14 Jul 2020
Lockdown measures may have seen people spend more time with their pets, but research shows a gap in what owners should know about their needs.
Paul Imrie
Job Title
Image © beavera / Adobe Stock
Lack of owner knowledge around the welfare needs of pets came top in a study of the most pressing welfare issues facing farm and companion animals.
The Animal Welfare Foundation (AWF) commissioned a study, published under peer review on 6 July, in which 117 animal welfare experts were asked to survey and rank issues.
The study found a gap in owner knowledge as the overarching theme across all of the domestic species looked at, which included dogs, cats, rabbits, horses, poultry and pigs.
Led by Cathy Dwyer and the late Fiona C Rioha-Lang of the Jeanne Marchig International Centre for Animal Welfare Education, at The University of Edinburgh Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, the study used a modified Delphi approach to pinpoint the most pressing welfare issues.
Prof Dwyer said: “Some potential animal owners do not give a lot of thought, or do much research, before acquiring a pet, so sometimes have little real knowledge about what normal behaviour, responses and even feeding habits look like, and the potential costs, of their pets.
“There is also a lot of conflicting information about for owners, especially I think in the area of training, so it can be hard for owners to be sure that they are accessing good-quality information.
“For animal keepers that have inherited knowledge or where knowledge has been passed down through generations, information can be out of date, but it can be hard to change those approaches.”
In her paper, entitled “Prioritisation of animal welfare issues in the UK”, Prof Dwyer explained knowledge appeared to be available, but was not always adequately communicated and understood by animal owners or keepers.
She added: “Education is very important, and finding ways for owners to access good-quality information – ideally before they buy their animals – is essential.
“This is a key role that vets can play in helping owners provide good welfare for their animals. It has been a great project that has produced a lot of what I hope is useful data.”
The AWF will use the study to help shape future work, as well as inform how grants for further animal welfare research is provided in the future.
