Estudio retrospectivo del grado de bienestar animal de los perros en el cantón Girón, en relación a las cinco libertades de los animales

Abstract

The objective of this research was to evaluate the degree of animal welfare in dogs from the Giron canton, in the province of Azuay-Ecuador, through the analysis of the responses obtained in the surveys carried out to the owners of dogs in the Giron canton. 272 data were tabulated to establish the degree of compliance with the five freedoms based on a previously established score (1 point per question), giving a final value of 2, 5, 5, 5 and 3 points for freedoms 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively. Then, this final value was weighted to 4 points to determine the degree of compliance with each freedom. Finally, the weighted value was related to the percentage of compliance of the owners on the five freedoms, arriving to observe that discomfort (Freedom 2) was the one that was covered to a greater extent (80.5%) in the study area, followed by Freedom 4 (fear and anguish) with 70.6%; in third place was Freedom 1 (from hunger and thirst) with 60.3% compliance, occupying fourth place with Freedom to express normal behavior (Freedom 5) with 51.5%; and finally, the freedom with the least compliance (21.3%) was freedom from pain, injury and illness (Freedom 3). When analyzing the degree of dependence on knowledge of animal welfare and how this allowed for better treatment of animals, it was observed that 69.5% of the general population had an "excellent" degree of welfare with a general average of 15 .8/20 points; thus, concluding that the owners have a high level of knowledge of the subject despite the fact that the five freedoms are fulfilled in different ranges.