Attitudes Toward Animal Use

Abstract

Four hundred and ninety-five people completed a questionnaire in which they rated 35 specific examples of uses of different species of animals on a 5-point scale of acceptabilityunacceptability. Ratings depended on both the particular example used (medical research, behavioral research, product-testing research, use for educational purposes, use for luxury garments, or animals as pests) and the species involved. Examples using dogs, cats, or monkeys were rated less acceptable than those using rats or mice, nonmammalian vertebrates, or invertebrates. Examples in which animals were used to make luxury garments were rated the most unacceptable and educational uses of animals and behavioral research were the most acceptable. Ratings of examples were very consistent within individuals, leading to the conclusion that a person's attitude toward animals may represent a unitary characteristic. Gender, age, pet ownership, and religious affiliation were all significantly related to attitude toward animals, as determined by averaging responses to the 35 examples together for each respondent, but all of these variables combined accounted for less than 5% of the variability in ratings.     

Animal Protection Measures in Taiwan: Taiwanese Attitudes Toward the Animal Protection Law and Animal Shelters

This study used a questionnaire, self-administered by 387 Taiwanese citizens, to assess Taiwanese perception and knowledge of the Animal Protection Law and perception and use of animal shelters. Most respondents (87%) knew that Taiwan has legal protection for animals. A –5 to 5 summary score measured knowledge of companion animal dog-related legal requirements. The median score was 3, indicating that almost all respondents had inadequate knowledge about these requirements. Although more dog caregivers had adequate knowledge of the law than did nondog caregivers (prevalence ratio = 1.9, 95% confidence interval: 1.1, 3.2), only 19% had adequate knowledge. Although most respondents (81%) knew Taiwan has animal shelters, only 19 (5%) reported visiting or participating in shelter activities. Only 6 (32%) of shelter visitors or users had a "good or better" impression of services received. Despite low usage of animal shelters, most respondents thought shelters should accept (87%) and relocate (90%) unwanted animals, capture strays (64%), assist in finding lost pets (79%), and educate the public about responsible ownership (85%). More than half (52%) thought shelters should perform euthanasia.     

Attitudes toward Animals among German Children and Adolescents

ABSTRACT

This is the first study about attitudes toward animals among German children and adolescents. A sample of 543 pupils (261 boys, 282 girls) aged 11 to 17 (mean age = 13.37 ± 2.01 years) completed a questionnaire based on different established scales, for example, the Animal Attitude Scale (AAS) and the Intermediate Attitude Scale (IAS). Several aspects of attitudes toward animals and various dimensions of human–animal relationships were measured, including gender, age, grade, pet ownership, animal-related activities, meat consumption, and fear of and disgust toward animals. Gender and age were important factors in determining attitudes toward animals: pro-animal attitudes decreased with age and girls showed more positive attitudes compared with boys. Pet ownership and animal-related activities were associated with more positive attitudes toward animals, whilst meat consumption was related to lower pro-animal attitudes. There were no correlations between fear and general attitudes toward animals. The correlations between disgust and attitudes toward animals were weak. We found significant correlations among the different scales and subscales in animal attitudes.     

Weight-Related Attitudes and Behaviors in Fourth Grade American Indian Children

STEVENS, JUNE, MARY STORY, ALBERTA BECENTI, SIMONE A. FRENCH, JOEL GITTELSOHN, SCOTT B. GOING, JUHAERI, SARAH LEVIN, AND DAVID M. MURRAY. Obes Res. 1999;7:34–42. Objective : American Indian children have a high prevalence of obesity, yet little is known about weight-related attitudes and the prevalence of dieting in this population. This study assessed weight concerns, body size perceptions, weight reduction attempts, and weight loss methods in fourth grade American Indian children. Research Methods and Procedures : Participants (n = 304) attended one of eight schools in the Pathways Feasibility Study. Question and answer choices were read to children by trained staff, and children marked their own answers. Results : Thirty-eight percent of the children reported that they had tried to lose weight. The most common strategy for weight reduction was exercising more. Girls were more likely than boys to be dissatisfied with their body size (48% of girls vs. 34% of boys desired a slimmer body size; 22% of girls vs. 15% of boys desired a larger body size; p<0.71). Children who had tried to lose weight were more likely to indicate that the size they most desired and the most healthy size were smaller than their perceived size (p<0.71). Children who reported trying to lose weight were also more likely to want to be skinnier and to be unhappy about their weight than were children who did not report trying to lose weight (p<0.71 for both). Discussion : We conclude that weight loss attempts and weight-related concerns are prevalent in American Indian children at a young age.     

Attitudes toward Animals among Kindergarten Children: Species Preferences

ABSTRACT

Attitudes toward animals are influenced by both animal traits (e.g., similarity to humans, aesthetic quality, size) and individual human attributes (e.g., gender, age, educational level, cultural factors). Although the examination of children's interest in animals, and their preference for different species, may evidence specific trends and help explain the development of attitudes, the vast majority of research has not considered children younger than 6 years. The present study was aimed at assessing preferences for a variety of animal species in a sample of 3–6 year-old Italian children, using a forced-choice task and visual aids (images of the animals). Pictures of 48 animal species, ranging from mammals to invertebrates, were presented to the children. Two photographic stimuli were simultaneously displayed and participants were asked to indicate their preference. Results show that the children preferred higher-order species, and domestic over wild animals. Apart from a few exceptions, invertebrates were the most disliked group of species among the children. Girls showed more negative and fear-related attitudes than the boys. Results are discussed taking into account different factors that may affect children's preferences for various animal species, that is, similarity to humans and aesthetical appeal. Greater knowledge on early attitudes toward animals has implications for promoting interest in animals and for building educational interventions for kindergarten children. This is particularly important in light of the growing use of different animals in educational and therapeutic contexts, as well as from an animal welfare perspective.     

Social and Individual Components of Animal Contact in Preschool Children

ABSTRACT

Humans are generally biophilic. Still, for unknown reasons, interest in animals varies substantially among individuals. Our goal was to investigate how differential interest of children towards animals might be related to social competence and personality. We proposed two alternatives: 1) Children may compensate for potential deficits in social competence by resorting to animals, and 2) Socially well-connected children may show a particular interest in animals. We focused on relationships between age, gender, family background, play behavior, personality components, and contact with rabbits in 50 children (22 boys/28 girls; 3 to 7 years of age) at a preschool in Krems/Austria. Data were analyzed using GLM. We found that each one of these variables had significant impact on intensity of engagement with the rabbits. In general, girls, children with siblings, and children without pets were more oriented towards the rabbits than were boys, children without siblings, or pet-owning children. The older the children, the less frequently they occupied themselves with the rabbits but the longer they remained when they did engage them. Furthermore, we found that the more “Confident/Respected” (PCA factor 1) and less “Patient/Calm,” “Cheerful/Sociable,” and “Solitary” (PCA factors 2–4) the children, the more time they spent in direct occupation with rabbits. Most effects of the investigated variables varied between boys and girls. By and large, our findings support the hypothesis that the “socially competent” children were particularly interested in the animals. Also, children's social styles, as evinced in interactions with peers, were generally reflected in how they interacted with the rabbits.     

Animal care and use issues in movement disorder research

Animal models of movement disorders can present special challenges for the research institutions that use them. Such models often affect the animals' ability to ambulate and perform normal body functions, and these potential effects on health and well-being mandate additional steps to ensure humane animal care and use. Indeed, the appropriate level of care for these models may call for actions that go beyond what is required or considered standard for other protocols. A proactive team approach to animal use protocol development and animal management is important. Through the commitment and involvement of the entire team-researchers, facility personnel, and institutional animal care and use committee members--institutions that use these valuable models can ensure both the fulfillment of research objectives and the implementation of the best practices for animal care. Among the most commonly used animal models of movement disorder are models of stroke, brain and spinal cord injury, dystonia, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease. Despite their relatively wide use, there is very little in the literature that describes the specific needs of individual models and the challenges those needs may present in today's regulatory environment. In this article, we discuss animal use considerations and provide the available animal care information on specific models. Interested readers are also referred to the additional information in the accompanying articles in this issue of ILAR Journal.     

Affective Attitudes of Children and Adults in Relation to the Pupil Diameter of a Cat: Preliminary Data

ABSTRACT

Children from ages 9 to 11 years, as well as adults, express a preference for the picture of a cat with constricted pupils in relation to the same picture with dilated pupils. There was no difference for children from ages 4 to 6 years. The discussion concerns the mechanisms and determinants of these affective attitudes.     

Concepts of Animal Welfare in Relation to Positions in Animal Ethics

When animal ethicists deal with welfare they seem to face a dilemma: On the one hand, they recognize the necessity of welfare concepts for their ethical approaches. On the other hand, many animal ethicists do not want to be considered reformist welfarists. Moreover, animal welfare scientists may feel pressed by moral demands for a fundamental change in our attitude towards animals. The analysis of this conflict from the perspective of animal ethics shows that animal welfare science and animal ethics highly depend on each other. Welfare concepts are indispensable in the whole field of animal ethics. Evidence for this can be found by analyzing the structure of theories of animal ethics and the different ways in which these theories employ welfare concepts. Furthermore, the background of values underneath every welfare theory is essential to pursue animal welfare science. Animal ethics can make important contributions to the clarification of underlying normative assumptions with regard to the value of the animal, with regard to ideas about what is valuable for the animal, and with regard to the actions that should follow from the results of animal welfare science.     

Attitudes toward the use of gender-inclusive language among residency trainees

OBJECTIVE: To explore postgraduate medical trainees'' attitudes toward the use of gender-inclusive language. DESIGN: Self-administered questionnaire. SETTING: Seven residency training programs at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont., from July 1993 to June 1994. PARTICIPANTS: Of 225 residents in the programs, 186 responded to the survey, for a response rate of 82.7%. Men and women were equally represented among the respondents. OUTCOME MEASURES: Categorization of attitudes about the use of language as gender-inclusive or gender-exclusive; characteristics predicting a gender-inclusive attitude. RESULTS: Factor analysis and Cronbach''s alpha (0.90) supported the existence of a construct related to attitudes about language use, the poles of which were categorized as gender-inclusive and gender-exclusive. The authors classified residents with respect to their attitudes to language use from their responses to the questionnaire. In univariate analyses, sex, residency program and country of graduation significantly predicted a gender-inclusive attitude (p < 0.01). Only the first 2 variables were significant in a multivariate model; residency program explained 18% of the variance and sex 3%. Residents in obstetrics and gynecology and psychiatry had the most gender-inclusive attitudes, whereas residents in surgery and anesthesia had the most gender-exclusive attitudes. CONCLUSIONS: Residents'' values are reflected in the language they choose to use. Language use may provide an index of underlying attitudes that may create hostile environments for female trainees.     

Attitudes to Psychiatry in the General Hospital

A survey of consultant attitudes to psychiatry in six general hospitals is presented and compared with reported findings in general practitioners and medical students.Psychological factors were accepted as important in a variety of medical conditions. Different specialties differed little in their attitudes to neurotic patients and to psychiatrists, younger consultants tending to be more critical. Consultants had a lower level of neuroticism than the general population and medical students, and physicians were less extraverted than surgeons; these personality factors were not related to expressed attitudes.The results suggest that other specialties accept the role of psychiatry, and its integration into the general hospital is not likely to meet with antagonism.