Welfare of Indoor Pets and Outdoor Pets in Seri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Abstract

Animal welfare is a broad and multi-faceted topic that refers to the accountability of human towards animal well-being. Animal welfare has been receiving growing recognition worldwide that the public should be aware of. In Malaysia, animal welfare issue especially animal cruelty often gets highlighted and attracts media attention. The study of animal welfare awareness based on the “Five Freedoms” mainly in pet animal is underexplored in Malaysia. This study was carried out to evaluate animal welfare awareness of residents in Seri Petaling and the relationship across the subgroups such as fields of study, age categories and religion status. A total of 349 samples were collected online via the dissemination of questionnaire through Google form. Overall, the level of animal welfare awareness specifically in companion animal of the respondents is in medium category. Among the five freedoms being studied, the differences in the level of animal welfare awareness between three types of pet owners were statistically significant. However, among the age and religious categories, the differences in the level of animal welfare awareness were statistically insignificant.

Kesejahteraan hewan adalah topik lintas disiplin yang luas. Kesejahteraan hewan adalah tanggungjawab manusia terhadap hewan yang penerapannya telah berlaku universal. Oleh karena itu, masyarakat harus memiliki kesadaran terhadap penerapannya. Di Malaysia, masalah kesejahteraan hewan khusus kekejaman terhadap hewan sering disorot dan menarik perhatian media. Penelitian tentang tingkat kesadaran masyarakat terhadap kesejahteraan hewan berdasar prinsip "Five Freedoms" terutama pada hewan peliharaan sangat terbatas di Malaysia. Penelitian ini bertujuan mempelajari kesadaran kesejahteraan hewan dan mengevaluasi hubungan subkelompok seperti bidang studi, kategori usia dan status agama dengan tingkat kesadaran kesejahteraan hewan dari warga di Seri Petaling. Data dari 349 responden dikumpulkan secara online melalui penyebaran kuesioner formulir Google. Secara keseluruhan, tingkat kesadaran responden terhadap kesejahteraan hewan peliharaan tergolong kategori sedang. Dari lima kebebasan yang diteliti, ditemukan perbedaan yang nyata secara statistik dalam kesadaran kesejahteraan hewan diantara pemilik hewan dari ketiga cara pemeliharaan tersebut. Namun, antara kelompok umur dan agama, perbedaan tingkat kesadaran kesejahteraan hewan secara statistik tidak signifikan.