Pilot Study of Attitudes of Taiwanese Veterinarians and Undergraduate Veterinary Students toward Animal Abuse and Interpersonal Violence
There is a strong association between animal abuse and interpersonal violence; therefore, veterinarians may encounter both. Dealing with animal abuse cases is beneficial for advancing animal welfare and the overall public health. Veterinarians play an important role in identifying and responding to...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-04-01
|
| Series: | Animals |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/9/1135 |
| _version_ | 1797505858492432384 |
|---|---|
| author | Yi-Hsuan Chen Wei-Hsiang Huang |
| author_facet | Yi-Hsuan Chen Wei-Hsiang Huang |
| author_sort | Yi-Hsuan Chen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | There is a strong association between animal abuse and interpersonal violence; therefore, veterinarians may encounter both. Dealing with animal abuse cases is beneficial for advancing animal welfare and the overall public health. Veterinarians play an important role in identifying and responding to this relationship. This study estimated the incidence of animal abuse encountered by veterinarians, examined veterinarians’ awareness of the relationship between animal abuse and human abuse, examined veterinarians’ attitudes towards how they deal with abuse cases, and related demographic characteristics to their attitudes of intervention and the frequency of encountering abuse cases. An anonymous self-administered questionnaire was designed and distributed through social media. Our results show that respondents’ motivation to interfere for animal abuse cases was positively related to their moral or legal responsibility, willingness to assist, and agreement of mandatory reporting. Our results indicated that respondents who believed they had been provided with adequate training were more willing to deal with animal abuse, more capable of distinguishing abuse cases, and did not believe that dealing with abuse cases was beyond their ability. However, more than 60% of our respondents self-evaluated that the animal cruelty awareness training courses were insufficient. Hence, in addition to the traditional role of veterinarians, identifying and responding to animal cruelty should be enhanced through education. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T04:24:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e3ab3837fc2148a6be706a5f83e8af9c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T04:24:20Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-e3ab3837fc2148a6be706a5f83e8af9c2023-11-23T07:42:51ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152022-04-01129113510.3390/ani12091135Pilot Study of Attitudes of Taiwanese Veterinarians and Undergraduate Veterinary Students toward Animal Abuse and Interpersonal ViolenceYi-Hsuan Chen0Wei-Hsiang Huang1Department of Veterinary Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei City 10617, TaiwanDepartment of Veterinary Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei City 10617, TaiwanThere is a strong association between animal abuse and interpersonal violence; therefore, veterinarians may encounter both. Dealing with animal abuse cases is beneficial for advancing animal welfare and the overall public health. Veterinarians play an important role in identifying and responding to this relationship. This study estimated the incidence of animal abuse encountered by veterinarians, examined veterinarians’ awareness of the relationship between animal abuse and human abuse, examined veterinarians’ attitudes towards how they deal with abuse cases, and related demographic characteristics to their attitudes of intervention and the frequency of encountering abuse cases. An anonymous self-administered questionnaire was designed and distributed through social media. Our results show that respondents’ motivation to interfere for animal abuse cases was positively related to their moral or legal responsibility, willingness to assist, and agreement of mandatory reporting. Our results indicated that respondents who believed they had been provided with adequate training were more willing to deal with animal abuse, more capable of distinguishing abuse cases, and did not believe that dealing with abuse cases was beyond their ability. However, more than 60% of our respondents self-evaluated that the animal cruelty awareness training courses were insufficient. Hence, in addition to the traditional role of veterinarians, identifying and responding to animal cruelty should be enhanced through education.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/9/1135animal abuseanimal crueltyinterpersonal violenceveterinarianseducationanimal welfare |
| spellingShingle | Yi-Hsuan Chen Wei-Hsiang Huang Pilot Study of Attitudes of Taiwanese Veterinarians and Undergraduate Veterinary Students toward Animal Abuse and Interpersonal Violence Animals animal abuse animal cruelty interpersonal violence veterinarians education animal welfare |
| title | Pilot Study of Attitudes of Taiwanese Veterinarians and Undergraduate Veterinary Students toward Animal Abuse and Interpersonal Violence |
| title_full | Pilot Study of Attitudes of Taiwanese Veterinarians and Undergraduate Veterinary Students toward Animal Abuse and Interpersonal Violence |
| title_fullStr | Pilot Study of Attitudes of Taiwanese Veterinarians and Undergraduate Veterinary Students toward Animal Abuse and Interpersonal Violence |
| title_full_unstemmed | Pilot Study of Attitudes of Taiwanese Veterinarians and Undergraduate Veterinary Students toward Animal Abuse and Interpersonal Violence |
| title_short | Pilot Study of Attitudes of Taiwanese Veterinarians and Undergraduate Veterinary Students toward Animal Abuse and Interpersonal Violence |
| title_sort | pilot study of attitudes of taiwanese veterinarians and undergraduate veterinary students toward animal abuse and interpersonal violence |
| topic | animal abuse animal cruelty interpersonal violence veterinarians education animal welfare |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/9/1135 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yihsuanchen pilotstudyofattitudesoftaiwaneseveterinariansandundergraduateveterinarystudentstowardanimalabuseandinterpersonalviolence AT weihsianghuang pilotstudyofattitudesoftaiwaneseveterinariansandundergraduateveterinarystudentstowardanimalabuseandinterpersonalviolence |