Ellis, C., McCormick, W. D. and Tinarwo, A. (2016) Why and how should we assess pet rabbit personality? Poster presented to: 50th Congress of the International Society for Applied Ethology (ISAE 2016), Edinburgh, 12-15 July 2016.
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| Item Type: | Conference or Workshop Item (Poster) |
|---|---|
| Abstract: | Domestic rabbits have received relatively little attention for personality and temperament research to date, despite being a popular pet in the UK. The field of animal personality research is still in its infancy and there is much discussion around appropriate methods of assessing personality, due in part to the many reasons for exploring this phenomenon, for example, for cross species comparisons or assessing an animal’s suitability for a particular role or job. Domestic rabbits make an interesting candidate for personality studies due to their domestication being predominantly influenced by a desire for morphological or physical traits, rather than for behavioural characteristics, as with domestic dogs. Additionally, rabbits appear to be relinquished by their owners in high numbers and a recent survey suggested that one reason for this was difficultly in bonding a newly acquired rabbit to a current pet. Personality studies may help to raise owner awareness of a rabbit’s individual characteristics, which may support the formation of a human-animal bond which may reduce relinquishment, and support owners to select a suitable rabbit when acquiring a companion for a currently owned rabbit. In addition to making a case for personality assessments being needed at the point of acquiring pet rabbits, the presentation will review companion animal personality studies and describe methods currently being developed for the assessment of personality and temperament in pet rabbits. |
| Subjects: | S Agriculture > SF Animal culture > SF411 Pets > SF451 Rabbits and hares |
| Creators: | Ellis, Clare, McCormick, Wanda D and Tinarwo, Ambrose |
| Funders or Sponsors: | Thomas Harrison Trust |
| Faculties, Divisions and Institutes: | University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > Moulton College |
| Date: | 12 July 2016 |
| Date Type: | Publication |
| Event Title: | 50th Congress of the International Society for Applied Ethology (ISAE 2016) |
| Event Dates: | 12-15 July 2016 |
| Event Location: | Edinburgh |
| Event Type: | Conference |
| Language: | English |
| Status: | Published / Disseminated |
| Related URLs: | |
| URI: | http://nectar.northampton.ac.uk/id/eprint/9298 |
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