Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-pftt2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-30T15:44:30.327Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Attitudes towards animals and belief in animal mind among first-year veterinary students before and after an introductory animal welfare course

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

JA Robbins ,
JA Danielson ,
AK Johnson ,
RL Parsons ,
MW Jorgensen  and
ST Millman
JA Robbins*
Affiliation:
Department of Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
JA Danielson
Affiliation:
Office of Academic and Student Affairs, College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
AK Johnson
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Science, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
RL Parsons
Affiliation:
Department of Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
MW Jorgensen
Affiliation:
Department of Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA Department of Animal Science, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
ST Millman
Affiliation:
Department of Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA Department of Biomedical Sciences, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
*
* Contact for correspondence: robbinsj@iastate.edu
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Veterinarians are increasingly looked to for guidance on matters relating to animal welfare, yet little is known about US veterinary students’ attitudes and beliefs about animals. In 2019, we surveyed all first-year veterinary students at a major US veterinary college (n = 123) before and after taking a required one-credit introductory animal welfare course. Attitudes were measured using the Pests, Pets and Profit (PPP) scale and belief in animal mind (BAM) was measured using an ad hoc measure adapted from previous work. Pre- and post-course comparisons indicated the introductory animal welfare course had no immediate effect on veterinary students’ attitudes or BAM. Veterinary students’ attitudes were most positive for animals considered pets, followed by pests and those used for profit. Students believed most species possess a wide variety of mental capacities, including many secondary emotions often considered uniquely human (eg guilt, embarrassment, jealousy). Sociodemographic variables consistently associated with more positive attitudes towards animals were: female gender, vegetarianism and liberal political ideology. Preferring a career involving large or food animal practice was consistently associated with less positive attitudes towards animals. Belief in animal mind explained 3% of the variation in attitude scores, whereas sociodemographic variables explained 49% of variation in attitude scores. Female gender, vegetarianism and preferring small (vs large or food animal practice) were all associated with greater BAM scores. Understanding veterinary student attitudes towards animals and beliefs about the mental capacities of animals is important when evaluating a veterinarian's ability to adhere to their oath.

Keywords

animal welfareattitude changebelief in animal mindeducationemotionveterinary medicine
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 30 , Issue 4 , November 2021 , pp. 409 - 418
Copyright
© 2021 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

References

Abood, SK and Siegford, JM 2012 Student perceptions of an animal-welfare and ethics course taught early in the veterinary curriculum. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education 39: 136–141CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Adler N and J Stewart 2007 The MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status. http://www.macses.ucsf.eduGoogle Scholar
American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) 2011 About the AVMA: Who we are. http://www.avma.org/about_avma/whoweare/oath.aspGoogle Scholar
American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) 2020 COE accreditation policies and procedures. https://www.avma.org/ProfessionalDevelopment/Education/Accreditatio n/Colleges/Pages/coe-pp-requirements-of- accredited-college.aspxGoogle Scholar
Amiot, CE and Bastian, B 2015 Toward a psychology of human– animal relations. Psychological Bulletin 141: 6CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Amiot, CE, Bastian, B and Martens, P 2016 People and com-panion animals: It takes two to tango. BioScience 66: 552–560. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biw051CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) 2020 Annual Data Report 2019-2020. http://www.aavmc.org/About-AAVMC/Public-Data.aspxGoogle Scholar
Auger, B and Amiot, CE 2019 Testing the roles of intergroup anxiety and inclusion of animals in the self as mechanisms that underpin the “pets as ambassadors” effect. Anthrozoös 32: 5–21CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bastian, B, Loughnan, S, Haslam, N and Radke, HR 2012 Don't mind meat? The denial of mind to animals used for human consumption. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 38: 247–256CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Beswick, A, Dewey, C, Johnson, R, Dowsett-Cooper, J and Niel, L 2016 Survey of Ontario veterinarians’ knowledge and atti-tudes on pain in dogs and cats in 2012. The Canadian Veterinary Journal 57: 1274Google Scholar
Cavusoglu, E and Uzabaci, E 2021 Attitudes of Turkish veteri-nary students towards farm animal welfare. Animal Welfare 30: 325–330. https://doi.org/10.7120/09627286.30.3.010CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chun, M, Kim, J, Lee, M and Ryu, P 2010 Attitudes toward ani-mals and decision making on veterinary ethical issues in Korean veterinary students. Journal of Veterinary Clinics 27: 29–34Google Scholar
Clarke, N and Paul, ES 2019 Veterinary students’ beliefs about animal sentience: What role does gender play? Anthrozoös 32: 581–595. https://doi.org/10.1080/08927936.2019.1645503CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Colombo, ES, Crippa, F, Calderari, T and Prato-Previde, E 2017 Empathy toward animals and people: The role of gender and length of service in a sample of Italian veterinarians. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 17: 32–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2016.10.010CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dohoo, SE and Dohoo, IR 1996 Postoperative use of analgesics in dogs and cats by Canadian veterinarians. The Canadian Veterinary Journal 37: 546Google ScholarPubMed
Driscoll, JW 1992 Attitudes toward animal use. Anthrozoös 5: 32–39. https://doi.org/10.2752/089279392787011575CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fazio, RH 1986 How do attitudes guide behavior? In: Sorrentino, RM and Higgins, ET (eds) Handbook of Motivation and Cognition: Foundations of Social Behavior pp 204–243. Guildford Press: New York, NY, USAGoogle Scholar
Graça, J, Calheiros, MM, Oliveira, A and Milfont, TL 2018 Why are women less likely to support animal exploitation than men? The mediating roles of social dominance orientation and empathy. Personality and Individual Differences 129: 66–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2018.03.007CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Graham, J, Haidt, J, Koleva, S, Motyl, M, Iyer, R, Wojcik, SP and Ditto, PH 2013 Moral foundations theory: The pragmatic validity of moral pluralism. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 4: 55–130. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-407236-7.00002-4CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Graham, J, Haidt, J and Nosek, BA 2009 Liberals and conser-vatives rely on different sets of moral foundations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 96: 1029. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015141CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gray, K, Young, L and Waytz, A 2012 Mind perception is the essence of morality. Psychological Inquiry 23: 101–124. https://doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2012.651387CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hazel, SJ, Signal, TD and Taylor, N 2011 Can teaching veteri-nary and animal-science students about animal welfare affect their attitude toward animals and human-related empathy? Journal of Veterinary Medical Education 38: 74–83. https://doi.org/10.3138/jvme.38.1.74CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heleski, CR, Mertig, AG and Zanella, AJ 2005 Results of a national survey of US veterinary college faculty regarding attitudes toward farm animal welfare. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 226: 1538–1546. https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.2005.226.1538CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Herzog, HA 2007 Gender differences in human-animal interactions: A review. Anthrozoös 20: 7–21. https://doi.org/10.2752/089279307780216687CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herzog, HA and Mathews, S 1997 Personality and attitudes toward the treatment of animals. Society & Animals 5: 169–175. https://doi.org/10.1163/156853097X00060CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hewson, CJ, Dohoo, IR and Lemke, KA 2006 Perioperative use of analgesics in dogs and cats by Canadian veterinarians in 2001. The Canadian Veterinary Journal 47: 352Google ScholarPubMed
Hewson, CJ, Dohoo, IR, Lemke, KA and Barkema, HW 2007 Canadian veterinarians’ use of analgesics in cattle, pigs, and horses in 2004 and 2005. The Canadian Veterinary Journal 48: 155Google ScholarPubMed
Johnstone, EC, Frye, MA, Lord, LK, Baysinger, AK and Edwards-Callaway, LN 2019 Knowledge and opinions of third year veterinary students relevant to animal welfare before and after implementation of a core welfare course. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 6: 103. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2019.00103CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kendall, HA, Lobao, LM and Sharp, JS 2006 Public concern with animal well-being: Place, social structural location, and individ-ual experience. Rural Sociology 71: 399–428. https://doi.org/10.1526/003601106778070617CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keown, AJ, Farnworth, MJ and Adams, NJ 2011 Attitudes towards perception and management of pain in rabbits and guinea pigs by a sample of veterinarians in New Zealand. New Zealand Veterinary Journal 59: 305–310. https://doi.org/10.1080/00480169.2011.609477CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Knight, S, Vrij, A, Cherryman, J and Nunkoosing, K 2004 Attitudes towards animal use and belief in animal mind. Anthrozoös 17: 43–62. https://doi.org/10.2752/089279304786991945CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levine, ED, Mills, DS and Houpt, KA 2005 Attitudes of veteri-nary students at one US college toward factors relating to farm animal welfare. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education 32: 481–490. https://doi.org/10.3138/jvme.32.4.481CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lord, LK, Millman, ST, Carbone, L, Cook, N, Fisher, A, McKeegan, D, Morton, D, Pajor, E, Peralta, JM, Robertson, SA, Seigford, J, Egrie, PG, Mashima, TY, Turner, PV, Golab, GC and Patterson-Kane, E 2017 A model curriculum for the study of animal welfare in colleges and schools of veterinary med-icine. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 250: 632–640. https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.250.6.632Google Scholar
Lord, LK, Walker, JB, Croney, CC and Golab, GC 2010 A com-parison of veterinary students enrolled and not enrolled in an ani-mal-welfare course. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education 37: 40–48. https://doi.org/10.3138/jvme.37.1.40CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lyons-Thomas, J, Liu, Y and Zumbo, BD 2014 Validation practices in the social, behavioural, and health sciences: A synthesis of synthe-ses. In: Zumbo, BD and Chan, EKH (eds) Validity and Validation in Social, Behavioural and Health Sciences pp 313–319. Springer International: Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-07794-9_18CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McKendree, MG, Croney, CC and Widmar, NO 2014 Effects of demographic factors and information sources on United States consumer perceptions of animal welfare. Journal of Animal Science 92: 3161–3173. https://doi.org/10.2527/jas.2014-6874CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Menor-Campos, DJ, Hawkins, R and Williams, J 2018 Belief in animal mind among Spanish primary school children. Anthrozoös 31: 599–614. https://doi.org/10.1080/08927936.2018.1505340CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morris, PH, Doe, C and Godsell, E 2008 Secondary emotions in non-primate species? Behavioural reports and subjective claims by animal owners. Cognition and Emotion 22: 3–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930701273716CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morris, PH, Knight, S and Lesley, S 2012 Belief in animal mind: does familiarity with animals influence beliefs about animal emotions? Society & Animals 20: 211–224. https://doi.org/10.1163/15685306-12341234CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paul, ES and Podberscek, AL 2000 Veterinary education and students’ attitudes towards animal welfare. Veterinary Record 146: 269–272. https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.146.10.269CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Paul, ES and Serpell, JA 1993 Childhood pet keeping and humane attitudes in young adulthood. Animal Welfare 2: 321–337Google Scholar
Pinker, S 2012 The Better Angels of our Nature: Why Violence has Declined. Penguin Group: USAGoogle Scholar
Raekallio, M, Heinonen, KM, Kuussaari, J and Vainio, O 2003 Pain alleviation in animals: attitudes and practices of Finnish veteri-narians. The Veterinary Journal 165: 131–135. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1090-0233(02)00186-7CrossRefGoogle Scholar
R Core Team 2017 R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing: Vienna, AustriaGoogle Scholar
Serpell, JA 2005 Factors influencing veterinary students’ career choices and attitudes to animals. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education 32: 491–496. https://doi.org/10.3138/jvme.32.4.491CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shivley, C, Garry, F, Kogan, L and Grandin, T 2016 Survey of ani-mal welfare, animal behavior, and animal ethics courses in the cur-ricula of AVMA Council on Education-accredited veterinary col-leges and schools. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 248: 1165–1170. https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.248.10.1165CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, N and Signal, TD 2006 Attitudes to animals: Demographics within a community sample. Society & Animals 14: 147–157. https://doi.org/10.1163/156853006776778743CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, N and Signal, TD 2009 Pet, pest, profit: Isolating differ-ences in attitudes towards the treatment of animals. Anthrozoös 22: 129–135. https://doi.org/10.2752/175303709X434158CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wanous, JP and Reichers, AE 1996 Estimating the reliability of a single-item measure. Psychological Reports 78: 631–634. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1996.78.2.631CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weber, GH, Morton, JM and Keates, H 2012 Postoperative pain and perioperative analgesic administration in dogs: practices, attitudes and beliefs of Queensland veterinarians. Australian Veterinary Journal 90: 186–193. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-0813.2012.00901.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wynd, WR and Mager, J 1989 The business and society course: Does it change student attitudes? Journal of Business Ethics 8: 487–491. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00381815CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Robbins et al. supplementary material
Download undefined(File)
File 146.1 KB