A Survey Study of Veterinary Student Opinions and Knowledge about Pet Reptiles and Their Welfare

Exotic pet medicine is rapidly evolving, with reptiles becoming increasingly popular pet animals. Yet, there are only a few literature reports on veterinary perception of reptiles kept as pets. The aim of the study was to assess opinions and knowledge of the Croatian veterinarians-to-be about pet re...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Mario Ostović, Ivana Sabolek, Aneta Piplica, Ivona Žura Žaja, Sven Menčik, Srebrenka Nejedli, Željka Mesić
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	veterinary students survey exotic pets reptiles animal welfare Veterinary medicine SF600-1100 Zoology QL1-991
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/e6f65c0dd8a74f2c8b05ca623e0cd08d
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:e6f65c0dd8a74f2c8b05ca623e0cd08d
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:e6f65c0dd8a74f2c8b05ca623e0cd08d2021-11-25T16:18:35ZA Survey Study of Veterinary Student Opinions and Knowledge about Pet Reptiles and Their Welfare10.3390/ani111131852076-2615https://doaj.org/article/e6f65c0dd8a74f2c8b05ca623e0cd08d2021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/11/3185https://doaj.org/toc/2076-2615Exotic pet medicine is rapidly evolving, with reptiles becoming increasingly popular pet animals. Yet, there are only a few literature reports on veterinary perception of reptiles kept as pets. The aim of the study was to assess opinions and knowledge of the Croatian veterinarians-to-be about pet reptiles and their welfare. The questionnaire survey was conducted in the academic year 2019–2020 and included students of all six years of the integrated undergraduate and graduate study at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb. First-year students were surveyed twice, before and after having attended the compulsory course on animal welfare. Questionnaire statements were 5-point Likert scale questions, requiring the students to express their opinions about turtles, lizards and snakes as pets, issues related to their welfare, risks they pose to the health and safety of humans, other animals and the environment, and their self-reported knowledge about pet reptiles. Although expressing higher opinions after having attended the course on animal welfare, first-year student responses remained neutral to most of the statements. Such a trend continued until the end of the study. Student responses revealed that they were uncertain about their knowledge of reptiles as pets, considering different educational areas observed. Study results emphasised the need of alterations in veterinary curriculum and additional student education in reptile medicine. The results obtained have broad implications involving not only the welfare of pet reptiles in clinical practice and elsewhere but also the health and safety of humans and other animals, as well as environmental protection.Mario OstovićIvana SabolekAneta PiplicaIvona Žura ŽajaSven MenčikSrebrenka NejedliŽeljka MesićMDPI AGarticleveterinary studentssurveyexotic petsreptilesanimal welfareVeterinary medicineSF600-1100ZoologyQL1-991ENAnimals, Vol 11, Iss 3185, p 3185 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	veterinary students survey exotic pets reptiles animal welfare Veterinary medicine SF600-1100 Zoology QL1-991
spellingShingle	veterinary students survey exotic pets reptiles animal welfare Veterinary medicine SF600-1100 Zoology QL1-991 Mario Ostović Ivana Sabolek Aneta Piplica Ivona Žura Žaja Sven Menčik Srebrenka Nejedli Željka Mesić A Survey Study of Veterinary Student Opinions and Knowledge about Pet Reptiles and Their Welfare
description	Exotic pet medicine is rapidly evolving, with reptiles becoming increasingly popular pet animals. Yet, there are only a few literature reports on veterinary perception of reptiles kept as pets. The aim of the study was to assess opinions and knowledge of the Croatian veterinarians-to-be about pet reptiles and their welfare. The questionnaire survey was conducted in the academic year 2019–2020 and included students of all six years of the integrated undergraduate and graduate study at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb. First-year students were surveyed twice, before and after having attended the compulsory course on animal welfare. Questionnaire statements were 5-point Likert scale questions, requiring the students to express their opinions about turtles, lizards and snakes as pets, issues related to their welfare, risks they pose to the health and safety of humans, other animals and the environment, and their self-reported knowledge about pet reptiles. Although expressing higher opinions after having attended the course on animal welfare, first-year student responses remained neutral to most of the statements. Such a trend continued until the end of the study. Student responses revealed that they were uncertain about their knowledge of reptiles as pets, considering different educational areas observed. Study results emphasised the need of alterations in veterinary curriculum and additional student education in reptile medicine. The results obtained have broad implications involving not only the welfare of pet reptiles in clinical practice and elsewhere but also the health and safety of humans and other animals, as well as environmental protection.
format	article
author	Mario Ostović Ivana Sabolek Aneta Piplica Ivona Žura Žaja Sven Menčik Srebrenka Nejedli Željka Mesić
author_facet	Mario Ostović Ivana Sabolek Aneta Piplica Ivona Žura Žaja Sven Menčik Srebrenka Nejedli Željka Mesić
author_sort	Mario Ostović
title	A Survey Study of Veterinary Student Opinions and Knowledge about Pet Reptiles and Their Welfare
title_short	A Survey Study of Veterinary Student Opinions and Knowledge about Pet Reptiles and Their Welfare
title_full	A Survey Study of Veterinary Student Opinions and Knowledge about Pet Reptiles and Their Welfare
title_fullStr	A Survey Study of Veterinary Student Opinions and Knowledge about Pet Reptiles and Their Welfare
title_full_unstemmed	A Survey Study of Veterinary Student Opinions and Knowledge about Pet Reptiles and Their Welfare
title_sort	survey study of veterinary student opinions and knowledge about pet reptiles and their welfare
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/e6f65c0dd8a74f2c8b05ca623e0cd08d
work_keys_str_mv	AT marioostovic asurveystudyofveterinarystudentopinionsandknowledgeaboutpetreptilesandtheirwelfare AT ivanasabolek asurveystudyofveterinarystudentopinionsandknowledgeaboutpetreptilesandtheirwelfare AT anetapiplica asurveystudyofveterinarystudentopinionsandknowledgeaboutpetreptilesandtheirwelfare AT ivonazurazaja asurveystudyofveterinarystudentopinionsandknowledgeaboutpetreptilesandtheirwelfare AT svenmencik asurveystudyofveterinarystudentopinionsandknowledgeaboutpetreptilesandtheirwelfare AT srebrenkanejedli asurveystudyofveterinarystudentopinionsandknowledgeaboutpetreptilesandtheirwelfare AT zeljkamesic asurveystudyofveterinarystudentopinionsandknowledgeaboutpetreptilesandtheirwelfare AT marioostovic surveystudyofveterinarystudentopinionsandknowledgeaboutpetreptilesandtheirwelfare AT ivanasabolek surveystudyofveterinarystudentopinionsandknowledgeaboutpetreptilesandtheirwelfare AT anetapiplica surveystudyofveterinarystudentopinionsandknowledgeaboutpetreptilesandtheirwelfare AT ivonazurazaja surveystudyofveterinarystudentopinionsandknowledgeaboutpetreptilesandtheirwelfare AT svenmencik surveystudyofveterinarystudentopinionsandknowledgeaboutpetreptilesandtheirwelfare AT srebrenkanejedli surveystudyofveterinarystudentopinionsandknowledgeaboutpetreptilesandtheirwelfare AT zeljkamesic surveystudyofveterinarystudentopinionsandknowledgeaboutpetreptilesandtheirwelfare
_version_	1718413288958590976

A Survey Study of Veterinary Student Opinions and Knowledge about Pet Reptiles and Their Welfare

Ejemplares similares