An exploration of industry expert perception of Canadian equine welfare using a modified Delphi technique.
Abstract: The diversity of sectors that comprise the equine industry makes reaching a consensus regarding welfare issues a challenge. To allow for productive discussion, equine professionals (n = 34) chosen to represent the diverse specializations from across Canada were surveyed using the Delphi technique-a survey technique employing multiple, iterative "rounds" to consolidate viewpoints-to gather and consolidate information regarding areas of welfare concern in the Canadian equine industry. Only participants who completed the prior round could participate in subsequent rounds. In the first round, respondents were asked to identify examples of welfare issues. Qualitative analysis was used to sort and group answers based on their similarities. Participants identified 12 welfare issues best addressed at the individual horse level, and an additional 12 welfare issues best addressed at the industry level. In the second (n = 24) and third (n = 14) rounds, welfare issues, solutions, and potential motives were consolidated based on order ranking. Themes of "ignorance" and "lack of knowledge" identified throughout all three rounds were cited as both potential risks to welfare as well as motives leading to poor welfare situations. Responses in this study suggest that in order to improve the welfare of equids in the Canadian industry, equine professionals propose that a greater effort is required to help educate industry members and stakeholders such that, through daily routine care and management, higher standards of welfare can be attained.
Publication Date: 2018-07-30 PubMed ID: 30059509PubMed Central: PMC6066239DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0201363Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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The study conducted qualitative research to understand how equine professionals perceive welfare issues in the Canadian horse industry and found that lack of knowledge is a major barrier to upholding welfare standards. Further, welfare concerns were both horse-level and industry-level, proposing education as a means to resolve these problems.
Research Design and Methodology
- The study involved equine industry professionals from different sectors across Canada to represent diverse perspectives about horse welfare. The Delphi technique was employed to systematically collect and refine the viewpoints of experts in multiple rounds of surveys and discussions.
- Only respondents who completed earlier survey rounds were allowed in the next rounds, thereby filtering out the most relevant viewpoints for later rounds. The rationale behind this approach was the study’s goal to aim for a progressively more sharply defined understanding of the issues at hand.
Data Collection and Analysis
- The initial survey round was exploratory, where respondents were asked to identify and describe examples of welfare issues they perceive in the industry. A qualitative analysis of the responses was carried out to sort and categorize based on the similarities between them. As a result, the analysis identified 12 issues at the individual horse level and an additional 12 at the industry level.
- The subsequent rounds, conducted with a smaller group of participants (24 for the second and 14 for the third), were based on refining a ranked list of welfare issues, potential solutions, and potential causes. These rounds aimed to consolidate and prioritize the breadth of opinions gathered during the first round.
Findings and Recommendations
- The issues reported in the survey were often backed with narratives of ignorance and lack of knowledge in the industry. These emerged as recurrent themes in all three survey rounds, suggesting a widely acknowledged problem.
- The themes of ‘ignorance’ and ‘lack of knowledge’ were notable for being perceived both as threats to horse welfare and as reasons leading to situations of poor welfare in the industry.
- Based on the analysis, the study concludes that enhancing the knowledge and understanding within the industry about horse welfare could help improve the welfare conditions. The implication is that equine professionals should focus their efforts on education to improve daily routines of care and management to elevate the welfare standards for horses within the Canadian industry.
Cite This Article
APA
DuBois C, Hambly Odame H, Haley DB, Merkies K.
(2018).
An exploration of industry expert perception of Canadian equine welfare using a modified Delphi technique.
PLoS One, 13(7), e0201363.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0201363 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
- Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
- School of Environmental Design and Rural Development, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
- Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
- Department of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
- Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
- Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
MeSH Terms
- Animal Husbandry
- Animal Welfare
- Animals
- Canada
- Female
- Horses
- Humans
- Male
Conflict of Interest Statement
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
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Citations
This article has been cited 4 times.- Ross M, Proudfoot K, Merkies K, Elsohaby I, Mills M, Macmillan K, Mckenna S, Ritter C. Horse Housing on Prince Edward Island, Canada: Attitudes and Experiences Related to Keeping Horses Outdoors and in Groups.. Animals (Basel) 2023 Jan 13;13(2).
- Merkies K, Copelin C, Small N, Young J. Noseband Fit: Measurements and Perceptions of Canadian Equestrians.. Animals (Basel) 2022 Oct 6;12(19).
- Rioja-Lang FC, Connor M, Bacon H, Dwyer CM. Determining a Welfare Prioritization for Horses Using a Delphi Method.. Animals (Basel) 2020 Apr 9;10(4).
- DuBois C, Nakonechny L, Derisoud E, Merkies K. Examining Canadian Equine Industry Participants' Perceptions of Horses and Their Welfare.. Animals (Basel) 2018 Nov 7;8(11).
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