied to examine associations at P < 0⋅05. Most patients had poor glycemic control (71⋅1 %), BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 (85⋅2 %) and central obesity (75⋅8 %), and moderate (54⋅4 %) and poor (32⋅9 %) level of NQOL. Based on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), 16⋅1 and 23⋅5 % of the sample endorsed the presence of anxiety and depression, respectively. A significant negative correlation was found between NQOL and HADS (r −0⋅590, P = 0⋅000), anxiety (r −0⋅597, P = 0⋅000) and depression (r −0⋅435, P = 0⋅000). There was a significant association between NQOL and HADS, χ2 (2) = 38⋅21, P < 0⋅01 that was large, Cramer's V = 0⋅51. Also, there were significant associations (P < 0⋅01) between NQOL and HADS when controlling for HbA1c, BMI, waist circumference and HMNT that were moderately to largely strong, Cramer's V = 0⋅43–0⋅55. There is an evident association between NQOL and affective functioning in adults with type 2 diabetes. Further research is recommended to confirm these relationships and to guide intervention programmes at PHCs to help improve the general quality of life of such patients.