背景:全世界对外来宠物的福利越来越关注。就本文而言,外来宠物被认为是非驯养物种,在良好做法(最低护理标准)方面存在知识差距的地方,兽医诊断和治疗。本研究中包括的外来宠物的类别是:小型哺乳动物(<20公斤),大型哺乳动物(>20公斤),鸟,爬行动物,两栖动物,鱼类和无脊椎动物。狗,猫,兔子,仓鼠,沙鼠,豚鼠,老鼠,老鼠,雪貂被排除在研究之外。在2020年7月至8月期间,对都柏林大学的宠物饲养人员进行了一项在线调查,以提供爱尔兰的第一个经验数据。在这项试点研究(本主题系列的第一项)中,我们旨在描述异国情调的宠物所有权,饲养异国宠物的挑战和好处,并从宠物主人的角度获得兽医服务。
结果:通过在线调查,这项试点研究从都柏林大学学院的工作人员(n=〜3600FTE)中的83位国内宠物主人和32位异国宠物主人那里收集了证据。爱尔兰最大的三级机构。在拥有宠物的家庭中,超过10%的家庭仅拥有异国情调的宠物的家庭中,确定拥有异国情调的宠物的患病率为34.4%。鱼(n=15),爬行动物(n=13)和鸟类(n=8)是最常见的外来宠物。34%的异国宠物主人从未寻求过兽医服务,最常见的原因是缺乏当地兽医专家(n=10)和良好的所有者知识(n=8)。然而,确定对动物需求的适当指导是外来宠物主人的共同挑战(n=13)。根据物种的不同,照顾异国情调的合理每月费用为20-180欧元。
结论:这项初步研究对兽医教育具有重要意义,以支持兽医社区为外来宠物拥有社区提供服务。还需要考虑外来宠物所有权的政策问题,并应进一步研究支持外来宠物健康和福利的拟议策略,例如引入白名单和负责任的宠物所有权指南。
BACKGROUND: There has been increasing concern expressed about the welfare of exotic pets worldwide. For the purposes of this article, an exotic pet is considered to be a non-domesticated species, where there are knowledge gaps on good practice (minimum standards of care), veterinary diagnostics and treatments. The categories of exotic pets included in this study were: small mammals (< 20 kg), large mammals (> 20 kg), birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates. Dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, mice, rats, and ferrets were excluded from the study. An online survey of pet owning staff at University College Dublin was conducted between July and August 2020 to provide the first empirical data for Ireland. In this pilot study (the first in this thematic series) we aim to characterise exotic pet ownership, the challenges and benefits of keeping exotic pets, and access to veterinary services from the pet owner\'s perspective.
RESULTS: Using an online survey this pilot study gathered evidence from 83 domestic and 32 exotic pet owners within the staff (n = ~ 3600 FTE) at University College Dublin, the largest third level institution in Ireland. The prevalence of exotic pet ownership was determined to be 34.4 % of households with more than 10 % of pet owning households owning only exotic pets. Fish (n = 15), reptiles (n = 13) and birds (n = 8) were the most common types of exotic pets. Thirty-four per cent of exotic pet owners never sought veterinary services, the most common reasons were due to lack of local veterinary specialists (n = 10) and good owner knowledge (n = 8). However identifying appropriate guidance on the animals\' needs was a common challenge for exotic pet owners (n = 13). A reasonable monthly cost of caring for an exotic ranged from €20-180, depending on the species.
CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study contains important implications for veterinary education to support the veterinary community with providing services to the exotic pet owning community. Policy issues with exotic pet ownership also need to be considered and further research into the proposed strategies to support the health and welfare of exotic pets should be carried out such as the introduction of white lists and guidelines on responsible pet ownership.