Concepts in Animal Welfare 3rd Edition © 2014 Module 14 Companion Animal Management Lecture Notes Slide 1: This lecture was first developed for World Animal Protection by Dr Siobhan Mullan (University of Bristol) in 2003. It was revised by World Animal Protection scientific advisors in 2012 using updates provided by Dr Caroline Hewson. This module and Module 26 should be considered together. Some of the important issues introduced here are expanded on in Module 26. Slide 2: In this module we will look at an overview of common welfare problems in companion animals, why these problems occur, and how vets can help improve the welfare of companion animals. In this last part we will emphasise your role within a wider, coordinated approach to controlling overpopulation of dogs and cats, which is a worldwide problem. Slide 3: Around the world, humans have developed a special relationship with certain animals. The relationship can take many forms, but it fulfils a psychological need and provides us with companionship. So, we can define companion animals as species that humans keep primarily for social contact and for pleasure, rather than for performing a task or producing food, fibre, etc. Another word for companion animals is ‘pets’. Companion animals include birds, reptiles and fish, and small mammals such as rabbits. We can see from this list that companion animals are usually domesticated species. However, birds and reptiles may be wild-caught. The most common companion animals are dogs and cats. If these animals run away or if the owners relinquish them, they create populations of strays. Strays live freely without homes or owners. With uncontrolled reproduction, stray populations can become very large and they are a major problem around the world.
Companion Animal Management
Jul 10, 2023
Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Related Documents
