Job satisfaction and animal welfare at slaughter: A survey of Official Veterinarians in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland
In the UK and the Republic of Ireland, Official Veterinarians (OVs) are employed by the Food Standards Agency and the Food Safety Authority, respectively, as legal authorities for both animal welfare and food safety. However, little is known about job satisfaction in this profession which has the po...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Animal Welfare |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0962728624000435/type/journal_article |
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| author | Imogen O’Connor Kelly Gouveia |
| author_facet | Imogen O’Connor Kelly Gouveia |
| author_sort | Imogen O’Connor |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the UK and the Republic of Ireland, Official Veterinarians (OVs) are employed by the Food Standards Agency and the Food Safety Authority, respectively, as legal authorities for both animal welfare and food safety. However, little is known about job satisfaction in this profession which has the potential to impact professionals’ well-being and performance. Moreover, despite animal welfare issues being a reality that OVs witness, we do not yet understand how OVs perceive these issues at slaughter or whether this impacts job satisfaction. We assessed OVs’ perceptions on job satisfaction and views on welfare at slaughter across the UK and ROI, through an online questionnaire with 113 participants, which included socio-demographic information of participants and questions or statements about different aspects of job satisfaction and animal welfare issues at slaughter. While most OVs committed to their work they reported issues that may compromise job satisfaction, such as often experiencing loneliness at work, threatening situations and sleep disorders. Moreover, job satisfaction was often impacted by animal welfare incidents, and conflicts with food business operators were considered one of the greatest barriers to improving welfare at slaughter. There is also the likelihood of professionals’ individual ethical values being challenged since OVs are virtually certain to witness religious slaughter yet disagree with this practice to the extent that they consider it should be banned. We reveal significant challenges associated with the role of OV that justify creation of a support network to assist and safeguard this profession, as well as animal welfare at slaughter. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-23686368c2764a4f87c5ff30813c5dcd |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0962-7286 2054-1538 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animal Welfare |
| spelling | doaj-art-23686368c2764a4f87c5ff30813c5dcd2025-01-20T09:54:43ZengCambridge University PressAnimal Welfare0962-72862054-15382025-01-013410.1017/awf.2024.43Job satisfaction and animal welfare at slaughter: A survey of Official Veterinarians in the United Kingdom and Republic of IrelandImogen O’Connor0Kelly Gouveia1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7052-8933University of Chester, School of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Exton Park Campus, Parkgate Rd, Chester CH1 4BJ, UKUniversity of Chester, School of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Exton Park Campus, Parkgate Rd, Chester CH1 4BJ, UKIn the UK and the Republic of Ireland, Official Veterinarians (OVs) are employed by the Food Standards Agency and the Food Safety Authority, respectively, as legal authorities for both animal welfare and food safety. However, little is known about job satisfaction in this profession which has the potential to impact professionals’ well-being and performance. Moreover, despite animal welfare issues being a reality that OVs witness, we do not yet understand how OVs perceive these issues at slaughter or whether this impacts job satisfaction. We assessed OVs’ perceptions on job satisfaction and views on welfare at slaughter across the UK and ROI, through an online questionnaire with 113 participants, which included socio-demographic information of participants and questions or statements about different aspects of job satisfaction and animal welfare issues at slaughter. While most OVs committed to their work they reported issues that may compromise job satisfaction, such as often experiencing loneliness at work, threatening situations and sleep disorders. Moreover, job satisfaction was often impacted by animal welfare incidents, and conflicts with food business operators were considered one of the greatest barriers to improving welfare at slaughter. There is also the likelihood of professionals’ individual ethical values being challenged since OVs are virtually certain to witness religious slaughter yet disagree with this practice to the extent that they consider it should be banned. We reveal significant challenges associated with the role of OV that justify creation of a support network to assist and safeguard this profession, as well as animal welfare at slaughter.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0962728624000435/type/journal_articleanimal welfarejob satisfactionOfficial Veterinarianreligious slaughterslaughterUK and ROI |
| spellingShingle | Imogen O’Connor Kelly Gouveia Job satisfaction and animal welfare at slaughter: A survey of Official Veterinarians in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland Animal Welfare animal welfare job satisfaction Official Veterinarian religious slaughter slaughter UK and ROI |
| title | Job satisfaction and animal welfare at slaughter: A survey of Official Veterinarians in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland |
| title_full | Job satisfaction and animal welfare at slaughter: A survey of Official Veterinarians in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland |
| title_fullStr | Job satisfaction and animal welfare at slaughter: A survey of Official Veterinarians in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland |
| title_full_unstemmed | Job satisfaction and animal welfare at slaughter: A survey of Official Veterinarians in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland |
| title_short | Job satisfaction and animal welfare at slaughter: A survey of Official Veterinarians in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland |
| title_sort | job satisfaction and animal welfare at slaughter a survey of official veterinarians in the united kingdom and republic of ireland |
| topic | animal welfare job satisfaction Official Veterinarian religious slaughter slaughter UK and ROI |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0962728624000435/type/journal_article |
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