This thesis explores ‘feminisation’ discourse(s) within the UK veterinary profession, including the ways in which gender stereotypes and biases also influence such discourses and experiences of working within the field. Drawing upon and combining a range of sociological, organisational and feminist theories such as Witz’s (1992) theory of gendered professional projects and Butler’s (1990) highly influential notion of performativity, I am able to contextualise and expand upon the ‘doing’ of the veterinary profession as well as being able to frame ‘feminisation’ discourses as paradoxes, potentially producing the effects they articulate. My analysis is divided into two parts; the first deals with results of a 463 participant survey of veterinary workers regarding definitions, perceptions and observations of ‘feminisation’ and gender difference, highlighting the significance of this subject matter within their professional lives. The second part incorporates a deeper thematic analysis of particular everyday realities, emerging from four semi-structured interviews which also aimed to explore in greater detail individual perceptions and observations regarding ‘feminisation’ and gender biases and stereotypes, encouraging participants themselves to reflect upon their experiences. A number of conclusions emerged during the analysis, including an intriguing insight that those who tended to draw most strongly on gender stereotypes and biases to outline their perceptions and observations were paradoxically those who most vehemently believed gender was irrelevant. Fundamentally however this study concludes that the concept of ‘feminisation’ is a fluid conceptualisation, a cultural process and not just empirical category of ‘empty rhetoric’ as commonly utilised and applied to the veterinary profession; as such it has the potential to be utilised extensively to progress the profession in terms of wider inclusiveness, equality, transformation, in offering reconceptualised ways of considering what it means to be part of a ‘profession’ not predicated on patriarchal structures, and to ultimately reperceive how gender can be (re/un)enacted in transformative ways alongside progressively rearticulated ‘feminisation’ discourses.

Healthy, natural pastures is very valuable for biodiversity in the form of both plants and animals. An efficient use of pastures helps to preserve biodiversity, but grazing animals needs to be de-wormed to keep them healthy and to prevent harmful parasites spread on the pasture. The awareness about the environmental impact of the frequent use of deworming agents is low among the public. Some people are unaware that the absorption in horses of anthelmintics is incomplete, which make the circumstances about enviromental effect important to investigate further. The scientific evidence in this area is limited and more studies and trials are needed to deepen the knowledge about the effects of anthelmintics in the environment. Our report includes a compilation of studies conducted on anthelmintics and equine parasites, as well as an experiment which was conducted at the University of Halmstad biogaslaboratory April 2014. Anthelmintics have been shown to have negative impact on the manure ecosystem and especially against manure living fauna. Deworming routines has changed over the years as the equine industry has developed. Nevertheless, there’s still a lack of concrete approach to deworming.

Den domesticerade kaninen (Oryctolagus cuniculus) är idag ett vanligt sällskapsdjur världen över. Sällskapskaniner framhålls som det tredje mest populära sällskapsdjuret i Sverige, efter hund och katt. Trots detta behandlar endast en mycket liten andel av den övergripande forskningen inom ämnet hälsa- och välfärd just kanin. Den här studien har undersökt inverkan på sällskapskaninens välfärd av kaninägare med eller utan tidigare erfarenhet, sjukdomsbild, samt kaninägares preferenser - och om detta är faktorer som påverkar sällskapskaninens välfärd i Sverige. Studien genomfördes som en enkätundersökning, besvarad av 147 deltagare bosatta i Sverige. Enkäten publicerad i nätverkstjänsten Facebook och fanns tillgänglig under tidsperioden 23:e April - 7:e Maj, 2021. Mer än 50 % av deltagarna saknade erfarenhet och kunskap om kaniner innan de skaffade sin första kanin. Över 37 % höll sina kaniner ensamlevande, och mer än 21 % inhyste sina kaniner i bur. Behovet av veterinärvård utgjordes totalt av nästan hälften av kaninerna, och de kaniner som hölls inomhus eller frigående hade störst behov. Det fanns en skillnad i behovet av veterinärvård hos olika raskategorier, där kategorin små raser var högst representerad. Antalet kaniner som drabbades av olika typer av hälsorelaterade problem varierade, men sjukdomar kopplade till avelsrelaterad problematik utgjordes av nästan 1/3 av alla sjukdomar. Den vanligaste raskategorin att hålla var dvärgraser som hölls av nästan 60 % av alla deltagare, och den vanligaste orsaken till att välja just den raskategorin utgjordes av dess storlek. Den här studien visade att det finns faktorer i kaninägarens djurhållning som kan kopplas till sällskapskaninens välfärd i Sverige. Avgörande parametrar till detta har lyfts fram som kaninägarens erfarenhet och kunskap om kaniner, hållning och inhysning, samt val av raskategori. Nyckelord: Oryctolagus cuniculus, sällskapskanin, djurhållning, djurvälfärd, djuravel, djuretik / The domesticated rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is today a common pet worldwide. Pet rabbits are highlighted as the third most popular pet in Sweden, after dogs and cats. Despite this, only a very small proportion of the overall research in the subject of health and welfare deals with rabbits. This study has examined the impact on the companion rabbit's welfare of rabbit owners with or without previous experience, disease picture, and rabbit owners' preferences - and whether these are factors that affect the companion rabbit's welfare in Sweden. The study was conducted as a survey, answered by 147 participants living in Sweden. The survey was published in the network service Facebook and found available during the period 23 April - 7 May, 2021. More than 50% of the participants lacked experience and knowledge about rabbits before acquiring their first rabbit. Over 37% kept their rabbits alone, and more than 21% housed their rabbits in cages. The need for veterinary care accounted for a total of almost half of the rabbits, and the rabbits kept indoors or free-running were most in need. There was a difference in the need for veterinary care in different breed categories, where the category small breeds was most represented. The number of rabbits suffering from various types of health-related problems varied, but diseases linked to breeding-related problems accounted for almost 1/3 of all diseases. The most common breed category to keep was dwarf breeds held by almost 60% of all participants, and the most common reason for choosing that particular breed category was its size. This study showed that there are factors in the rabbit owner's animal husbandry that can be linked to the companion rabbit's welfare in Sweden. Decisive parameters for this have been highlighted as the rabbit owner's experience and knowledge of rabbits, posture and housing, as well as the choice of breed category. Keywords: Oryctolagus cuniculus, companion rabbit, animal husbandry, animal welfare, animal breeding, animal ethics