Small mammal owners’ experiences of housing challenges and animal welfare: A COM-B and word frequency analysis
Abstract
Small mammals are particularly dependent on owner-provided housing and husbandry yet are frequently kept in conditions that do not meet their welfare needs. This study used the COM-B model (Capability, Opportunity, Motivation = Behaviour) to identify behavioural drivers influencing housing provision among 723 UK small mammal pet owners. This model of human behaviour proposes that behaviour occurs when individuals have the capability, opportunity, and motivation to act. Owners of the eight most commonly kept small mammal species were surveyed: rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus), hamsters (Cricetinae), gerbils (Gerbillinae), rats (Rattus norvegicus), mice (Mus musculus), chinchillas (Chinchilla lanigera), and degus (Octodon degus). Opportunity, particularly the availability of suitable enclosures, emerged as the primary barrier, while Capability and Motivation were identified as facilitators, with most pet owners willing and able to provide good levels of welfare. Owner approaches to assessing health and welfare at home were examined through qualitative word frequency analysis, with responses mapped to the Five Domains model. This analysis focused on rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, and hamsters due to limited data availability for other species. Overall, behavioural indicators were most commonly used to identify positive health and welfare, while nutritional and physical signs were cited most frequently for negative states. Changes in eating behaviour…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a review, done in animal, not in people. Its evidence level is 5 of 5 (Very low · case / narrative / animal / in vitro / in silico). Case reports, narrative reviews, and animal, cell or computer-model studies give the weakest evidence for human health.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Improving the translation of search strategies using the Polyglot Search Translator: a randomized controlled trial
- Nutritional, Physical, Cognitive, and Combination Interventions and Frailty Reversal Among Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial
- Clinical characteristics and risk factors associated with COVID-19 severity in patients with haematological malignancies in Italy: a retrospective, multicentre, cohort study
- A randomized, controlled trial of oral propranolol in infantile hemangioma
- Clinical phenotypes of delirium during critical illness and severity of subsequent long-term cognitive impairment: a prospective cohort study
- Increased physical activity improves sleep and mood outcomes in inactive people with insomnia: a randomized controlled trial
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.