Giersberg Mona F, Meijboom Franck L B
Animals in Science and Society, Department Population Health Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands.
Agric Human Values. 2023 May 1:1-14. doi: 10.1007/s10460-023-10450-6.
Veterinarians are increasingly confronted with new technologies, such as Precision Livestock Farming (PLF), which allows for automated animal monitoring on commercial farms. At the same time, we lack information on how veterinarians, as stakeholders who may play a mediating role in the public debate on livestock farming, perceive the use and the impact of such technologies. This study explores the meaning veterinarians attribute to the application of PLF in the context of public concerns related to pig production. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with pig veterinarians located in the Netherlands and Germany. By using an inductive and semantic approach to reflexive thematic analysis, we developed four main themes from the interview data: (1) the advisory role of the veterinarian, which is characterized by a diverse scope, including advice on PLF, generally positive evaluations and financial dependencies; (2) the delineation of PLF technologies as supporting tools, which are seen as an addition to human animal care; (3) the relationship between veterinarian and farmer, which is context-related, ranging from taking sides with to distancing oneself from farmers; and (4) the distance between agriculture and society, in the context of which PLF has both a mitigating and reinforcing potential. The present findings indicate that veterinarians play an active role in the emerging field of PLF in livestock farming. They are aware of and reflect on competing interests of different groups in society and share positions with different stakeholders. However, the extent to which they are able to mediate between stakeholder groups in practice seems to be constrained by external factors, such as financial dependencies.
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10460-023-10450-6.
兽医越来越多地面临新技术，如精准畜牧养殖（PLF），这使得商业农场能够实现动物自动监测。与此同时，作为可能在关于畜牧养殖的公众辩论中发挥调解作用的利益相关者，我们缺乏有关兽医如何看待此类技术的使用及其影响的信息。本研究探讨了在与生猪生产相关的公众关注背景下，兽医赋予PLF应用的意义。对荷兰和德国的生猪兽医进行了半结构化访谈。通过使用归纳和语义方法进行反思性主题分析，我们从访谈数据中提炼出四个主要主题：（1）兽医的咨询作用，其特点是范围广泛，包括关于PLF的建议、普遍积极的评价和经济依赖；（2）将PLF技术描述为支持工具，被视为对人类动物护理的补充；（3）兽医与农民之间的关系，这与具体情境相关，从偏袒农民到与农民保持距离；（4）农业与社会之间的距离，在这种背景下，PLF既有缓解作用又有强化作用。目前的研究结果表明，兽医在畜牧养殖中新兴的PLF领域发挥着积极作用。他们意识到并思考社会中不同群体的利益冲突，并与不同的利益相关者分享立场。然而，他们在实践中能够在利益相关者群体之间进行调解的程度似乎受到外部因素的限制，如经济依赖。
在线版本包含可在10.1007/s10460-023-10450-6获取的补充材料。
