Hill, Jackie (author), Mobly, Mallory (author), and McKim, Billy R. (author)
Format:
Paper
Publication Date:
2015
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 138 Document Number: D05795
Notes:
Paper presented in the Agricultural Communications Section of the annual conference of the Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists, Atlanta, Georgia, January 31-February 1, 2015. 22 pages.
See abstract in file folder for Document No. D06143., Abstract of poster presentation at North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture conference, Athens, Georgia, June 16-20, 2015.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 138 Document Number: D05748
Notes:
Drovers CattleNetwork, Lenexa, Kansas. 4 pages., Interview with Nathan Runkle, Mercy for Animals, about livestock abuses reported recently by the organization, based on undercover investigations.
24 pages, This research examines how sheep farmers and industry actors in the United Kingdom (UK) understand and conceptualize what animal welfare scientists term ‘positive animal welfare’. It explores their awareness of the concept, and how they interpret it using a qualitative approach. Participants were recruited using a snowballing, purposive sample approach, resulting in 25 sheep farmers and 11 industry actors (veterinarians, farming organizations, advisors, and supply chain) being interviewed. To collect data, a combined approach involving semi-structured interviews and a facilitated workshop were used between April 2021 and March 2022. Data were then thematically analyzed using a hybrid of inductive and deductive coding process. The findings suggested that the perceptions of farmers and industry actors in the study regarding positive welfare differ from contemporary academic discourses. Overall, around 7 of the farmers equated positive welfare with “positive stockmanship”, while six of them expressed “good animal welfare” definitions associated with the Five Freedoms. In contrast, most industry actors (6) expressed interpretations associated with high welfare standards (going above minimum recommended practices) and positive mental experiences (3). Emerging discourses revealed the link between self-identity, social identity and what positive welfare is, the importance of knowledge exchange, and the need for practical indicators through language rephrasing. There is a clear need to enhance and improve knowledge dissemination strategies, particularly in the UK, where much research is being conducted on positive animal welfare.
