Familiarity and Interest in Working with Livestock Decreases the Odds of Having Positive Attitudes towards Non-Human Animals and Their Welfare among Veterinary Students in Italy
We investigated the attitudes of veterinary students towards animals and their welfare in Italy. Regression analyses revealed predictors that are significant in differentiating students’ scoring tendency based on their gender, familiarity, and intention to work with a specific animal speci...
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doaj-de685b518428417a91b94307d1388fa52020-11-24T21:17:19ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152018-08-018915010.3390/ani8090150ani8090150Familiarity and Interest in Working with Livestock Decreases the Odds of Having Positive Attitudes towards Non-Human Animals and Their Welfare among Veterinary Students in ItalyChiara Mariti0Federica Pirrone1Mariangela Albertini2Angelo Gazzano3Silvana Diverio4Dipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie, Università di Pisa, 56124 Pisa, ItalyDipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20133 Milano, ItalyDipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20133 Milano, ItalyDipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie, Università di Pisa, 56124 Pisa, ItalyDipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Perugia, 06126 Perugia, ItalyWe investigated the attitudes of veterinary students towards animals and their welfare in Italy. Regression analyses revealed predictors that are significant in differentiating students’ scoring tendency based on their gender, familiarity, and intention to work with a specific animal species, type of diet, and membership in an animal rights association. Female students, who were mostly familiar with pets and aspired to work with species other than livestock, following an animal-free diet and being a member of an animal rights association, had a significantly greater odds of having a high Animal Attitude Scale score (AAS), i.e., very positive attitude towards animals, versus a less positive attitude. Conversely, the familiarity with livestock and preference for working with livestock significantly increased the odds of a low AAS. Overall, students considered all of the Brambell Report’s Five Freedoms important for animal welfare protection. However, students scored higher for companion animals than for livestock, particularly regarding the freedom to express normal behaviour and the absence of fear and distress. This study suggests that veterinary students place less importance on the psychological aspects of welfare for livestock, and there is a tendency for students who are mostly familiar, or aspire to work, with livestock to have a less positive attitude towards non-human animals and their welfare. These findings should be considered within the veterinary educational curriculum due to their potential impact on animal welfare.http://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/8/9/150animal attitude scaleanimal welfareattitude towards animalslivestockpetsveterinary students |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Chiara Mariti Federica Pirrone Mariangela Albertini Angelo Gazzano Silvana Diverio |
spellingShingle |
Chiara Mariti Federica Pirrone Mariangela Albertini Angelo Gazzano Silvana Diverio Familiarity and Interest in Working with Livestock Decreases the Odds of Having Positive Attitudes towards Non-Human Animals and Their Welfare among Veterinary Students in Italy Animals animal attitude scale animal welfare attitude towards animals livestock pets veterinary students |
author_facet |
Chiara Mariti Federica Pirrone Mariangela Albertini Angelo Gazzano Silvana Diverio |
author_sort |
Chiara Mariti |
title |
Familiarity and Interest in Working with Livestock Decreases the Odds of Having Positive Attitudes towards Non-Human Animals and Their Welfare among Veterinary Students in Italy |
title_short |
Familiarity and Interest in Working with Livestock Decreases the Odds of Having Positive Attitudes towards Non-Human Animals and Their Welfare among Veterinary Students in Italy |
title_full |
Familiarity and Interest in Working with Livestock Decreases the Odds of Having Positive Attitudes towards Non-Human Animals and Their Welfare among Veterinary Students in Italy |
title_fullStr |
Familiarity and Interest in Working with Livestock Decreases the Odds of Having Positive Attitudes towards Non-Human Animals and Their Welfare among Veterinary Students in Italy |
title_full_unstemmed |
Familiarity and Interest in Working with Livestock Decreases the Odds of Having Positive Attitudes towards Non-Human Animals and Their Welfare among Veterinary Students in Italy |
title_sort |
familiarity and interest in working with livestock decreases the odds of having positive attitudes towards non-human animals and their welfare among veterinary students in italy |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Animals |
issn |
2076-2615 |
publishDate |
2018-08-01 |
description |
We investigated the attitudes of veterinary students towards animals and their welfare in Italy. Regression analyses revealed predictors that are significant in differentiating students’ scoring tendency based on their gender, familiarity, and intention to work with a specific animal species, type of diet, and membership in an animal rights association. Female students, who were mostly familiar with pets and aspired to work with species other than livestock, following an animal-free diet and being a member of an animal rights association, had a significantly greater odds of having a high Animal Attitude Scale score (AAS), i.e., very positive attitude towards animals, versus a less positive attitude. Conversely, the familiarity with livestock and preference for working with livestock significantly increased the odds of a low AAS. Overall, students considered all of the Brambell Report’s Five Freedoms important for animal welfare protection. However, students scored higher for companion animals than for livestock, particularly regarding the freedom to express normal behaviour and the absence of fear and distress. This study suggests that veterinary students place less importance on the psychological aspects of welfare for livestock, and there is a tendency for students who are mostly familiar, or aspire to work, with livestock to have a less positive attitude towards non-human animals and their welfare. These findings should be considered within the veterinary educational curriculum due to their potential impact on animal welfare. |
topic |
animal attitude scale animal welfare attitude towards animals livestock pets veterinary students |
url |
http://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/8/9/150 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT chiaramariti familiarityandinterestinworkingwithlivestockdecreasestheoddsofhavingpositiveattitudestowardsnonhumananimalsandtheirwelfareamongveterinarystudentsinitaly AT federicapirrone familiarityandinterestinworkingwithlivestockdecreasestheoddsofhavingpositiveattitudestowardsnonhumananimalsandtheirwelfareamongveterinarystudentsinitaly AT mariangelaalbertini familiarityandinterestinworkingwithlivestockdecreasestheoddsofhavingpositiveattitudestowardsnonhumananimalsandtheirwelfareamongveterinarystudentsinitaly AT angelogazzano familiarityandinterestinworkingwithlivestockdecreasestheoddsofhavingpositiveattitudestowardsnonhumananimalsandtheirwelfareamongveterinarystudentsinitaly AT silvanadiverio familiarityandinterestinworkingwithlivestockdecreasestheoddsofhavingpositiveattitudestowardsnonhumananimalsandtheirwelfareamongveterinarystudentsinitaly |
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