Powdrill-Wells Natalie, Bennett Chris, Cooke Fiona, Rogers Suzanne, White Jo
Woodgreen Pets Charity, Kings Bush Farm, London Road, Godmanchester PE29 2NH, UK.
Human Behaviour Change for Life CIC, Norwich NR9 4DE, UK.
Animals (Basel). 2025 Apr 3;15(7):1036. doi: 10.3390/ani15071036.
Experts consider tackling companion animal ownership problems, such as delayed veterinary treatment and a lack of appropriate care provision, to be key in striving towards improved animal welfare. Additionally, every year, millions of companion animals are relinquished to rescue centres globally; a process that can be distressing for both people and animals. By adapting traditional shelter model activity, it is possible to develop proactive community interventions to provide support for companion animal owners prior to crisis points and therefore, prevent suffering. This case report shares a novel approach to improving companion animal welfare and reducing avoidable relinquishment in communities. As part of a three-stage process, a mixed-method approach was applied to build an understanding of the needs of owners of potentially vulnerable companion animals in the target community. The research stages revealed that the lack of timely veterinary treatment for pets within the target community represented a welfare concern. Based upon this understanding, a co-creation approach was deployed to design targeted interventions to improve companion animal welfare in the community through the application of human behaviour change theories. The process revealed the operational effectiveness of a co-creation approach to intervention design in the context of improving animal welfare. This novel approach has demonstrated significant value in addressing the needs of pet-owning communities.
专家们认为，解决伴侣动物所有权问题，如兽医治疗延迟和缺乏适当的护理，是提高动物福利的关键。此外，全球每年有数以百万计的伴侣动物被送到救助中心；这一过程对人和动物来说都可能很痛苦。通过调整传统的收容所模式活动，有可能开展积极的社区干预措施，在危机点之前为伴侣动物主人提供支持，从而防止痛苦。本案例报告分享了一种改善伴侣动物福利和减少社区中可避免的遗弃行为的新方法。作为一个三阶段过程的一部分，采用了混合方法来了解目标社区中潜在易受伤害的伴侣动物主人的需求。研究阶段表明，目标社区内宠物缺乏及时的兽医治疗是一个福利问题。基于这一认识，采用了共同创造的方法来设计有针对性的干预措施，通过应用人类行为改变理论来改善社区中的伴侣动物福利。该过程揭示了共同创造方法在改善动物福利背景下进行干预设计的操作有效性。这种新方法在满足养宠物社区的需求方面已显示出重大价值。
