Development of an instrument for assessing the welfare of dogs and cats in Zoonosis Control Centers conforming ethical, legal and zoonoses control aspects

• Grant number: 13/14697-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: November 01, 2013
• End date: October 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Collective Health - Public Health
• Principal Investigator: Eduardo Massad
• Grantee: Rita de Cassia Maria Garcia
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina (FM). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The abandonment of dogs and cats represents a condition that could negatively affect human health, animal health and the environment. Strategies for abandon prevention and for the management canine and feline population differ among Brazilian states and municipalities, without a national policy. Cities that have Zoonosis Control Centers (ZCC) usually develop the capture and maintenance of animals a few days before the euthanasia of them. With the establishment of laws that prevent the euthanasia of healthy animals for population management in some Brazilian states and dozens of cities in other states, keep healthy animals in CCZ going for long periods. The lack of adequate physical infrastructure for the keeping of animals, training of employees who handle animals, the material resources for disease prevention, environmental enrichment, proper nutrition, among others, generate situations of distress, illness and decreased the welfare of these animals confined, also interfering in worker safety. Besides spending more for the rehabilitation of these animals, there is a growing social awareness for avoidance of ill-treatment in ZCC. Rapid diagnosis of conditions of well-being bad could help professionals to implement prevention and correction of the situation, saving public resources and providing better conditions for animals. The present work has as main objective to propose a tool for assessment of animal welfare in ZCC and identifying the variables associated with the low score of animal welfare.