Social perception of the presence of free-ranging dogs and cats in green areas of a Neotropical city

Rafael Flores-Peredo; Rocío Angélica Mendoza-Viveros; Isac Mella-Méndez

doi:10.15451/ec2026-01-15-03-1-15

Autores

Rafael Flores-Peredo Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales, Universidad Veracruzana https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7038-4885
Rocío Angélica Mendoza-Viveros
Isac Mella-Méndez Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales, Universidad Veracruzana

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15451/ec2026-01-15-03-1-15

Palavras-chave:

Pets, responsible pets ownership, urban areas, urban wildlife, exotic species

Resumo

Social perception of dogs and cats in urban green areas (UGAs) is a controversial issue. Our objective was to determine social perceptions regarding the presence of free-ranging dogs and cats in the UGA of the city of Xalapa, in Veracruz, Mexico, considering human demographic variables. During January-September 2019, we surveyed 480 individuals through a questionnaire with binary responses and Likert scale, exploring their perception of the dogs and cats using UGA for shelter, breeding and preying on wildlife, as well as to determine the perceived nuisance of the presence of excreta and high abundance of free-ranging dogs and cats in the streets and UGA. We also analyzed their opinion of the implementation of mass-sterilization strategies and imposition of fines for irresponsible ownership. Our results showed that male semi-owners of the animals with no university education are most in agreement with these animals using the UGA for shelter, while semi-owners with no university education of the zones of high and medium socioeconomic status are those most in agreement with the dogs and cats breeding in the UGA. Most of the respondents were against the dogs and cats preying on wildlife, defecating in the streets and generating a nuisance through their high abundance. These results show that the social perception of free-ranging dogs and cats is somewhat complex and is strongly associated with demographic variables, which are important to the design of effective strategies of management and raising awareness among each demographic group.

Downloads

Não há dados estatísticos.

Referências

Ajzen I (1991) The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 50:179-211. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T

Arrington A, Markarian M (2018) Serving pets in poverty: A new frontier for the animal welfare movement. Sustainable Development Law & Policy 18:11

Baker PJ, Soulsbury CD, Iossa G, Harris S (2010) Domestic cat (Felis catus) and domestic dog (Canis familiaris). In: Gehrt SD, Riley SPD and Cypher BL (Eds) Urban carnivores – ecology, conflict, and conservation. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. pp. 157–172.

Barton K (2018) Package ‘MuMIn’: Multi-model Inference. R Package, version 1.42.1 [https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/MuMIn/MuMIn.pdf] Accessed 04 November 2024.

Beckman M, Hill K, Farnworth M, Bolwell C, Bridges J, Acke E (2014) Tourists’ perceptions of the free-roaming dog population in Samoa. Animals 4:599–611. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani4040599 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani4040599

Burnham KP, Anderson DR (2004) Multimodel inference. Sociological Methods & Research 33:261–304. https://doi.org/10.1177/0049124104268644 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0049124104268644

Canal D, Martín B, De Lucas M, Ferrer M (2018) Dogs are the main species involved in animal-vehicle collisions in southern Spain: Daily, seasonal and spatial analyses of collisions. PLoS ONE 13:e0203693. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0203693 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0203693

Changrani-Rastogi A, Thakur N (2023) Attitudes towards urban stray cats and managing their population in India: a pilot study. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2023.1274243 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2023.1274243

Cohen SP (2002) Can pets function as family members? Western Journal of Nursing Research 24:621–638. https://doi.org/10.1177/019394502320555386. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/019394502320555386

Conroy M, O’Neill D, Boag A, Church D, Brodbelt D (2018) Epidemiology of road traffic accidents in cats attending emergency‐care practices in the UK. Journal of Small Animal Practice 60:146–152. https://doi.org/10.1111/jsap.12941 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jsap.12941

Dantas-Torres F, Otranto D (2014) Dogs, cats, parasites, and humans in Brazil: opening the black box. Parasites & Vectors 7:22. https://doi.org/10.1186/1756-3305-7-22 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1756-3305-7-22

Deak BP, Ostendorf B, Taggart DA, Peacock DE, Bardsley DK (2019) The significance of social perceptions in implementing successful feral cat management strategies: A Global Review. Animals 9:617. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9090617 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9090617

Doherty TS, Glen AS, Nimmo DG, Ritchie EG, Dickman CR (2016) Invasive predators and global biodiversity loss. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 113:11261–11265. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1602480113 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1602480113

Downes M, Canty MJ, More SJ (2009) Demography of the pet dog and cat population on the island of Ireland and human factors influencing pet ownership. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 92:140–149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2009.07.005 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2009.07.005

Fishbein M, Ajzen I (1975) Belief, attitude, intention, and behavior: An introduction to theory and research. Addison-Wesley, Massachusetts, USA.

Gaarder E (2011) Where the boys aren’t: The predominance of women in animal rights activism. Feminist Formations 23(2):54–76. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/ff.2011.0019

García E (1981) Modificaciones al sistema de clasificación climática de Köppen (para adaptarlo a las condiciones de la República Mexicana). Instituto de Geografía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México.

Gehrt SD, Wilson EC, Brown JL, Anchor C (2013) Population ecology of free-roaming cats and interference competition by coyotes in urban parks. PLoS ONE 8:e75718 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0075718 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0075718

Ghasemzadeh I, Namazi S H (2015) Review of bacterial and viral zoonotic infections transmitted by dogs. Journal of Medicine and Life 8(4):1–5.

Goldstein EJC, Abrahamian FM (2015) Diseases transmitted by cats. Microbiology Spectrum 3(5). https://doi.org/10.1128/microbiolspec.iol5-0013-2015 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/microbiolspec.IOL5-0013-2015

Gompper ME (2014) Free-ranging dogs and wildlife conservation. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199663217.001.0001

Gunaseelan S, Coleman GJ, Toukhsati SR (2013) Attitudes toward responsible pet ownership behaviors in Singaporean cat owners. Anthrozoös 26:199–211 https://doi.org/10.2752/175303713X13636846944123 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2752/175303713X13636846944123

Holland KE (2019) Acquiring a pet dog: A review of factors affecting the decision-making of prospective dog owners. Animals 9(4):124. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9040124 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9040124

INEGI (2010) Censo de población y vivienda. Principales resultados por AGEB y manzana urbana. [https://www.inegi.org.mx/app] Accessed September 06 November 2024.

Jacobson KC, Chang L (2018) Associations between pet ownership and attitudes toward pets with youth socioemotional outcomes. Frontiers in Psychology 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02304 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02304

James G, Witten D, Hastie T, Tibshirani R (2017) ISLR: Data for an Introduction to Statistical Learning with Applications in R. [https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/ISLR/ISLR.pdf]. Accessed September 06 November 2024.

Ley 876 Gaceta Oficial, Gobierno del Estado de Veracruz (2016) [https://www.legisver.gob.mx/leyes/LeyesPDF/ANIMALES101116.pdf]. Accessed September 06 November 2024.

Lord LK (2008) Attitudes toward and perceptions of free-roaming cats among individuals living in Ohio. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 232:1159–1167. https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.232.8.1159 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.232.8.1159

Mella-Méndez I, Flores-Peredo R, Amaya-Espinel JD, Bolívar-Cimé B, Mac Swiney GMC, Martínez AJ (2022) Predation of wildlife by domestic cats in a Neotropical city: a multi-factor issue. Biological Invasions 24:1539–1551. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-022-02734-5 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-022-02734-5

Mella-Méndez I, Flores-Peredo R, Bolívar-Cimé B, Vázquez-Domínguez G (2019a) Effect of free-ranging dogs and cats on medium-sized wild mammal assemblages in urban protected areas of a Mexican city. Wildlife Research 46:669–678. https://doi.org/10.1071/wr19074 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1071/WR19074

Mella-Méndez I, Flores-Peredo R, Pérez-Torres J, Hernández-González S, González-Uribe DU, Del Socorro Bolívar-Cimé B (2019b) Activity patterns and temporal niche partitioning of dogs and medium-sized wild mammals in urban parks of Xalapa, Mexico. Urban Ecosystems 22:1061–1070. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-019-00878-2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-019-00878-2

Morton R, Hebart ML, Whittaker AL (2018) Increasing maximum penalties for animal welfare offences in South Australia—Has it caused penal change? Animals 8:236. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani8120236 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani8120236

Mota-Rojas D, Calderón-Maldonado N, Lezama-García K, Sepiurka L, De Cassia Maria Garcia R (2021) Abandonment of dogs in Latin America: Strategies and ideas. Veterinary World 2371–2379. https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2021.2371-2379 DOI: https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2021.2371-2379

Orihuela TA, Solano VJ (1995) Demographics of the owned dog population in Miacatlan, Mor. Mexico. Anthrozoös 8:171–175. https://doi.org/10.2752/089279395787156356. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2752/089279395787156356

Ortega-Peñafiel SA, Cabrera MDM, Paz LGB, Goyes VEF (2021) Infracciones, penas y multas por maltrato animal en América Latina. Socialium 5(1):226–241. https://doi.org/10.26490/uncp.sl.2021.5.1.815 DOI: https://doi.org/10.26490/uncp.sl.2021.5.1.815

Patronek GJ, Sacks JJ, Delise KM, Cleary DV, Marder AR (2013) Co-occurrence of potentially preventable factors in 256 dog bite–related fatalities in the United States (2000–2009). Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 243(12):1726–1736. doi:10.2460/javma.243.12.1726 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.243.12.1726

Pereyra-Díaz D, Sesma J a. AP, Baizabal MÁN, Romero LG (2014) Influencia de la niña y el niño sobre la canícula de la región de Xalapa, Veracruz, México. Ecosistemas y Recursos Agropecuarios 16(32):71–79. https://doi.org/10.19136/era.a16n32.563

Peterson MN, Hartis B, Rodriguez S, Green M, Lepczyk CA (2012) Opinions from the front lines of cat colony management conflict. PLoS ONE 7(9):e44616. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0044616 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0044616

Ripley B, Venables W, Ripley MB (2016) Package ‘nnet’. R package. [https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/nnet/nnet.pdf]. Accessed 02 November 2024

Rohlf VI, Bennett PC, Toukhsati S, Coleman G (2010) Why do even committed dog owners fail to comply with some responsible ownership practices? Anthrozoös 23(2):143–155. https://doi.org/10.2752/175303710x12682332909972 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2752/175303710X12682332909972

Sandhu G, Singh D (2014) Level of awareness regarding some zoonotic diseases, among dog owners of Ithaca, New York. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care 3(4), 418–23. https://doi.org/10.4103/2249-4863.148132. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/2249-4863.148132

Sandoval B (2022) Hasta 150 casos de maltrato animal se reciben diariamente en Xalapa. [https://palabrasclaras.mx/estatal/hasta-150-casos-de-maltrato-animal-se-reciben-diariamente-en-xalapa] Accessed 06 November 2024.

Shuttlewood CZ, Greenwell PJ, Montrose VT (2016) Pet ownership, attitude toward pets, and support for wildlife management strategies. Human Dimensions of Wildlife 21(2):180–188. https://doi.org/10.1080/10871209.2016.1116029 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10871209.2016.1116029

Sinclair M, Lee NYP, Hötzel MJ, De Luna MCT, Sharma A, Idris M, Derkley T, Li C, Islam MA, Iyasere OS, Navarro G, Ahmed AA, Khruapradab C, Curry M, Burns GL, Marchant JN (2022) International perceptions of animals and the importance of their welfare. Frontiers in Animal Science 3. https://doi.org/10.3389/fanim.2022.960379 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fanim.2022.960379

Smith GD, Bonnett B (1998) Socioeconomic differentials in the mortality of pets. BMJ 317(7174):1671–1673. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.317.7174.1671 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.317.7174.1671

Smith LM, Quinnell R, Munteanu A, Hartmann S, Villa PD, Collins L (2022) Attitudes towards free-roaming dogs and dog ownership practices in Bulgaria, Italy, and Ukraine. PLoS ONE 17(3):e0252368. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0252368 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0252368

Spotte S (2014) Free-ranging cats: behavior, ecology, management. Wiley Blackwell, New Jersey, USA. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118884058

Sullivan P, Mijares S, Davis M, Oselinsky K, Cramer C, Román-Muñiz N, Stallones L, Edwards-Callaway L (2022) A nationwide survey of animal science students’ perceptions of animal welfare across different animal categories at institutions in the United States. Animals 12(17):2294. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12172294 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12172294

Tamiru Y, Abdeta D, Amante M (2022) Knowledge, attitude, and practice toward pet contact associated Zoonosis in Western Ethiopia. Veterinary Medicine Research and Reports Volume 2(13):47–58. https://doi.org/10.2147/VMRR.S346806. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2147/VMRR.S346806

Toukhsati SR, Bennett PC, Coleman GJ (2007) Behaviors and attitudes towards semi-owned cats. Anthrozoös 20(2):131–142. https://doi.org/10.2752/175303707x207927 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2752/175303707X207927

Toukhsati S, Phillips C, Podberscek A, Coleman G (2012) Semi-Ownership and sterilisation of cats and dogs in Thailand. Animals 2(4):611–627. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani2040611 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani2040611

Van Heezik Y, Smyth A, Adams A, Gordon J (2009) Do domestic cats impose an unsustainable harvest on urban bird populations? Biological Conservation

(1):121–130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2009.09.013 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2009.09.013

Weston MA, Fitzsimons JA, Wescott G, Miller KK, Ekanayake KB, Schneider T (2014) Bark in the park: A review of domestic dogs in parks. Environmental Management 54(3):373–382. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-014-0311-1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-014-0311-1

Zamudio I (2019) Hombre podría recibir la primera condena en Veracruz por maltrato animal. Milenio. [https://www.milenio.com/estados/veracruz-hombre-arriesga-anos-carcel-maltrato-animal-perro] Accessed 06 november 2024.

Zar JH (1999) Biostatistical analysis, 4th edition. Prentice-Hall, New Jerse, USA.

Zito S, Vankan D, Bennett P, Paterson M, Phillips CJC (2015) Cat ownership perception and caretaking explored in an internet survey of people associated with cats. PLoS ONE 10(7):e0133293. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0133293 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0133293