Ly Lexis H, Gordon Emilia, Protopopova Alexandra
Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
The British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Front Vet Sci. 2021 Mar 10;8:656597. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2021.656597. eCollection 2021.
Previous studies identify owner-related issues, such as cost and housing, as common reasons for relinquishment of companion animals to animal shelters. It is likely that the burden of surrendering for owner-related reasons falls on those who are socially vulnerable (e.g., low income, unemployed); however, very few studies have assessed social determinants as a predictor of animal relinquishment. The present study used the Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation (CIMD), which uses four factors of social vulnerability (Ethnocultural Composition, Economic Dependency, Residential Instability, and Situational Vulnerability) to predict risk of surrender for various reasons, of various species and breeds, and of various health statuses across British Columbia, Canada ( = 29,236). We found that CIMD factors predicted increased risk of surrender across many shelter variables. For further understanding of differences between areas in the province, the present study also analyzed the relationship between CIMD factors and animal surrender variables in two areas of interest: Metro Vancouver ( = 3,445) and Kamloops ( = 2,665), and plotted these relationships on a geospatial scale. We found that there were some similarities across areas, such as Situational Vulnerability predicting increased odds of surrendering pit bull-labeled dogs vs. all other dog breeds. There were also differences in predictors of animal surrender variables, suggesting that provision of animal services, such as veterinary care, for vulnerable groups may be specific to location. For example, whereas Ethnocultural Composition predicted increased risk of owner surrender for multiple owner-related reasons in Metro Vancouver, these same reasons for surrender were predicted by Residential Instability in Kamloops, indicating demographic differences that affect animal shelter service use. The results of this research validate the use of geospatial analysis to understand relationships between human vulnerability and animal welfare, but also highlight the need for further interventions in marginalized populations to increase retention of animals.
以往的研究表明，与主人相关的问题，如成本和住房，是伴侣动物被送到动物收容所的常见原因。因与主人相关的原因而交出动物的负担很可能落在社会弱势群体（如低收入、失业者）身上；然而，很少有研究将社会决定因素作为动物交出的预测指标。本研究使用了加拿大多重贫困指数（CIMD），该指数利用社会脆弱性的四个因素（种族文化构成、经济依赖、居住不稳定和情境脆弱性）来预测加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚省（n = 29,236）各种原因、各种物种和品种以及各种健康状况下动物被交出的风险。我们发现，CIMD因素预测了许多收容所变量下动物被交出风险的增加。为了进一步了解该省不同地区之间的差异，本研究还分析了CIMD因素与两个感兴趣地区（大温哥华地区，n = 3,445；坎卢普斯，n = 2,665）的动物交出变量之间的关系，并在地理空间尺度上绘制了这些关系。我们发现不同地区之间存在一些相似之处，例如情境脆弱性表明，与所有其他犬种相比，被贴上比特斗牛梗标签的犬只被交出的几率增加。动物交出变量的预测因素也存在差异，这表明为弱势群体提供动物服务（如兽医护理）可能因地点而异。例如，在大温哥华地区，种族文化构成预测因多种与主人相关的原因而主人交出动物的风险增加，而在坎卢普斯，这些相同的交出原因则由居住不稳定预测，这表明影响动物收容所服务使用的人口统计学差异。本研究的结果验证了使用地理空间分析来理解人类脆弱性与动物福利之间关系的有效性，但也强调了对边缘化人群进行进一步干预以提高动物饲养率的必要性。
