Factors affecting the Human Attribution of Emotions toward Animals

ABSTRACT

Attribution of emotions to animals can affect human–animal interactions and dictate animal welfare laws. However, little is known about the factors that influence these attributions. We investigated the effect of belief in animal mind, pet ownership, emotional intelligence, eating orientation, and gender on the attribution of different emotions to a variety of species, from different taxonomic classes, considered as Pet, Use (e.g., used for food, experimentation), or Pest animals. Three hundred and forty-seven participants, aged between 16 and 65 years, completed a questionnaire that measured their belief in the capacity for animals to experience seven primary and secondary emotions. The results showed that attribution of emotions to animals is inconsistent. The ambiguity appears to hinge, in part, upon an animal's functional category and their perceived place in the commonly supposed, though inaccurate, linear hierarchy of species. Nonetheless, the wide range of emotions that were attributed to all species highlights the complex and potentially disorganized thoughts that humans have concerning animals. Belief in animal mind was found to be the strongest and only predictor of emotion attribution to animals in general, but is probably because both are part of the same underlying construct. Ownership of some species—rabbits, horses, rodents and birds—mediated the emotions attributed to that particular species. We conclude that ambiguous attitudes influence the standards of welfare for animals used by humans and that the dichotomous attitudes permit exploitation and welfare violations against animals. Greater understanding of emotion attribution has the potential to improve humane education methods, and suggestions for future research are made.     

Children’s Beliefs about Animal Minds (Child-BAM): Associations with Positive and Negative Child–Animal Interactions

Children and animals can have a great impact on each other’s lives, yet little is known about the underpinnings of these relationships. Children’s interactions with animals may be influenced by their belief in animal minds, that animals are sentient and experience thoughts and feelings. This study introduces a newly developed measure of children’s beliefs about animal minds (Child-BAM) and investigates associations between it and factors relating to positive and negative interactions with animals. Using a questionnaire-based survey of over 1,000 6- to 13-year-olds in the UK, the results show that Child-BAM was associated with higher attachment to pets (p < 0.001), compassion (p < 0.001), humane (p < 0.001) and caring behavior (p < 0.001) toward animals, emotional attachment to animals (p = 0.003), and positive attitudes toward animals (p < 0.001). Child-BAM was also associated with less acceptance of intentional animal cruelty (p = 0.001), unintentional animal cruelty (p = 0.007), and animal neglect (p = 0.01). There was a significant difference in Child-BAM between children with pets (p = 0.013), children who had a pet of their own (p = 0.016), and age group (p < 0.001). This study enhances our understanding of the psychological underpinnings of child–animal relationships and highlights the implications for animal welfare education and for preventing childhood animal cruelty.     

Affective loop experiences: designing for interactional embodiment

Involving our corporeal bodies in interaction can create strong affective experiences. Systems that both can be influenced by and influence users corporeally exhibit a use quality we name an affective loop experience. In an affective loop experience, (i) emotions are seen as processes, constructed in the interaction, starting from everyday bodily, cognitive or social experiences; (ii) the system responds in ways that pull the user into the interaction, touching upon end users'' physical experiences; and (iii) throughout the interaction the user is an active, meaning-making individual choosing how to express themselves—the interpretation responsibility does not lie with the system. We have built several systems that attempt to create affective loop experiences with more or less successful results. For example, eMoto lets users send text messages between mobile phones, but in addition to text, the messages also have colourful and animated shapes in the background chosen through emotion-gestures with a sensor-enabled stylus pen. Affective Diary is a digital diary with which users can scribble their notes, but it also allows for bodily memorabilia to be recorded from body sensors mapping to users'' movement and arousal and placed along a timeline. Users can see patterns in their bodily reactions and relate them to various events going on in their lives.The experiences of building and deploying these systems gave us insights into design requirements for addressing affective loop experiences, such as how to design for turn-taking between user and system, how to create for ‘open’ surfaces in the design that can carry users'' own meaning-making processes, how to combine modalities to create for a ‘unity’ of expression, and the importance of mirroring user experience in familiar ways that touch upon their everyday social and corporeal experiences.But a more important lesson gained from deploying the systems is how emotion processes are co-constructed and experienced inseparable from all other aspects of everyday life. Emotion processes are part of our social ways of being in the world; they dye our dreams, hopes and bodily experiences of the world. If we aim to design for affective interaction experiences, we need to place them into this larger picture.     

Application of the Welfare Quality® assessment system on European beef bull farms

Welfare concerns for intensive beef production have often been raised, but on-farm welfare assessment studies are rare. The aim of this study was to apply the Welfare Quality® (WQ) welfare assessment system for fattening cattle on beef bull farms to evaluate the state of welfare at the level of WQ measures and of aggregated scores, as well as overall classification. In addition, the purpose was to evaluate two ways of providing feedback information to the farmers with regard to possible welfare improvements on the farms. The study was conducted in Austria, Germany and Italy on a total of 63 beef bull farms with deep litter or cubicle-housing systems. Assessments were carried out 3 times (1 month and 7 months apart from the initial visit). In every country, farmers were assigned to two treatment groups (feedback from initial visit as written report, F, written feedback plus oral advice, FA) and a control group (C), which did not receive any feedback. At the criterion level, the highest average welfare scores were obtained from ‘Absence of prolonged hunger’ (94/100 points) followed by ‘Absence of pain induced by management procedures’ (88/100) and ‘Comfort around resting’ (77/100). Most welfare concerns related to the criteria ‘Absence of disease’ (40/100), ‘Expression of social behaviour’ (44/100) and ‘Positive emotional state’ (48/100), thus indicating room for improvements. Two-thirds of the farms achieved the ‘Enhanced’ level, about one-third was judged ‘Acceptable’ and only one farm ‘Excellent’. After 6 months of monitoring period, there was no significant welfare improvement in both the treatment groups as compared with the control group. Reasons for the lack of effect may mainly be seen in the short monitoring period and a lack of external incentives. In conclusion, the WQ assessment system revealed areas for improvement, but longer term studies and investigations on alternative ways of transferring outcomes from on-farm welfare assessments to farmers should be carried out in future.     

Animal Hoarding in Victoria,Australia: An Exploratory Study

Animal hoarding not only presents significant welfare issues for the animals involved, but also for the hoarders and people in the surrounding community. Existing studies on the issue have primarily been undertaken in the USA and little is known about animal hoarding in other countries, including Australia. It has been estimated that the per-capita prevalence of animal hoarding in Victoria, Australia, is similar to that in the USA, but in order to design effective intervention strategies, the extent of the issue and its characteristics need to be identified. This study analyzes data from 22 recent cases of animal hoarding from a number of agencies in Victoria. The demographics and living conditions of animal hoarders in Victoria and the USA were found to be similar. In contrast, the animals involved in hoarding cases in Victoria were in a better condition than the animals in the USA, with behavioral issues being the leading animal welfare concern in Australia. Behavioral problems resulted in euthanasia of the animals in 45% of the cases studied. All of the agencies included in this study call for a greater involvement or support from human mental health services to fully address the root of the problem. The information from this study can be used to help identify groups at risk to develop effective and appropriate means of prevention of, and intervention in, animal hoarding cases.     

我国蛇类养殖业发展的现状与思考

本文对我国蛇类养殖业发展现状进行了较为系统的总结,同时对我国经济蛇类自然资源及市场现状进行了分析,重点论述了经济蛇类的人工养殖技术发展现状及产业化进程中面临的关键问题,并提出了解决这些问题的对策.     

广东省养蛇业的现状与发展策略的研究

目的探讨广东省蛇类养殖业的现状与发展的策略方法在全省范围内按各市县养殖场逐个进行实地考查,调查蛇类养殖场的分布、规模、面积、养殖技术和投资金额以及蛇的种类、数量、来源和贸易情况,分析蛇类养殖存在的问题和经营利用的可能性。并以表格的形式搜集各养蛇场的基础资料、近年来的养殖情况及意见和建议。结果3个养殖最成功的蛇场饲养的主要蛇种类有眼镜蛇、眼镜王蛇、滑鼠蛇、乌梢蛇,目前已基本上解决了蛇类养殖的难题,掌握了蛇类冬眠和管理等关键技术,蛇类存栏量都达到10万条以上,存栏的个体都在第三代以上;养殖成本明显下降,经济效益可观。结论眼镜蛇、眼镜王蛇、滑鼠蛇、乌梢蛇是人工养殖成功的种类,提出发展我国蛇类产业的具体措施和策略,为蛇类养殖产业化、规模化和集约化提出合理化的建议。     

我国实验动物科学带来的动物伦理及福利问题

实验动物是在一定条件下人工饲养繁殖,具有特定的生物学特性,用于科学研究的动物。实验动物是生命科学研究不可缺少的支撑条件,是为人类的健康和发展作出贡献和牺牲的生命体。实验动物科学包括实验动物和动物实验两个方面,是生命科学的重要分支。随着人类社会、经济和文化的发展,动物福利和动物伦理问题已经全面渗透到了实验动物科学乃至生命科学的各个领域之中。在我国,实验动物科学带来的伦理问题主要表现为：缺乏相应的法律法规,对虐杀实验动物的现象缺乏管理,违背实验动物伦理的技术操作现象依然存在,动物保护主义者和实验动物科学工作者之间的矛盾,等等。动物伦理学在中国出现的社会原因是：改革开放后经济的快速发展促使人们的观念转变,与国际的交往促进了东西方文化的交融,同时也是近十几年来教育的结果。近年来,我国实验动物科学领域内关于伦理问题和动物福利的研究进展迅速,实验动物纪念碑的出现和＂3R＂研究概念的传入是其主要表现。改善实验动物的生活条件,杜绝虐杀实验动物的现象,规范动物实验的技术操作,尽快制定和完善相关的法律法规,是进一步努力的目标;而落实组织措施,成立动物伦理委员会及专家组,加强与国际上的交流,推动＂3R＂研究的进展,扩大对社会的宣传,支持爱护动物的行为,注重与动物保护组织的理解及沟通等,是为达到这一目标应采取的措施。