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Animals
Special Issues
Understanding the "Human Dimension" of Animal Health and Welfare
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Understanding the "Human Dimension" of Animal Health and Welfare

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Welfare".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2024 | Viewed by 5028

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Caroline Ritter

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Health Management Department, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PE, Canada
Interests: animal health and welfare; human behaviour change; social license to operate; antimicrobial stewardship; veterinary communication; one health; one welfare

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The health and welfare of animals depend on human decision making and human behaviour. The choices humans make can affect, for instance, how domesticated animals are housed and cared for, and how animals living in the wild are protected. To improve animal health and welfare, it is often necessary to change the behaviour of those who manage animals and interact with them. Examples of stakeholder groups that can have a direct or indirect impact on animals include farmers, veterinarians, policymakers, and members of the public including consumers. It is crucial to investigate different stakeholders’ attitudes, values, perceptions, and beliefs in order to understand their behaviour, to identify drivers and barriers for change, and to develop effective intervention programs.

Suggested themes and article types for submissions:

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the understanding of stakeholders’ behaviour, public attitudes toward the management of animals, and the design and assessment of behaviour change interventions.

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Caroline Ritter
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • social science
  • decision making
  • behaviour change
  • knowledge mobilization
  • social license to operate

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 5981 KiB  
Article
Developing Courses of Spanish for Specific Purposes in Agriculture to Bridge the Communication Gap Between the Hispanic Workforce and English-Speaking Veterinary and Animal Sciences Students
by Leonor Salazar, Allen Jimena Martinez Aguiriano, Silvana Pietrosemoli and Arlene Garcia
Animals 2024, 14(24), 3639; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14243639 - 17 Dec 2024
Viewed by 572
Abstract
This study addresses the integration of Spanish for Specific Purposes in Agriculture (SSPA) into the curricula of English-speaking veterinary and animal sciences students at three collaborating universities (Texas Tech University School of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, and Tarleton State University), to [...] Read more.
This study addresses the integration of Spanish for Specific Purposes in Agriculture (SSPA) into the curricula of English-speaking veterinary and animal sciences students at three collaborating universities (Texas Tech University School of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, and Tarleton State University), to bridge communication gaps in agricultural settings. We designed and implemented three SSPA courses focused on key areas such as animal health, welfare, and food safety, using insights from industry professionals. The courses incorporated contextualized language instruction, including vocabulary, grammar, and practical communication scenarios relevant to the field. Teaching materials including interactive resources and metacognitive strategies were developed to enhance learning and engagement. The results showed that while the courses improved students’ communication skills, challenges such as technical issues and balancing academic commitments required adjustments to course delivery. Significant differences in performance were observed between institutions, with a considerable impact on the course completion rates and final test scores. The study concludes that SSPA courses significantly enhance the ability of veterinary and animal sciences students to effectively communicate with the Hispanic workforce, providing a model for similar language integration efforts in specialized fields. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Understanding the "Human Dimension" of Animal Health and Welfare)
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19 pages, 1954 KiB  
Article
Societal Perception of Animal Videos on Social Media—Funny Content or Animal Suffering? A Survey
by Alina Stumpf, Swetlana Herbrandt, Leia Betting, Nicole Kemper and Michaela Fels
Animals 2024, 14(15), 2234; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14152234 - 31 Jul 2024
Viewed by 1624
Abstract
On social media, numerous animal videos are uploaded and viewed every day. However, these videos, which are apparently funny for humans, are often associated with animal suffering. In this study, 3246 participants of an online survey were asked about their personal perception of [...] Read more.
On social media, numerous animal videos are uploaded and viewed every day. However, these videos, which are apparently funny for humans, are often associated with animal suffering. In this study, 3246 participants of an online survey were asked about their personal perception of animal videos on social media, about recognising animal suffering in these videos, and about their respective reactions. A total of 98.5% of participants who used social media already saw animal videos. Participants most frequently viewed informative videos (52.9%), followed by funny/entertaining animal videos (41.8%). For 45.8% of participants, animal suffering was often recognisable in animal videos. Female participants were more likely to recognise animal suffering than male participants (p < 0.001), and participants living in a rural residence were more likely to recognise it than those from an urban residence (p = 0.017). Furthermore, 62.5% of participants had left a critical comment or disliked a video with animal suffering. Animal videos seem to be highly popular on social media, but animal suffering may go unnoticed in funny videos. The fact that 91.8% of participants want a warning label for animal suffering in videos shows that social media users would like to see animal welfare be given more prominence on social media. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Understanding the "Human Dimension" of Animal Health and Welfare)
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27 pages, 1658 KiB  
Article
Understanding Communication Barriers: Demographic Variables and Language Needs in the Interaction between English-Speaking Animal Professionals and Spanish-Speaking Animal Caretakers
by Allen Jimena Martinez Aguiriano, Leonor Salazar, Silvana Pietrosemoli, Marcelo Schmidt, Babafela Awosile and Arlene Garcia
Animals 2024, 14(4), 624; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14040624 - 15 Feb 2024
Viewed by 2172
Abstract
This study focused on assessing the language needs of English-speaking animal professionals in their interactions with Hispanic/Spanish-speaking animal caretakers. A survey was administered to a target audience of non-Spanish speaking and bilingual animal professionals to identify communication gaps while interacting with Hispanic/Spanish-speaking animal [...] Read more.
This study focused on assessing the language needs of English-speaking animal professionals in their interactions with Hispanic/Spanish-speaking animal caretakers. A survey was administered to a target audience of non-Spanish speaking and bilingual animal professionals to identify communication gaps while interacting with Hispanic/Spanish-speaking animal caretakers. The data was analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics, including ordinal regression analyses to examine the impact of demographic variables on respondents’ answer choices. The results showed that English-speaking professionals struggled with written and oral communication, which differed compared to bilingual professionals (p < 0.05). Additionally, responses of female professionals varied regarding the aspects of Spanish necessary for interacting with Hispanic/Spanish-speaking animal caretakers, as well as the topics likely to be addressed when agriculture professionals communicate with animal caretakers (p < 0.05). Communication difficulties in the oral medium for both oral receptive skills (listening) and oral productive skills (speaking) were reported as the major barriers that animal professionals need to overcome in their attempt to communicate with the Hispanic/Spanish-speaking workforce in farm settings. This emphasizes the need to address oral communication barriers, and to a lesser degree, the development of reading and writing skills. The topics: typical clinical signs of illness, euthanasia, treatment—drugs, and identification of sick or injured animals were identified as the most likely to be addressed during on-farm interactions. These findings indicate that there are gaps in communication that need to be overcome to improve communication with on-farm Hispanic/Spanish-speaking animal caretakers and consequently contribute to enhancing animal health, welfare, and production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Understanding the "Human Dimension" of Animal Health and Welfare)
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Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

1. Title: Anthropomorphizing with critical reflexivity: The danger and potential of anthropomorphizing in Equine Assisted Services
Authors: Kelsey Dayle John; Aviva Vincent; Leanne Nieforth, Jamie Schafroth
Author Affiliations: University of Colorado Boulder; Cleveland State University; Purdue University; University of Arizona
Abstract: This article uses an intersectional analytic framework to theorize the role of anthropomorphizing human-horse interactions in the HERD Institute’s modality for practitioners of Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy and Equine Facilitated Learning. In this publication we use Equine Assisted Services (EAS) referencing Wood et al. (2021) to speak about both categories. Equine Assisted Services (EAS) are traditionally a human-centered activity and have leveraged anthropomorphizing equine behavior and emotion to better understand human selves and dynamics by assigning human emotions to horses and horse-human interactions. Intersectional feminist theories have applied critical reflexivity in different settings (Collins, 2000; Esposito & Evans-Winters, 2022) and will be used to interpret and identify anthropomorphizing behaviors described during in-depth interviews with EAS practitioners and students from the HERD Institute. From these findings, we create two vignettes that illustrate the use of anthropomorphism in an EAS setting. Both vignettes will present different ethical dilemmas of anthropomorphizing that might impact equine welfare in EAS explicitly discussed by interlocutors. One vignette will examine interpreting and assigning human injustices within horse behavior (ex. resource guarding) and the second will engage with human interpretations of horse choice verses horse consent in an EAS session. The vignettes show how anthropomorphizing might be used to develop an understanding of human dynamics or horse welfare. The authors suggest that a critical reflexivity when anthropomorphizing might increase attention toward horse welfare in EAS settings. As such, implications may be beneficial to consider in the development and refinement of EAS training/certification and continuing education.
Highlights: Equine Assisted Services are traditionally a human-centered activity that leverages anthropomorphizing for the benefit of humans and at the expense of horse welfare Intersectional, feminist theories can be used to analyze human's use of anthropomorphizing in EAS settings A critical reflexivity might help harness anthropomorphizing for the benefit of equine welfare and not just human development
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