Horseman Susan V, Hockenhull Jo, Buller Henry, Mullan Siobhan, Barr Alistair R S, Whay Helen R
a School of Veterinary Sciences , University of Bristol , Langford , Somerset , England.
b Department of Geography , University of Exeter , Exeter , England.
J Appl Anim Welf Sci. 2017 Apr-Jun;20(2):176-191. doi: 10.1080/10888705.2017.1283226. Epub 2017 Feb 15.
The equine industry in Great Britain has not been subject to the same pressures as the farming industry to engage with welfare assessment, but this may change as concern about equine welfare increases. Stakeholder attitudes toward welfare assessment may impact the implementation of welfare assessment practices. Focus-group discussions regarding welfare assessment were conducted with 6 equine stakeholder groups: leisure horse owners (caregivers; n = 4), grooms (n = 5), veterinary surgeons (n = 3), welfare scientists (n = 4), welfare charity workers (n = 5), and professional riders (n = 4). Three themes emerged from the discussions: (a) Participants predominantly interpreted welfare assessment as a means of identifying and correcting poor welfare in an immediate way; (b) participants believed that horse welfare varied over time; and (c) attributes of the assessor were viewed as an important consideration for equine welfare assessment. The views of equine industry members give insight into the value welfare assessments may have to the industry and how equine welfare assessment approaches can achieve credibility within the industry and increase the positive impact of welfare assessments on equine welfare.
英国的养马业没有像农业那样面临参与福利评估的相同压力，但随着对马匹福利的关注度增加，这种情况可能会改变。利益相关者对福利评估的态度可能会影响福利评估实践的实施。针对6个马匹利益相关者群体进行了关于福利评估的焦点小组讨论：休闲马主（照顾者；n = 4）、马夫（n = 5）、兽医（n = 3）、福利科学家（n = 4）、福利慈善工作者（n = 5）和职业骑手（n = 4）。讨论中出现了三个主题：（a）参与者主要将福利评估解释为一种立即识别和纠正不良福利的手段；（b）参与者认为马匹福利随时间变化；（c）评估者的属性被视为马匹福利评估的一个重要考虑因素。养马业成员的观点有助于深入了解福利评估对该行业可能具有的价值，以及马匹福利评估方法如何在行业内获得可信度，并增加福利评估对马匹福利的积极影响。
