Five Freedoms of animal wellfare applied to dogs: perception, knowledge and practice of the population from Sinop - MT

Abstract

The term animal welfare, although is frequently used, does not have a precise definition. The scientific community is increasingly accepting that vertebrate animals indeed have consciousness and feelings, with emphasis on the genetic similarities between animal species, including humans. In order to facilitate the identification of the factors that affect and assist, respectively, the animal well being and defense, the Five Freedoms that outline animal welfare was created. This study aimed to assess the level of awareness, knowledge and practice about the welfare factors of dogs in different strata of Sinop city of Mato Grosso State population. Thus, a descriptive qualitative and quantitative study was performed in which 130 dog owners, older than 18 years of age, answered a semi-structured survey with 20 objective and multiple-choice questions. The people that answer the study tried to meet the needs of their animals, even those people who have never heard of animal welfare. Therefore, information related to animal rights and animal welfare need to be provided to the population of Sinop-MT.