Dierenwelzijn binnen de facultaire gemeenschap

Abstract

In September 2009 the Platform for Veterinary Medicine and Society (PVMS), which is affiliated to the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Utrecht University (FVMU), came up with a Veterinary Position on Animal Welfare (VPAW). It stated that an individual is in a state of welfare when it is able to actively adapt to its living conditions in order to achieve a situation that it experiences to be positive. The FVMU supports this definition. An online survey was conducted to assess the importance of animal welfare among the 971 employees of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Utrecht University. They were asked a series of questions regarding their familiarity with the concept of animal welfare and the VPAW, how closely they follow the faculty approved VPAW and how often animal welfare issues were raised during practical work and education. In total 549 employees responded to the online survey. Most of them scaled animal welfare as very important. One-third of the respondents knew about the existence of the VPAW and 10,4% of the respondents was able to recognize it. Most of the respondents agreed with the VPAW. There were 249 respondents working with animals. The respondents that were confronted most often with animal welfare issues during their occupation were employed by the department of Animal in Science and Society and the Central Laboratory Animals Institute. The respondents employed by these departments also discussed animal welfare issues significantly more often during their classes. Education was scaled as important, very important or essential by almost all respondents. These results showed that animal welfare is an important item for almost all respondents, although only a few respondents were actually familiar with the VPAW. Therefore it is advisable to inform the employees more thoroughly about the existence of the VPAW and how to use it during practical work and education.