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PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVE OF STRAY ANIMAL ISSUES AND THEIR INTEGRATION INTO EDUCATION

Year 2022, Volume: 8 Issue: 22, 63 - 69, 07.05.2022

Georgıa Ioannidou Vasileios Papavasileiou Dımıtrıos Poımenıdıs

https://doi.org/10.18769/ijasos.1068776

Abstract

The current paper attempts to investigate the views of primary school students of the 4th, 5th and 6th grade on the issue of stray animals and its inclusion in the school curriculum. Taking into consideration the negative impact of the existence of stray animals, it is regarded vital to educate children and formulate a policy aiming at minimizing the phenomenon. The lack of knowledge and training concerning the needs and welfare of animals prior to acquiring pets intensifies the issue as the needs of the animals are not fully understood increasing the likelihood of them being abandoned in most cases. Especially during the economic crisis, the incidents of abuse and abandonment increased rapidly. The research was conducted using questionnaires and the results showed incomplete knowledge of addressing the issue and the underlying cause. The students are aware of the animal needs but there are difficulties in proposing effective ways of managing the case. They consider that dogs are more directly dependent on humans than cats. They seem quite positive in their knowledge about dog and cat care. Nevertheless, the students do not prefer to be informed by teachers, as they consider that the teachers are not properly trained, although many of them desire animal care to be a topic in school textbooks. The students seem to have more trust on Animal Welfare Organizations as a source of information regarding animal care. In addition, it seems that fifth graders are more interested in learning about stray animal issues whereas this interest is declining in older students. Research also showed that a gender correlation exists as girls are more positive in terms of animal care awareness.

Keywords

Stray animals students education educational policy

Supporting Institution

University of the Aegean

References

  • Allen, M. (2015). Preschool Children's Taxonomic Knowledge of Animal Species. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 52(1), 107-134.
  • Baka, A., Ntorli, V. & Argyri, P. (2020). Animal rights. Open Schools Journal for Open Science, 3(3).
  • Brock, C. (2018). Urban animals: gis analysis of stray canines and felines in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Accessed 25 November 2021 from https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/geog_etds/42
  • Delistamatis, B. (2019). Principles of bioethics and euthanasia of pets. Thesis, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Medicine, Democritus University of Thrake. [In Greek]
  • Eriksson, M., Keeling, L. J. & Rehn, T. (2017). Cats and owners interact more with each other after a longer duration of separation. PLOS ONE, 12(10), e0185599. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0185599
  • Farnworth, M. J., Campbell, J. & Adams, N. J. (2011). What's in a Name? Perceptions of Stray and Feral Cat Welfare and Control in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 14(1), 59-74. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888705.2011.527604
  • Fediaf. (2020). Facts and Figures. European Overview. Available at: https://fediaf.org/images/FEDIAF_Facts_and_Figures_2020.pdf
  • Gupta, N. & Gupta, R. K. (2019). Animal Welfare and Human Health: Rising Conflicts over Stray Dogs in Chandigarh. South Asia Research, 39(3), 339–352. https://doi.org/10.1177/0262728019868895
  • Hawkins, R. D., Williams, J. M. & Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty To Animals Scottish Spca. (2017). Childhood Attachment to Pets: Associations between Pet Attachment, Attitudes to Animals, Compassion, and Humane Behaviour. International journal of environmental research and public health, 14(5), 490. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14050490
  • Holland, K. E. (2019). Acquiring a Pet Dog: A Review of Factors Affecting the Decision-Making of Prospective Dog Owners. Animals, 9(4), 124. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9040124
  • Isparta, S., Kaya, U., Sahin, O., Safak, C. E., Ozer, I. Y., Heath, S., Papadatou - Pastou, M. & Salgirli - Demirbas, Y. S. (2021).The first assessment of a dog bite prevention program for pre-school children in Turkey. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 46, 79-86.
  • Jacobson, K. & Chang, L. (2018). Associations Between Pet Owner ship and Attitudes Toward Pets With Youth Socioemotional Outcomes. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 2304. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02304
  • Jakeman, M., Oxley, J. A., Owczarczak-Garstecka, S. C. & Westgarth, C. (2020). Pet dog bites in children: management and prevention. BMJ Paediatrics Open, 4(1), e000726. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjpo-2020-000726
  • Jensen, J. B. H., Sandøe, P. & Nielsen, S. S. (2020). Owner-Related Reasons Matter more than Behavioural Problems-A Study of Why Owners Relinquished Dogs and Cats to a Danish Animal Shelter from 1996 to 2017. Animals, 10(6), 1064. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10061064
  • Kruk, E. (2021). Polish and Estonian Regulations on Homeless (Stray) Animals. Studia Iuridica Lublinensia, Vol. 30 (1), 145-166. https://doi.org/10.17951/sil.2021.30.1.145-166
  • Lawrence, A. B., Muldoon, J., Lakestani, N., Currie, C. E. & Williams, J. (2010). Welfare Education: Evidence for Action. International Conference on Animal Welfare Education: Everyone is Responsible. European Union, Brussels, 1–2 October 2010.
  • Mamzer, H. (2020). Lack of environmental enrichments in shelters for homeless animals: animal welfare and human perceptions for animals’ need. Medycyna Weterynaryjna, 76(5), 273-281.
  • McMillan, F. D., Duffy, D. L., Zawistowski, S. L. & Serpell. J. A. (2015). Behavioral and Psychological Characteristics of Canine Victims of Abuse. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 18(1), 92-111. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10888705.2014.962230
  • Mitrofanova, Yu. S., Fedorchuk, V. K, Grigoryeva, V. E., Buslaev, I. S., Kurbanov, A. R., Gurbanov, A. R. & Belyalova, M. A. (2018) Student Environmental Attitude Towards Stray Domestic Animals. Ekoloji 27(106), 1895-1902.
  • Pagani, C. (2011). Children and Adolescents Who Are Kind to Animals. In C. Blazina, G. Boyraz & D. Shen-Miller (eds.), The Psychology of the Human–Animal Bond. Springer, New York, Dordrecht, Heidelberg, London.
  • Pollick, M. (n.d.). Do Animals get Bored? Accessed from https://www.allthingsnature.org/do-animals-get-bored.htm
  • Prokop, P. & Tunnicliffe, S. D. (2008). Effects of Having Pets at Home on Children’s Attitudes toward Popular and Unpopular Animals. Anthrozoos, 23(1), 21–34.
  • Prothmann, A. & Tauber, E. (2010). Pets in Pediatrics-current Status of Animal-assisted Interventions in Pediatric Hospitals in Germany. 12th International IAHAIO Conference Stockholm. July 1-4, 2010, Stockholm, Sweden.
  • Puurunen, J., Hakanen, E., Salonen, K. M., Mikkola, S., Sulkama, S., Araujo, C. & Lohi. H. (2020). Inadequate socialisation, inactivity, and urban living environment are associated with social fearfulness in pet dogs. Scientific Reports, 10, 3527. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-60546-w
  • Sandøe, P., Jensen, J., Jensen, F. & Nielsen, S. S. (2019). Shelters Reflect but Cannot Solve Underlying Problems with Relinquished and Stray Animals-A Retrospective Study of Dogs and Cats Entering and Leaving Shelters in Denmark from 2004 to 2017. Animals, 9(10), 765. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9100765
  • Sandøe, P., Kondrup, S. V., Bennett, P. C., Forkman B., Meyer, I., Proschowsky, H. F., Serpell, J. A. & Lund, T. B. (2017). Why do people buy dogs with potential welfare problems related to extreme conformation and inherited disease? A representative study of Danish owners of four small dog breeds. PLoS ONE 12(2), e0172091. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0172091
  • Seimenis, A. & Tabbaa, D. (2014). Stray animal populations and public health in the South Mediterranean and the Middle East regions. Veterinaria Italiana, 50 (2), 131-136. https://doi.org/10.12834/VetIt.48.134.3
  • Silva dos Santos, M., Kelsey, K. D., Fuhrman, N. E. & Irwin, K. (2020). Animals in Environmental Education: Assessing Individuals' Emotional Reactions to Interactions with Wildlife. Journal of Agricultural Education, 61(4), 61-77. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2020.04061
  • Szwabe, K. & Błaszkowska, J. (2017). Stray dogs and cats as potential sources of soil contamination with zoonotic parasites. Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine, 24(1), 39-43.
  • Vlemmas, I. C. (2017) Economic crisis and pet animal abuse. Hellenic Journal of Companion Animal Medicine, 6(1), 5-8. Accessed 20 July 2021 from https://www.hjcam.hcavs.gr/index.php/hjcam/article/view/61
  • Vonholdt, B. & Driscoll, C. (2016). Origins of the dog: Genetic insights into dog domestication. In J. Serpell (Ed.), The Domestic Dog: Its Evolution, Behavior and Interactions with People (pp. 22-41). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781139161800.003
  • Young, A., Khalil, K. & Wharton, J. (2018). Empathy for Animals: A Review of the Existing Literature. Curator: The Museum Journal, 61, 327-343.

Year 2022, Volume: 8 Issue: 22, 63 - 69, 07.05.2022

Georgıa Ioannidou Vasileios Papavasileiou Dımıtrıos Poımenıdıs

https://doi.org/10.18769/ijasos.1068776

Abstract

References

  • Allen, M. (2015). Preschool Children's Taxonomic Knowledge of Animal Species. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 52(1), 107-134.
  • Baka, A., Ntorli, V. & Argyri, P. (2020). Animal rights. Open Schools Journal for Open Science, 3(3).
  • Brock, C. (2018). Urban animals: gis analysis of stray canines and felines in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Accessed 25 November 2021 from https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/geog_etds/42
  • Delistamatis, B. (2019). Principles of bioethics and euthanasia of pets. Thesis, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Medicine, Democritus University of Thrake. [In Greek]
  • Eriksson, M., Keeling, L. J. & Rehn, T. (2017). Cats and owners interact more with each other after a longer duration of separation. PLOS ONE, 12(10), e0185599. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0185599
  • Farnworth, M. J., Campbell, J. & Adams, N. J. (2011). What's in a Name? Perceptions of Stray and Feral Cat Welfare and Control in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 14(1), 59-74. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888705.2011.527604
  • Fediaf. (2020). Facts and Figures. European Overview. Available at: https://fediaf.org/images/FEDIAF_Facts_and_Figures_2020.pdf
  • Gupta, N. & Gupta, R. K. (2019). Animal Welfare and Human Health: Rising Conflicts over Stray Dogs in Chandigarh. South Asia Research, 39(3), 339–352. https://doi.org/10.1177/0262728019868895
  • Hawkins, R. D., Williams, J. M. & Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty To Animals Scottish Spca. (2017). Childhood Attachment to Pets: Associations between Pet Attachment, Attitudes to Animals, Compassion, and Humane Behaviour. International journal of environmental research and public health, 14(5), 490. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14050490
  • Holland, K. E. (2019). Acquiring a Pet Dog: A Review of Factors Affecting the Decision-Making of Prospective Dog Owners. Animals, 9(4), 124. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9040124
  • Isparta, S., Kaya, U., Sahin, O., Safak, C. E., Ozer, I. Y., Heath, S., Papadatou - Pastou, M. & Salgirli - Demirbas, Y. S. (2021).The first assessment of a dog bite prevention program for pre-school children in Turkey. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 46, 79-86.
  • Jacobson, K. & Chang, L. (2018). Associations Between Pet Owner ship and Attitudes Toward Pets With Youth Socioemotional Outcomes. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 2304. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02304
  • Jakeman, M., Oxley, J. A., Owczarczak-Garstecka, S. C. & Westgarth, C. (2020). Pet dog bites in children: management and prevention. BMJ Paediatrics Open, 4(1), e000726. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjpo-2020-000726
  • Jensen, J. B. H., Sandøe, P. & Nielsen, S. S. (2020). Owner-Related Reasons Matter more than Behavioural Problems-A Study of Why Owners Relinquished Dogs and Cats to a Danish Animal Shelter from 1996 to 2017. Animals, 10(6), 1064. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10061064
  • Kruk, E. (2021). Polish and Estonian Regulations on Homeless (Stray) Animals. Studia Iuridica Lublinensia, Vol. 30 (1), 145-166. https://doi.org/10.17951/sil.2021.30.1.145-166
  • Lawrence, A. B., Muldoon, J., Lakestani, N., Currie, C. E. & Williams, J. (2010). Welfare Education: Evidence for Action. International Conference on Animal Welfare Education: Everyone is Responsible. European Union, Brussels, 1–2 October 2010.
  • Mamzer, H. (2020). Lack of environmental enrichments in shelters for homeless animals: animal welfare and human perceptions for animals’ need. Medycyna Weterynaryjna, 76(5), 273-281.
  • McMillan, F. D., Duffy, D. L., Zawistowski, S. L. & Serpell. J. A. (2015). Behavioral and Psychological Characteristics of Canine Victims of Abuse. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 18(1), 92-111. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10888705.2014.962230
  • Mitrofanova, Yu. S., Fedorchuk, V. K, Grigoryeva, V. E., Buslaev, I. S., Kurbanov, A. R., Gurbanov, A. R. & Belyalova, M. A. (2018) Student Environmental Attitude Towards Stray Domestic Animals. Ekoloji 27(106), 1895-1902.
  • Pagani, C. (2011). Children and Adolescents Who Are Kind to Animals. In C. Blazina, G. Boyraz & D. Shen-Miller (eds.), The Psychology of the Human–Animal Bond. Springer, New York, Dordrecht, Heidelberg, London.
  • Pollick, M. (n.d.). Do Animals get Bored? Accessed from https://www.allthingsnature.org/do-animals-get-bored.htm
  • Prokop, P. & Tunnicliffe, S. D. (2008). Effects of Having Pets at Home on Children’s Attitudes toward Popular and Unpopular Animals. Anthrozoos, 23(1), 21–34.
  • Prothmann, A. & Tauber, E. (2010). Pets in Pediatrics-current Status of Animal-assisted Interventions in Pediatric Hospitals in Germany. 12th International IAHAIO Conference Stockholm. July 1-4, 2010, Stockholm, Sweden.
  • Puurunen, J., Hakanen, E., Salonen, K. M., Mikkola, S., Sulkama, S., Araujo, C. & Lohi. H. (2020). Inadequate socialisation, inactivity, and urban living environment are associated with social fearfulness in pet dogs. Scientific Reports, 10, 3527. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-60546-w
  • Sandøe, P., Jensen, J., Jensen, F. & Nielsen, S. S. (2019). Shelters Reflect but Cannot Solve Underlying Problems with Relinquished and Stray Animals-A Retrospective Study of Dogs and Cats Entering and Leaving Shelters in Denmark from 2004 to 2017. Animals, 9(10), 765. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9100765
  • Sandøe, P., Kondrup, S. V., Bennett, P. C., Forkman B., Meyer, I., Proschowsky, H. F., Serpell, J. A. & Lund, T. B. (2017). Why do people buy dogs with potential welfare problems related to extreme conformation and inherited disease? A representative study of Danish owners of four small dog breeds. PLoS ONE 12(2), e0172091. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0172091
  • Seimenis, A. & Tabbaa, D. (2014). Stray animal populations and public health in the South Mediterranean and the Middle East regions. Veterinaria Italiana, 50 (2), 131-136. https://doi.org/10.12834/VetIt.48.134.3
  • Silva dos Santos, M., Kelsey, K. D., Fuhrman, N. E. & Irwin, K. (2020). Animals in Environmental Education: Assessing Individuals' Emotional Reactions to Interactions with Wildlife. Journal of Agricultural Education, 61(4), 61-77. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2020.04061
  • Szwabe, K. & Błaszkowska, J. (2017). Stray dogs and cats as potential sources of soil contamination with zoonotic parasites. Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine, 24(1), 39-43.
  • Vlemmas, I. C. (2017) Economic crisis and pet animal abuse. Hellenic Journal of Companion Animal Medicine, 6(1), 5-8. Accessed 20 July 2021 from https://www.hjcam.hcavs.gr/index.php/hjcam/article/view/61
  • Vonholdt, B. & Driscoll, C. (2016). Origins of the dog: Genetic insights into dog domestication. In J. Serpell (Ed.), The Domestic Dog: Its Evolution, Behavior and Interactions with People (pp. 22-41). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781139161800.003
  • Young, A., Khalil, K. & Wharton, J. (2018). Empathy for Animals: A Review of the Existing Literature. Curator: The Museum Journal, 61, 327-343.
There are 32 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Journal Section Articles
Authors

Georgıa Ioannidou

Vasileios Papavasileiou

Dımıtrıos Poımenıdıs 0000-0002-9003-425X

Publication Date May 7, 2022
Submission Date February 5, 2022
Published in Issue Year 2022Volume: 8 Issue: 22

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EndNote Ioannidou G, Papavasileiou V, Poımenıdıs D (May 1, 2022) PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVE OF STRAY ANIMAL ISSUES AND THEIR INTEGRATION INTO EDUCATION. IJASOS- International E-journal of Advances in Social Sciences 8 22 63–69.
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