School of Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
Vet Rec. 2012 Apr 28;170(17):442. doi: 10.1136/vr.100281. Epub 2012 Feb 13.
This paper explores the views of those in the Irish equine industry, organisations and government regarding necessary improvements to equine welfare in Ireland at unregulated gatherings and during the disposal process. Three qualitative research methods were employed, namely semistructured interviews, focus groups and a structured, facilitated workshop. Representatives from industry, welfare societies, socially disadvantaged groupings and government engaged with this process and shared their views regarding horse welfare and implementable solutions with merit to address welfare problems. A consensus was achieved that equine welfare in Ireland could be improved by the development of a comprehensive identification system, a Code of Practice for horse gatherings, a horse licensing scheme, ring-fenced funding to promote responsible, humane horse disposal and better means of raising awareness of the value of safeguarding horse welfare for the benefit of all parties.
本文探讨了爱尔兰赛马行业、组织和政府对在不受监管的集会和处置过程中改善爱尔兰马匹福利的看法。采用了三种定性研究方法，即半结构化访谈、焦点小组和结构化的、有引导的研讨会。来自行业、福利协会、社会弱势群体和政府的代表参与了这一过程，并就马匹福利和可行的解决方案分享了他们的观点，这些解决方案有改善福利问题的价值。与会者达成共识，认为通过开发一个全面的识别系统、一个马匹集会行为准则、一个马匹许可计划、专款用于促进负责任、人道地处置马匹，以及更好地提高各方对保护马匹福利价值的认识，可以改善爱尔兰的马匹福利。
