Horseman Susan V, Buller Henry, Mullan Siobhan, Knowles Toby G, Barr Alistair R S, Whay Helen R
a School of Veterinary Sciences, University of Bristol , Langford , Somerset , United Kingdom.
b School of Geography, University of Exeter , Exeter , United Kingdom.
J Appl Anim Welf Sci. 2017 Jan-Mar;20(1):9-23. doi: 10.1080/10888705.2016.1197776. Epub 2016 Jul 14.
Investigating how those responsible for the care of nonhuman animals understand the concept of animal welfare is important for animal welfare improvement. In-depth interviews with 31 equine stakeholders were used to explore their perceptions and understanding of welfare. The results showed the stakeholders understood the concept of welfare in 4 ways. Firstly, welfare was understood in terms of the provision of resources-for example, food. Secondly, a "horse-centered" understanding of welfare was articulated; this understanding included the horses' mental state and was linked to natural behavior. Thirdly, the word welfare had negative connotations, and for some, good welfare was achieved through avoidance of negative states. Finally, interviewees discussed incidents that occurred in their own familiar contexts but suggested that these were not welfare problems. Evidence indicated that the ways in which equine stakeholders understood the concept of welfare might have been acting as a barrier to the alleviation of some equine welfare problems. There is a need for strategies aimed at improving equine welfare to consider stakeholder constructs of welfare and the ways in which these constructs are generated and acted upon.
研究负责照料非人类动物的人员如何理解动物福利概念对于改善动物福利至关重要。通过对31位马产业利益相关者进行深入访谈，以探究他们对福利的看法和理解。结果表明，利益相关者从4个方面理解福利概念。首先，福利被理解为资源的提供，例如食物。其次，阐述了一种“以马为中心”的福利理解；这种理解包括马的精神状态，并与自然行为相关联。第三，福利一词有负面含义，对一些人来说，良好的福利是通过避免负面状态来实现的。最后，受访者讨论了在他们自己熟悉的环境中发生的事件，但表示这些并非福利问题。有证据表明，马产业利益相关者理解福利概念的方式可能已成为缓解某些马福利问题的障碍。需要制定旨在改善马福利的策略，以考虑利益相关者对福利的构建以及这些构建的产生方式和作用方式。
