Suchergebnisse

As the increasing body of scientific information about the experiences of other species and their ability to suffer becomes available to those working within the field of animal welfare, the amount of potential issues to address also increases. Carefully choosing issues to address, and indeed leaders to drive the cause forward, has the potential to significantly increase the efficacy of the international animal welfare movement. Within this study 15 leaders of major international animal welfare organizations were interviewed about their experiences, thoughts and strategies, which have been primarily acquired through long-term exposure to the movement, and endeavors of trial and error. After thematic analysis, key themes are presented, along with strategies and cautions that may be beneficial to the animal welfare movement. Animal welfare leaders suggested a focus on issues that fitted well with their organizations&rsquo ; remit and were not too broad, to avoid spreading resources and expertise too thin. A utilitarian framework was also considered important, aiming to improve the lives of as many animals as possible for the resources deployed. Good leaders were believed to have passion for their cause, not just for animals, and an ability to build and lead good teams, hence good interpersonal human skills were also perceived as essential. It is concluded that establishing what makes a good animal welfare leader could offer useful direction for future engagement of successful leaders in this field.

Although the People&rsquo ; s Republic of China produces more animals for consumption than any other country, very little is known about the attitudes of stakeholders in the livestock industries to animal welfare in farming systems. This study investigated the attitudes of stakeholders in pig and poultry farming in south China towards animal welfare in different farming systems, pig and poultry behaviour, and the inherent value of the animals themselves. Respondents thought welfare was important, particularly if they had worked in the industry a long time, and that they intended to make improvements, even though they also believed it to be generally satisfactory. Outdoor systems were perceived to be better for welfare but indoor systems better for food safety, particularly among respondents that had gained their knowledge from multiple sources. Respondents believed pigs and chickens to have equally important needs, despite the fact that pigs were considered more intelligent than chickens. Pig farmers with outdoor systems had a more positive attitude to making welfare improvements compared with those operating intensive indoor systems. However an absence of enrichment in chicken farms increased respondents&rsquo ; intentions to make improvements, and these were more likely to occur on small chicken farms. Veterinarians and government officials were more likely to perceive welfare as unsatisfactory or to want change it than those working directly with animals. City residents were more likely to support and express confidence that they could improve animal welfare, compared to rural residents. It is concluded that stakeholders in China&rsquo ; s pig and poultry production industries recognised a need to improve welfare, although they saw a conflict with production of safe food. However, farmers involved in intensive production systems were less likely to perceive a need or capacity to improve welfare than those operating more extensive systems, suggesting a dichotomisation of the people in the industry into those in small and outdoor farms that could and were improving welfare and those in indoor intensive farms who did not envisage this happening.

Preslaughter stunning ; the induction of unconsciousness and insensibility of animals prior to slaughter, is an important process for the welfare of livestock. The application of stunning is required by legislation in some countries, and rarely practised in others. In order to effectively advocate the implementation of stunning in the regions that do not include the practice as standard, it is first important to understand attitudes towards stunning, barriers to implementing stunning, and stakeholder willingness to embrace the practice. To this purpose, 17 focus group sessions were held with leaders in livestock production in China, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, India and Bangladesh. Leaders were asked to rate their perceived willingness of livestock stakeholders to embrace stunning, and their rationales were discussed. In addition to this, the leaders were asked to present ideas to improve the willingness of stakeholders to embrace stunning. The data were qualitatively analysed used thematic analysis, quantified, and presented within this manuscript. Importantly, different attitudes and solutions existed by country, mostly in line with the predominating religion within the country, and the stage of economic development. Concerns around nonstatic and constantly evolving animal welfare benchmarks were also presented as important factors impacting the adoption of stunning, and the technical methods used. The findings of this study may aid in the development of programs that aim to increase the adoption of preslaughter stunning practices, to the purpose of improving animal welfare during slaughter.

SIMPLE SUMMARY: For animal welfare scientists and advocates who operate in English, it may be assumed that animal welfare is not an area that receives attention within China; coupled with an awareness that China has not yet opted to enact animal welfare legislation, the reason for this assumption may also be in part due to the perceived lack of animal welfare literature coming from the country. Operating under the hypothesis that animal welfare literature emanating from China may have instead been published in Chinese, rather than English, this study reports the finding of a systematic search of Chinese animal welfare literature on Chinese databases. We searched for articles and research publications released in a recent 10-year period, specifically related to the welfare of the two most commonly farmed land-based animals in China; pigs and chickens, and identified 854 academic publications. In order to facilitate an understanding of Chinese scientific priorities in the field, we further categorised the identified literature into broader approximate categories of welfare freedoms (e.g., freedom from hunger and thirst, freedom to express natural behavior). The identification of a significant animal welfare literature represents an opportunity to increase collaboration with Chinese partners by identifying areas of mutual interest, and to share mutually beneficial knowledge more readily. This could be sustained by increasing the accessibility of Chinese literature to English speakers, and to English literature to Chinese speakers. ABSTRACT: Farm animal welfare in the People's Republic of China (henceforth, China) is not well represented in the international scientific literature. This may lead researchers, advocates and those with agricultural partnerships in China to assume that animal welfare is not a field of interest there. This study reports a literature review of published pig and poultry welfare research in China using Chinese scientific databases. We aimed to determine which areas of welfare research have ...

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Preslaughter stunning is a technical process by which animals are rendered unconscious prior to slaughter, as to avoid the pain and fear of being slaughtered. While it is a legislative requirement in some countries, it is not yet regularly practised in many countries. To better understand why this might be the case, this study conducted focus group sessions with leaders from the livestock industries in China, Vietnam, India, Thailand, Malaysia and Bangladesh. Leaders were asked to rate the willingness of livestock stakeholders to adopt preslaughter stunning, in addition to their suggested solutions for increasing the level of willingness, and their thoughts as to why they were or were not willing to adopt stunning. This data was analysed and presented within this manuscript. The findings were specific to each country, with similar themes shared across some of the countries. The findings of this study may aid in the development of programs that aim to increase the adoption of preslaughter stunning practices, with the purpose of improving animal welfare during slaughter. ABSTRACT: Preslaughter stunning; the induction of unconsciousness and insensibility of animals prior to slaughter, is an important process for the welfare of livestock. The application of stunning is required by legislation in some countries, and rarely practised in others. In order to effectively advocate the implementation of stunning in the regions that do not include the practice as standard, it is first important to understand attitudes towards stunning, barriers to implementing stunning, and stakeholder willingness to embrace the practice. To this purpose, 17 focus group sessions were held with leaders in livestock production in China, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, India and Bangladesh. Leaders were asked to rate their perceived willingness of livestock stakeholders to embrace stunning, and their rationales were discussed. In addition to this, the leaders were asked to present ideas to improve the willingness of stakeholders ...

The second edition of The Nonprofit Sector provides a novel, comprehensive, cross-disciplinary perspective on nonprofit organizations and their role and function in society. This new, updated edition keeps pace with industry trends and advances as well as with the changing interests and needs of students, practitioners, and researchers. As before, every chapter has been written to stand on its own, providing sufficient background for the reader to follow the argument without referring to other chapters-allowing readers to selectively choose those chapters that are most relevant to a particular course, interest, or issue. The Nonprofit Sector: A Research Handbook includes twenty-seven new or updated chapters. Relevant chapters from the previous edition have been refined, and new chapters have been added to fill in gaps, making this the authoritative reference for all who want an accessible, perceptive, and all-inclusive rendering of the nonprofit sector. The contributors-prominent scholars in their respective fields-carefully reflect upon the variety of changes in the rapidly growing world of nonprofits, examining a wide array of organizations, international issues, social science theories, and philanthropic traditions and covering a broad range of topics including the history and scope of nonprofit activities in the United States and abroad, the relation of nonprofits to the marketplace, government-nonprofit issues, key activities of nonprofits, aspects of giving to and joining nonprofits, and nonprofit mission and governance. For anyone who wishes to have a deeper understanding of the nonprofit sector, this remains the essential guide.From reviews of the first edition:"[This book] is the closest thing to a 'bible' of nonprofit sector research and state-of-the-art social science knowledge as currently exists."-Dennis R. Young, Public Administration Review"Invaluable to anyone currently engaged in research or policy decisions involving nonprofit organizations or, for that matter, considering becoming involved."-Jerald Schiff, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management"An exceptionally useful resource."-Mark D. Hughes, The Philanthropist