Influência de componentes socioeconômicos e afetivos sobre o abandono e outras formas de maus-tratos direcionados a animais de estimação

Abstract

Domestication of animals has been taking place for a long time. Cats and dogs were selected by humans to control unwanted pests and hunting aid. Once this relationship has been restricted, the species became pets. However, this relationship is not always friendly to pets, which end up being victims of abandonment and other forms of abuse. The motivations for such acts are numerous, which can range from socioeconomic aspects to psychological and cultural factors. In this study, the aspects were analyzed through responses obtained from an electronic form, composed of 65 questions related to the experience of violence, positive and negative opinions and attitudes towards pets. 3699 responses from individuals who claimed to have raised animals were considered valid, 92% of these living in the northeast region of Brazil. Responses were compared between respondents who reported having (707) and having not (2992) abandoned pets, through the Chi-square test and, for the questions in which a significant difference was recorded, the Binary Logistic Regression Analysis was applied to assess the intensity of the contribution of each variable to the expression of abandonment behavior. The results obtained indicate a high frequency of occurrence of abandonment (19%), and suggest that psychological and economic aspects - being a victim of constant physical or psychological aggression, expression of other forms of abuse directed at pets and low family income - exert the greatest influences, increasing the chance of expressing abandonment behavior. On the other hand, support and participation in actions aimed at animal welfare, as well as expression of care for the health of pets did not have a strong influence in reducing the chance of expression of abandonment, suggesting that contexts of violence and socioeconomic vulnerability should be considered when planning actions that aim to reduce the occurrence of abandonment. Given the low representation of participants outside the Northeast region and basic levels of education in our sample, further studies are needed to better understand the motivations that guide the act of abandonment in the Brazilian population.