Planned and ultimate actions of horse owners facing a bushfire threat: Implications for natural disaster preparedness and survivability

Thompson, Kirrilly; Haigh, Laura; Smith, Bradley

doi:10.1016/j.ijdrr.2017.11.013

Cited by 15 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Unlike many other areas of the globe, the UK rarely faces natural disasters of this magnitude and the absence of emergency planning may reflect this. That said, the last civil crisis in the UK, the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak in 2001, is well within living memory [ 14 , 28 ]. The devastation this epidemic caused throughout the countryside is unlikely to have been forgotten by many equine owners.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, these events tend to be highly geographically localised rather than the nationwide crisis seen with the COVID-19 pandemic. Disaster planning and preparation in advance of the event, particularly in relation to actions on behalf of animals and other vulnerable family members, may help mitigate some of the stress associated with these events and should be something owners are encouraged to think about in advance [ 14 , 19 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The response of animal owners and caregivers to the COVID-19 pandemic has been investigated in several survey-based studies, which have typically focused on the pros and cons of companion animal ownership at this time, alongside the impact this has on human physical and mental health [ 1 , 8 , 10 ]. Equines fall under the British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) definition of companion animal [ 12 ] and most equestrians consider their horses this way and have strong feelings of attachment towards them [ 13 , 14 ]. Yet horses have been largely overlooked in the published literature regarding the impact of COVID-19 on pets and their owners, which has tended to focus on cats and dogs (e.g., [ 1 ]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Response of UK Horse, Pony and Donkey Owners to the Early Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Hockenhull¹,

Bell²,

White³

et al. 2021

Animals

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In the UK, March 2020 was a time of great uncertainty as COVID-19 became increasingly widespread. The government responded by making suggestions about how people could reduce the risk of spread on 16 March, moved swiftly into closing schools on the 18 March before announcing a mandatory lockdown on the 23rd March. This was a challenging time for UK equestrians who had to balance maintaining their equine’s routine and daily care alongside the increasing biosecurity measures. A cross-sectional survey was distributed to UK equestrians via social media over two days (28 and 29 March 2020) to better understand the decisions made by UK horse, pony and donkey owners during this time. Data from 452 respondents were generated across all four countries comprising the UK, although there were no significant differences in owner response to the pandemic between locations. The changes respondents made differed between the 16th and the 18th of March 2020, with an early emphasis on improving yard biosecurity and opting to stop riding, as well as reducing the time spent at the yard. After the 18 March, respondents placed more emphasis on risk reduction by changing the activities they did with their horse, including riding, with common examples including avoiding “high risk” activities such as riding on busy roads, jumping, riding young or nervous horses. Few respondents reported having an emergency plan in place should they become ill or otherwise unable to care for their equine. The findings highlight areas that would significantly benefit from in-depth investigation in future research. Equestrian behaviour and mindset around risk-taking and risk perception have already been researched in relation to equestrian activities and sport but have received little attention in the context of wider health challenges. Understanding the uptake of emergency planning and preparation in the UK equestrian community also warrants consideration. Using this information effectively to promote forward planning is likely to be of great benefit in equestrian responses to future health or climate-related crises.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Response of UK Horse, Pony and Donkey Owners to the Early Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Hockenhull¹,

Bell²,

White³

et al. 2021

Animals

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“…Horse ownership is a good example of a community specific behaviour which might be better understood from a local perspective. Thompson et al (2018) highlights that although pet ownership is generally a factor in people's evacuation plans, horse owners (who are relatively common in rural areas) are presented with unique challenges during a bushfire. Due to the difficulty of transporting horses pre-emptive or early evacuation is advised by the CFS as a priority action.…”

Section: Threat Deniermentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling Bushfire Evacuation Behaviours

Robertson¹

2019

Preprint

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Bushfires pose a significant threat to Australia's regional areas. To minimise risk and increase resilience, communities need robust evacuation strategies that account for people's likely behaviour both before and during a bushfire. Agent-based modelling (ABM) offers a practical way to simulate a range of bushfire evacuation scenarios. However, the ABM should reflect the diversity of possible human responses in a given community. The Belief-Desire-Intention (BDI) cognitive model captures behaviour in a compact representation that is understandable by domain experts. Within a BDI-ABM simulation, individual BDI agents can be assigned profiles that determine their likely behaviour. Over a population of agents their collective behaviour will characterise the community response. These profiles are drawn from existing human behaviour research and consultation with emergency services personnel and capture the expected behaviours of identified groups in the population, both prior to and during an evacuation. A realistic representation of each community can then be formed, and evacuation scenarios within the simulation can be used to explore the possible impact of population structure on outcomes. It is hoped that this will give an improved understanding of the risks associated with evacuation, and lead to tailored evacuation plans for each community to help them prepare for and respond to bushfire.

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“…To address these issues, the ‘REACT Now to Beat Colic’ campaign was launched in 2016 5 to encourage owners to adopt a proactive approach to emergency planning (Figure 1). However, there is limited evidence exploring horse owner intention to adopt emergency recommendations, with the majority of published literature focusing on evacuation planning in the event of a natural disaster 6 or the implementation of biosecurity measures 7 . Socio‐cognitive models have been utilised to investigate decision‐making processes and attitudes associated with behavioural intentions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of human behaviour change models to investigate horse owner intention to adopt emergency colic recommendations

Lightfoot

Frost

Burford

et al. 2023

Equine Veterinary Journal

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BackgroundBehavioural models are widely used within human medicine to understand beliefs and intention associated with major health interventions.ObjectivesTo investigate horse‐owner beliefs and practices associated with emergency colic planning.Study designCross‐sectional study.MethodsAn online survey incorporating the Trans‐Theoretical Model of behaviour change and the Theory of Planned Behaviour was developed to assess owner intention to adopt three areas of emergency colic planning: (1) prevention/recognition, (2) involvement of others and (3) personal preparation. Participants were recruited using a snowball sampling strategy; multivariable logistic regression of data was performed.ResultsThere were 701 horse‐owners who completed the survey. Respondents fell into one of two categories: no intention to adopt or already implementing emergency planning recommendations. Most agreed that emergency colic plans would improve their horse's welfare (68%) and aid in decision making (78%). Most disagreed that colic was inevitable (66%) and that treatment options were not within their control (69%). Multivariable analysis showed that those who believed emergency plans were worth creating were more likely to adopt preventive (OR: 2.33, 95% CI: 1.27–4.30, p = 0.007) and personal preparation (OR: 1.61, 95% CI: 1.31–1.97, p < 0.001) recommendations. Preventive recommendations were also associated with ‘REACT’ campaign awareness (OR 2.36, 95% CI: 1.40–3.97, p = 0.001). Favourable behavioural beliefs, such as the acknowledgement of welfare and decision‐making benefits, were linked to the involvement of others in planning (OR: 2.93, 95% CI: 1.78–4.81, p < 0.001).Main limitationsPotential response bias and small sample size.ConclusionsThe majority of owners were either unwilling to adopt suggested recommendations or believed that their approach was currently sufficient. Most owners perceived veterinary professionals as most influential on their decision to plan for a colic emergency, highlighting their importance in any educational campaign.

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Planned and ultimate actions of horse owners facing a bushfire threat: Implications for natural disaster preparedness and survivability

Cited by 15 publications

References 30 publications

Response of UK Horse, Pony and Donkey Owners to the Early Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Response of UK Horse, Pony and Donkey Owners to the Early Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Modelling Bushfire Evacuation Behaviours

Use of human behaviour change models to investigate horse owner intention to adopt emergency colic recommendations

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