Belief in Animal Sentience and Affective Owner Attitudes are linked to Positive Working Equid Welfare across Six Countries

Haddy, Emily; Burden, Faith; Raw, Zoe; Rodrigues, João B.; Zappi Bello, Jaime Humberto; Brown, Julia; Kaminski, Juliane; Proops, Leanne

doi:10.1080/10888705.2023.2228029

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 58 publications

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“…This is the first study that investigated the personnel’s education related to animal welfare, an important issue because of the well-known link between the quality of the human–animal relationship and animal welfare [ 27 ]. However, countless factors, both related to the animal and to the handlers, can influence the quality of this relationship and, consequently, the animal’s welfare state [ 28 , 29 ]. Only a minority of the facilities had frequent collaboration with a veterinarian trained in AAIs, with an on-site presence of more than once a month; in the remaining facilities, such collaboration was either absent or sporadic, occurring less than once a month.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Management of Donkeys in Assisted Interventions: A Snapshot

Sobrero,

Dalla Costa,

Minero

2024

Animals

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People working in the field of Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAIs) often state that they perceive animal welfare as a matter of paramount importance; nevertheless, most scientific literature focuses on the effectiveness of interventions from the user’s perspective. Before focusing on the animals’ management and welfare during their interactions with users, it is important to ensure animal welfare during their “ordinary lives”. This article reports information and considerations about the management of donkeys involved in AAIs in Northern Italy. Six facilities with several years of experience in Donkey-Assisted Interventions were visited for the purpose of an initial data collection regarding the management of donkeys involved in AAIs. Some knowledge gaps regarding the nutritional needs of the donkey and its preventive medicine have been identified; this study also highlighted a need for efforts to create a more stimulating and enriched environment for animals involved in AAIs. Some possible areas for improvement in the management of donkeys involved in AAIs have been highlighted. Further studies are necessary to provide a more comprehensive picture of the welfare of donkeys involved in this context.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Management of Donkeys in Assisted Interventions: A Snapshot

Sobrero,

Dalla Costa,

Minero

2024

Animals

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Exploring the relationship between horse-owner attributes and their approach to horse training

Bartlett,

Blackwell,

Cameron

et al. 2024

Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science

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‘I want to be the sort of owner that he wants me to be’: Rationales for biosecurity implementation among British horse owners

Spence,

Rosanowski,

Slater

et al. 2024

Equine Veterinary Journal

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BackgroundHorse owners play a critical role in mitigating the risk of pathogen spread between horses. However, little is known about how they view biosecurity and whether they experience barriers to the uptake of preventive measures.ObjectivesTo explore horse owners' attitudes, perceptions, and experiences of biosecurity and identify how these factors shape horse owners' decisions for biosecurity implementation.Study designQualitative study using semi‐structured interviews.MethodsInterviews were conducted with 23 horse owners across Great Britain. Participants were purposively selected to include those in different geographic regions, with different management arrangements, and varied length of horse ownership experience. Interviews were audio‐recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using a critical realist thematic analysis.ResultsParticipants felt a moral obligation to prioritise their horse's happiness, which became a challenge when certain biosecurity measures (e.g., quarantine) were perceived as compromising their horse's happiness or comfort (Theme 1). A lack of biosecurity was the social norm among shared yards and competition venues (Theme 2), which made it difficult for participants to implement biosecurity measures effectively on their own. Combined with the sense of moral obligation participants felt towards their horse, this meant that participants had to ‘care double’ (i.e., be more vigilant than they would otherwise) to compensate for collective inaction (Theme 3).Main limitationsParticipants may have been more interested in and/or knowledgeable about biosecurity than the general horse owning population.ConclusionsThe findings highlight several challenges that could be addressed to improve biosecurity implementation among horse owners. Efforts to encourage improved uptake of biosecurity measures should focus on communicating how reducing the risk of disease aligns with horse care. Further research on social norms in the horse industry is needed, in addition to identifying strategies to encourage a collective adoption of biosecurity measures.

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Belief in Animal Sentience and Affective Owner Attitudes are linked to Positive Working Equid Welfare across Six Countries

Cited by 4 publications

References 58 publications

Management of Donkeys in Assisted Interventions: A Snapshot

Management of Donkeys in Assisted Interventions: A Snapshot

Exploring the relationship between horse-owner attributes and their approach to horse training

‘I want to be the sort of owner that he wants me to be’: Rationales for biosecurity implementation among British horse owners

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