Understanding Factors Affecting Working Equid Welfare: Developing Engagement and Impact

我的研究采用了一种全面的方法来评估劳动马、驴和骡子的福利，这些动物在支持世界各地数百万最贫穷的人方面发挥着至关重要的作用，但往往福利不佳。这项研究考虑了动物福利与人类和环境因素之间存在的复杂联系，以尝试和改善工作马的福利。通过我的博士研究，我确定了影响马福利的主人与动物关系的要素，并与非政府组织合作，评估福利倡议的成功，并认识到福利改善的障碍。在团契期间，我打算继续在这项研究的基础上继续发展，并与肯尼亚拉穆岛上的驴子拥有者社区一起进行一项研究。我将与当地利益相关者一起，制定一项以艺术为基础的倡议。这项研究将采用以社区为基础的参与式艺术方法来提高人们对驴子意识和当地社区内贫困驴子福利的风险因素的认识。这也将使社会各界能够以一种可接触和有吸引力的方式接触到研究结果。我参加该奖学金的目的将是发展我与一系列重要的相关受众的接触，以最大限度地促进我的研究成果的合作和向前传播的前景。除了与拥有平等权利的社区直接接触外，通过与非政府组织介绍和讨论我的研究成果，我的成果还可以实际应用于通过非政府组织与地方政府之间的对话增加政策层面的影响，并通过影响未来非政府组织福利规划的方向，在基层提高影响力。在学术界展示我的研究成果也将有助于我更广泛地传播我的成果。我的目标是发表两篇进一步的研究论文，并参加一个会议，在那里，除了展示我的工作外，我还可以与其他研究人员和政策制定者接触，为未来开发合作研究机会。还将花费时间通过撰写一份拨款提案来确保未来的研究资金，该提案将建立在我迄今所进行的所有研究的基础上。通过这种方式，我将继续支持和推进我未来的研究事业。该奖学金的另一个目标是建立网络，以开发新的合作和影响途径。我以前曾与国际和英国的非政府组织合作完成研究项目，我计划扩大我的从业者联系网络。我尤其热衷于促进学术界和非政府组织之间的跨学科联系。在拉穆工作期间，我的目标是与动物福利组织、艺术团体和社区领导的组织建立合作，解决岛上的塑料垃圾问题。跨越传统的学科界限将增加大学各系、非政府组织部门和更广泛的岛屿社区之间的研究影响机会。

My research takes a holistic approach to evaluating the welfare of working horses, donkeys and mules; a group of animals that play a vital role in supporting millions of the poorest people around the world yet often suffer from poor welfare. This research takes into account the complex linkages that exist between animal welfare and both human and environmental factors in order to try and improve working equine welfare.Across my PhD studies I identified elements of the owner-animal relationship that impact equine welfare and worked alongside NGOs to both evaluate the success of welfare initiatives and recognise barriers to welfare improvement. During the Fellowship I intend to continue building on this research and conduct a study with the donkey owning community on Lamu Island in Kenya. In conjunction with local stakeholders, I will develop an arts-based initiative. This research will use a community-based participatory arts approaches to raise awareness of donkey sentience and the risk factors for poor donkey welfare within the local community. It will also enable the community to engage with the results of research in an accessible and appealing way.My aims for the Fellowship will be to develop my engagement with a range of important relevant audiences to maximise prospects for both collaboration and forward dissemination of my research findings. Alongside engaging directly with equid owning communities, through presenting and discussing my research findings with NGOs, myresults could be practically applied to increase impact at policy level through dialogues between NGOs and local governments and at ground level, through impacting the direction of future NGO welfare programming. Presenting my research within the sphere of academia will also help me to disseminate my results more widely. I aim to publish two further research papers and attend a conference where alongside presenting my work I can engage with other researchers and policymakers to develop collaborative research opportunities for the future. Time will also be spent securing onwards research funding through writing a grant proposal which will build on all of the research I have carried out to date. In this way I will continue to support and advance my future research career.Another aim of the Fellowship is to build networks to develop new avenues for collaboration and impact. I have collaborated previously with NGOs, internationally and in the UK to complete research projects and I plan to extend my network of practitioner contacts. I am especially keen to foster interdisciplinary connections between academia and NGOs. Whilst working in Lamu I would aim to build collaboration with animal welfare organisations, arts groups and community led organisations tackling the issue of plastic waste on the island. Crossing traditional disciplinary boundaries will enhance impact opportunities for research between university departments, within the NGO sector and the wider island community.