Between Messaging and Action: an Assessment of Animal Freedoms Information Uptake Among Dog Owners in Nairobi County
Abstract
The study’s main objective was to assess animal freedoms information uptake among dog owners in Nairobi County. It was guided by these objectives; to explore the attitudes of dog owners towards the dogs they keep in Nairobi County; to investigate the levels of animal freedoms awareness among dog owners in Nairobi County; to examine the types and nature of information dog owners seek most in Nairobi County; to study the extent to which household income impacts on animal freedoms among dog owners in Nairobi County. This study is anchored on the information diffusion theory which explains how communication is used to influence the adoption of new ideas and processes. The study adopted explanatory research design and used qualitative research approach to examine views, opinions and actions of animal owners participating in this study. This study adopted purposive sampling to select ten dog owners in case study areas of Kibera, Lang’ata and Kitengela. The study also purposively carried out interviews with 2 vets, 2 Non-Governmental Organizations and 1 government official. The qualitative data was analyzed using the classical content analysis method. From the study findings, low income dog owners wish they could give their dogs good care, however they have low dog freedoms and rights awareness due to limited information access. Further low-income dog owners would like to give more to their dogs; however, their financial circumstances limit them from giving beyond their financial limits. In addition, dog care information accessed by Nairobi dog owners was mostly foreign and lacked contextualized solutions. Locally available information on the other hand is not credible and reliable. Based on study findings, this study recommends that Government of Kenya in collaboration with dog welfare groups should focus their dogs’ freedom awareness campaigns to low income dog owners together and their families. Finally, this study suggests that more studies on dogs’welfare should be done in Kenya with focus on quantitative approach.
Publisher
University of Nairobi
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United StatesUsage Rights
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/Collections
- Faculty of Arts [607]
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