An exploration of industry expert perception of Canadian equine welfare using a modified Delphi technique

The diversity of sectors that comprise the equine industry makes reaching a consensus regarding welfare issues a challenge. To allow for productive discussion, equine professionals (n = 34) chosen to represent the diverse specializations from across Canada were surveyed using the Delphi technique—a survey technique employing multiple, iterative “rounds” to consolidate viewpoints—to gather and consolidate information regarding areas of welfare concern in the Canadian equine industry. Only participants who completed the prior round could participate in subsequent rounds. In the first round, respondents were asked to identify examples of welfare issues. Qualitative analysis was used to sort and group answers based on their similarities. Participants identified 12 welfare issues best addressed at the individual horse level, and an additional 12 welfare issues best addressed at the industry level. In the second (n = 24) and third (n = 14) rounds, welfare issues, solutions, and potential motives were consolidated based on order ranking. Themes of “ignorance” and “lack of knowledge” identified throughout all three rounds were cited as both potential risks to welfare as well as motives leading to poor welfare situations. Responses in this study suggest that in order to improve the welfare of equids in the Canadian industry, equine professionals propose that a greater effort is required to help educate industry members and stakeholders such that, through daily routine care and management, higher standards of welfare can be attained.

马产业（equine industry）涵盖多元业态领域，使得围绕福利议题达成共识颇具挑战。为开展富有成效的研讨，研究选取了代表加拿大各地不同专业领域的34名马业从业者，采用德尔菲法（Delphi technique）——一种通过多轮迭代调研整合观点的调研方法——开展问卷调查，以收集并整合加拿大马产业中各福利关切领域的相关信息。仅完成上一轮调研的参与者方可参与后续轮次的调查。首轮调研中，受访者需列举福利议题实例，研究采用质性分析（qualitative analysis）方法，依据答案的相似性对其进行归类整理。受访者共识别出12项需以单匹马个体为核心开展治理的福利议题，以及另外12项需以整个产业为维度进行应对的福利议题。在第二轮（有效参与者24人）与第三轮（有效参与者14人）调研中，研究依据排序结果对福利议题、解决方案及潜在动因进行整合。三轮调研中均被提及的"无知"与"知识匮乏"主题，既被视为福利受损的潜在风险因素，也被认为是导致福利状况不佳的动因。本研究的调研结果显示，为改善加拿大马产业内马科动物（equids）的福利状况，马业从业者提出需加大力度开展产业成员与利益相关方的教育工作，以期通过日常护理与管理工作，达成更高水平的福利标准。