Residents’ management of, and attitudes towards, the dog population on two Mariana Islands

Schafer, N and Farnworth, MJ ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6226-0818, 2020. Residents’ management of, and attitudes towards, the dog population on two Mariana Islands. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 23 (2), pp. 140-155. ISSN 1088-8705

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Abstract

This study reports the level of care dogs received from their caretakers and the caretaker and non-caretaker attitudes towards dogs on the islands of Guam and Saipan in order to identify hurdles in dog care and management options for the stray population. Surveys were collected from residents of Guam and Saipan “(274 and 275 respectively)” and analyzed using chi-squared tests. Dogs were the most popular companion animal (Guam 66.4%; Saipan 72% ownership) with a strong preference toward pedigree, male puppies (Guam 45.4%; Saipan 62.4%). The more preferred dogs were housed inside and fed dog food, while the less preferred local mixed-breed dogs were free-roaming and fed table scraps. The majority of caretakers in Saipan and the minority in Guam (59% and 22.8% respectively) had never provided veterinary care to their dog. Generally, caretakers on both islands did not sterilize their dogs, which may result in the potential for unplanned litters and a growth in the dog population. Residents of both islands reported witnessing abusive acts toward dogs, despite dogs being reported as having an important role on the island. This paper considers obstacles regarding veterinary cost, free-roaming populations, and low sterilization rates.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science
Creators:	Schafer, N. and Farnworth, M.J.
Publisher:	Routledge
Date:	2020
Volume:	23
Number:	2
ISSN:	1088-8705
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1080/10888705.2019.1594230 DOI 911220 Other
Divisions:	Schools > School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences
Record created by:	Jonathan Gallacher
Date Added:	18 Mar 2019 13:23
Last Modified:	25 Jun 2021 11:47
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/36067

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