Animal Welfare Professionals

Dear shelter and rescue organization professionals,  

My name is Carol Tinga and I am a PhD candidate at the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) at the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. My research focuses on understanding social and environmental factors related to the pet rabbit owning experience and pet rabbit welfare. 

I am contacting you to ask that you consider completing an anonymous, online research survey that has been created as part of my PhD research under the guidance of Dr. Lee Niel, Associate Professor, OVC. This project has been reviewed by the University of Guelph's Research Ethics Board for compliance with federal guidelines for research involving human participants (REB #22-05-013).  

We are recruiting representatives of animal care organizations (e.g., animal shelter, animal rescue, humane society, rabbit rescue, rabbit society, rabbit charity) that take in stray, abandoned, and/or owner-surrendered domestic rabbits to complete a short survey.  

• The organization must be based in Canada or the United States. 
• Participants will be asked about the organization's services and activities regarding domestic rabbits, and about the number of rabbits taken in by the organization over the past several years.  
• The survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. 
• Prospective participants can visit the following website for access to the consent form and to continue on with the survey if they wish: https://uoguel.ph/rabbitcare. 

We would be happy to answer any questions or concerns about this study and can be contacted at tingac@uoguelph.ca (Carol Tinga) or niell@uoguelph.ca (Lee Niel). Also, please feel free to share our survey with your relevant contacts. Our recruitment advertisement is inserted below and attached for your consideration and use. The ad can also be accessed and shared via our lab's Facebook page, OVC Companion Animal Behaviour and Welfare Lab, where it is pinned to the top. 

Sincerely,  

Carol Tinga 

https://uoguel.ph/rabbitcare. A QR code to the survey site is on the bottom right hand corner of the recruitment ad." title="Recruitment ad for a survey for animal care organizations based in Canada or the USA about domestic rabbits" data-title="Recruitment ad for a survey for animal care organizations based in Canada or the USA about domestic rabbits" data-modalsrc="https://higherlogicdownload.s3.amazonaws.com/MADDIESFUND/UploadedImages/lNxI9NY0TJiCZhZPFkr6_Recruitment ad_Animal care organization survey_QR code added.jpeg" data-imgbase="https://higherlogicdownload.s3.amazonaws.com/MADDIESFUND/UploadedImages/lNxI9NY0TJiCZhZPFkr6_Recruitment ad_Animal care organization survey_QR code added.jpeg" data-imgthumbnail="https://higherlogicdownload.s3.amazonaws.com/MADDIESFUND/UploadedImages/lNxI9NY0TJiCZhZPFkr6_Recruitment ad_Animal care organization survey_QR code added-T.jpeg" data-imgmedium="https://higherlogicdownload.s3.amazonaws.com/MADDIESFUND/UploadedImages/lNxI9NY0TJiCZhZPFkr6_Recruitment ad_Animal care organization survey_QR code added-M.jpeg" data-imglarge="https://higherlogicdownload.s3.amazonaws.com/MADDIESFUND/UploadedImages/lNxI9NY0TJiCZhZPFkr6_Recruitment ad_Animal care organization survey_QR code added-L.jpeg">

#AdmissionsandIntake(includingIntake-to-placement)
#Rehoming
#TransfersandTransport

------------------------------
Carol Tinga
PhD Candidate, Dept. of Population Medicine
Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph
Guelph, Ontario, Canada
------------------------------