The perception of pets as ‘family members’ is an important area of research in the study of human-animal relationships. The objective of this thesis is to assess the ways in which pets are integrated into the home, and to explore how pet owners regard their dogs and cats within their constructed circles of kinship and social bonds. This research also examines a sample of attitudes toward some important issues with pet keeping, from what constitutes responsible pet guardianship to modern issues in animal welfare. Thirty-four participants were recruited, and data was collected through individual qualitative interviews. Data analysis shows the level of integration of the pet into the family has some correlations with the gender of the primary pet caretaker, and shows the impact of individual experiences of participants, particularly in childhood, which strongly influenced preferences of pet type, and their view of the role of animals in the home.

The perception of pets as ‘family members’ is an important area of research in the study of human-animal relationships. The objective of this thesis is to assess the ways in which pets are integrated into the home, and to explore how pet owners regard their dogs and cats within their constructed circles of kinship and social bonds. This research also examines a sample of attitudes toward some important issues with pet keeping, from what constitutes responsible pet guardianship to modern issues in animal welfare. Thirty-four participants were recruited, and data was collected through individual qualitative interviews. Data analysis shows the level of integration of the pet into the family has some correlations with the gender of the primary pet caretaker, and shows the impact of individual experiences of participants, particularly in childhood, which strongly influenced preferences of pet type, and their view of the role of animals in the home.

There is increasing pressure from animal rights organizations (AROs) on restaurant chains, food retailers, and meat processors to implement more stringent farm animal welfare (FAW) requirements for their suppliers. In the United States, AROs have recently initiated successful ballots to phase out confinement practices in several states. In Canada AROs have been pressuring both public and private sector stakeholders to improve FAW. Are FAW issues, however, paramount in the minds of Canadian consumers? Is the demand for more stringent FAW protocols primarily determined by a subset of consumers with very strong preferences or does it signal a more fundamental underlying change in consumer and societal preferences? Given the credence nature of FAW, who do consumers trust (i.e., government vs. private industry vs. independent third parties) in the market place for the provision of FAW quality assurances? What are the determinants of trust in these organizations for providing accurate information about animal welfare?<p> In order to answer these questions, a stated preference consumer survey encompassing FAW issues specific to the Canadian pork sector was tested on two samples of consumers in summer 2008, namely: a general population sample (GPS) across Canada and a sample of AROs members. Consumers participated in a purchase experiment where they had to chose between pork chops characterized by combinations of different levels of FAW attributes (i.e., housing system, gestation stalls, and use of antibiotics), quality verifying organization, and price. Multinomial Logit and Latent Class Logit Models were used to analyse the survey data.<p> Surprisingly, outdoor system does not seem to resonate well with Canadians, as both the GPS and the members of the AROs discounted this attribute. As expected, the AROs members have much stronger preferences for the other FAW attributes than have consumers in the GPS. Nevertheless, significant heterogeneity exists within consumer preferences. Five classes of consumers were identified in the GPS with respect to their preferences for FAW. At one end of the spectrum are the FAW sensitive consumers (12.3%) that have higher willingness-to-pay (WTP) for FAW, while at the other end of the spectrum Price Conscious consumers (18.3%) do not exhibit any WTP for FAW. The other three classes (69.4%) comprise respondents with mixed perceptions regarding FAW. Government and Third Party verification of FAW quality assurances had the strongest influence on consumers preferences in both samples. As well, scientific experts in FAW along with the above two organizations are the most credible in providing information about the welfare of pigs. The extent to which these organizations are knowledgeable about the welfare of pigs is the most important factor enhancing consumers trust. Results from this study suggest that there are potential marketing opportunities for pork chops sourced from pigs raised on farms where sows are kept in groups, and where credible quality assurances can be established, that private industry could consider. As well, the results suggest that consumers would derive benefits from the government taking a more active role with respect to validating FAW quality assurances.

No description available.

Animal welfare has emerged as a pervasive concern in modern international law. The purpose of this study is to situate the international legal principle protecting the welfare of animals within the broader framework of international law. The study uses a constructivist model to develop a theory of the place of animal welfare in the international legal regime that has due regard for cultural differences and the diversity of international society. The historical antecedents for an obligation to protect animal welfare in various global cultures are considered. The argument posits an internationally recognized principle of humane treatment of animals based on a test of necessity, in accordance with which the infliction of suffering on animals can only be justified by balancing means against ends. It proposes that Canadian criminal law on animal cruelty, particularly as it relates to animals raised for food, is inconsistent with this internationally recognized principle.

This thesis is an investigation of the prevalence of, and factors associated with, hock, knee, and neck injuries on dairy cattle in Canada. Tie-stall (n = 100) and free-stall farms (n = 90) were visited in Quebec, Ontario, and Alberta, Canada. Cows were scored for hock (tarsus), knee (carpus), and neck injuries on a 3 or 4-point scale combining the attributes of hair loss, broken skin, and swelling. Animal-based and environmental measures were taken which were hypothesized to be risk factors for injury. On tie-stall farms the mean herd-level prevalence of hock, knee, and neck injuries was 56, 43, and 30%, respectively. On free-stall farms the mean herd-level prevalence of hock, knee, and neck injuries was 47, 24, and 9%, respectively. Having sand stall bases, feed rail heights above 140 cm and managing cows to reduce slips and falls were associated with reduced injury prevalence. / Dairy Research Cluster (Dairy Farmers of Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canadian Dairy Commission)

This thesis is an investigation of the characteristics and behaviour of loads of cattle that are unloaded for feed, water and rest at a rest station in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Truck drivers were surveyed as they arrived at the rest station and the cattle were observed as they were unloaded and reloaded to score animal handling (n=129). Behavioural observations were conducted on an additional 53 loads (87 pens) using counts of the number of animals lying, feeding and drinking. A majority of the loads (60.94%) were feeder calves (300-550kg). On average drivers were in transit for 28.2±5.0 hours before stopping and rested for 11.2±2.8 hours. These values are within the maximum and minimum allowed in the current Canadian regulations. Behaviour was not found to be associated with time in transit, but was instead found to be strongly associated with whether the entire truckload was grouped in a single pen. / Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food

This programme of research uses choice test methodologies to quantify hungry broiler breeder chickens’ preferences for qualitative or quantitative dietary restriction. It begins with an outline of quantitative dietary restriction, its severity and welfare implications before discussing methods of qualitative feed restriction and the difficulties ascertaining whether it represents a welfare improvement. Chapter two reviews the factors affecting diet preferences and discusses implications for feed restricted broiler breeder diet preferences. Chapter three outlines the use of a closed economy T-maze task to quantity the diet preferences of feed restricted broiler breeders. It concludes that broiler breeders can learn a food versus no food task but find it very difficult to learn a task in which both of the options are rewarded with food and this impeded diet preference quantification. Chapter four demonstrates that severity of feed restriction underlies these difficulties in learning. In Chapter five, a conditioned place preference task to identify the effects of diets on affective state (hunger versus satiety) is reported. A method validation group demonstrated that broilers show a state dependent preference for an environment associated with ad libitum access to food. However, birds failed to show a preference between an environment associated with quantitative dietary restriction and one associated with qualitative dietary restriction. Chapter six applies state- dependent learning (SDL) to quantifying the satiating effects of quantitative and qualitative dietary restriction. However, a validation group suggested that SDL preferences were probably an artefact of the test rather than a genuine state-led preference. Finally, the overall conclusion that no evidence was found that broiler breeders want, or that their welfare is improved by, qualitative feed restriction was drawn. However, the conditions under which a preference was reliably observed and the presence of hunger – state dependent effects on learning and expression of learnt preferences complicates the interpretation of any findings. Recommendations for further research are highlighted.

Housing pigs in large pens using a floor base of deep litter has been developed as an alternative to conventional, indoor, intensive methods. Deep-litter, group housing systems are cheaper to establish and are perceived as being more “welfare and environmentally friendly” for pigs compared to conventional intensive systems. However, recent industry records have shown that pigs housed in deep-litter systems have growth performance problems. In general, pigs are 10 percent less efficient in converting feed to live weight gain, are 1 to 2 mm fatter and exhibit more carcass damage (carcass bruising and non-infectious arthritis stifle joint damage) compared to conventionally housed pigs. It is possible that the growth performance problems in deep-litter systems are largely behavioural and possibly stress related, and pose a barrier to adoption of these systems by industry. This PhD program examined the social and feeding behaviour of entire male growing pigs in deep-litter systems in relation to growth performance and stress physiology.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniv., 2003.