This thesis is composed of a series of papers, all of which have been published in peer reviewed publications. The papers use the recognised process of qualitative risk assessment in a range of scenarios in the field of wildlife health and welfare in both in situ and ex situ environments. Chapter 1 discusses the challenges faced regarding availability of empirical data in field of wildlife and zoological health and welfare and justifies the exploration of techniques to assist with decision making. The development of risk analysis and its integration with risk management and risk communication to become risk assessment is described before being put into the specific context of wildlife and zoological disease. Chapters 2 and 3 consider two scenarios where disease risk assessment is well established as a tool, importation across national borders and in conservation interventions. Chapter 2 develops the standard import risk assessment approach to include multiple species and multiple diseases. Chapter 3 reviews developments made over the last 25 years and proposes best practice approaches to implement. Chapter 4 describes how the risk assessments formulated as described in Chapter 3 are used for licensing purposes emphasising the importance of risk management and communication. This theme is continued in Chapter 6 where the integration of risk assessment and evidence based decision making is considered in the broad context of a strategic approach to wildlife health bringing together the outcomes and processes described in Chapters 2, 3, 4 and 5. The papers in Chapters 2,5 and 8 are focused on how risk analysis aids in development of disease control approaches and policy. The evidence base is composed primarily of peer-reviewed literature supported by expert review of the finalised assessment. Chapter 7 uses risk assessment in an applied scenario, taking the recognised process and modifying it to structure an active disease investigation demonstrating the versatility of the technique. Chapter 9 takes this a step further by again adapting the methodology which, has historically been used primarily for infectious diseases, to consider reproduction and assess risks to welfare rather than purely health. The paper in Chapter 9 builds on the methodology by combining existing peer-reviewed literature with data collected specifically for the purpose of feeding into the assessment and utilising a stakeholder and expert opinion elicitation workshop to obtain data too. These process are proposed and described in Chapter 3. The final chapter critically reviews risk assessment, highlighting three key areas of potential weakness and proposing approaches to address these criticisms. The value of the approach in wildlife and zoological health and welfare as demonstrated by this series of papers is described.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:761382 |
| Date | January 2018 |
| Creators | Hartley, Matthew |
| Contributors | Hill, Sonya ; Smith, Tessa |
| Publisher | University of Chester |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://hdl.handle.net/10034/621541 |
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