QUICK LINKS
T17 'If I Were An animal' resources and services
t17 Activity
T17 Facilitator Notes
T17 Next Steps
T17: 'If I Were an Animal'
‘If I were an animal’ is a tool specifically designed to put the animal and its welfare at the centre of community analysis and discussion and is very popular in animal-owning communities. It enables people to experience the point of view of the working animal by asking them to reflect on the question: ‘If I were an animal, what would I expect from my owner or carer?’ This tool is a good follow up to animal body mapping (T20) and animal feeling analysis (T19).
| Tool purpose: | Time needed: |
| • To raise awareness of animals’ needs and promoting positive welfare states • To understand the effects on animals and humans when animals’ needs are not met • To identify the perceived extent animals’ needs are being met within the community • Can support identification of indicators related to animals’ body and behaviours, husbandry and management practices, and effects of animal’s welfare on people’s lives • To identify perceived animal welfare issues and gaps in knowledge to support intervention planning | 1.5 - 2 hours |
| Materials needed: | |
| Sticks, coloured powder or chart paper, cards, markers, stones, beans, seeds or other locally available materials. Picture of an animal if one is available. |
Keyword Search Tags
Project Phase:
Planning Phase, Implementation Phase
Approaches for Working With Communities: Community Development Approach, Community Engagement Approach, Societal Outreach and Campaigns Approach
Behavioural Drivers (COM-B):
Behaviour Change Diagnosis and Planning, Capability, Motivation
Stages of Behaviour Change:
Pre-contemplation Stage, Contemplation Stage
Project Support: Participatory Learning and Action Tools, Needs Assessment, Monitoring and Evaluation
Specific Topics: Animal Husbandry and Management; Animal Handling; Animal Welfare, Feelings and Needs; Livelihoods; Compassion / Empathy, Community Change Agents / Resilience
If I were an animal…’
Figure T17 shows the completed ’If I were an animal’ diagram developed by a group of animal owners as one of the first steps in a participatory welfare needs assessment. They identified five expectations that their animals have of them as owners in order to survive and thrive: humane handling (no beating), no over-loading, timely treatment, sufficient feed/fodder and sufficient water. In the second circle they scored their present practices out of ten: they scored lowest on humane handling (no beating) and highest on sufficient food/fodder. Through discussion, the group identified the effects of not meeting their animals’ expectations on the animal, including fear, lameness, weakness and wounds, including where they would look for the specific behavioural and physical signs resulting from not meeting their animals’ expectation. Finally, they identified the effects on the human owners, including loss of income and aggressive/scared animals that are more difficult to handle. These effects were recorded and used by the group to assess their animals during an Animal welfare transect walk (T22).
| 'If I were an animal' | ||
|---|---|---|
| Step 1 | Start by encouraging participants to see the world from their animals’ point of view. Ask what expectations their animals have of them to have a happy and healthy life. If they are struggling with this concept, ask them what they need as humans to be happy and healthy, then extend the question to their animals. At this point, the group should start identifying expectations animals have of their owners. Ask the community helper to write the expectations on cards for everyone to see or use representative drawings. When participants have finished identifying their animals’ expectations of them, it is the facilitator’s responsibility to ensure that all welfare components have been considered. Use the following guiding questions as needed to facilitate participants to identify their animals’ expectations of them in terms of any of the following domains of welfare which they have not yet considered: • Health - What do animals need/expect of owners to be healthy? (Disease prevention, timely treatment, proper fitting equipment) • Nutrition - What do animals need/expect of owners for good nutrition? (feeding & watering) • Environment - What do animals need/expect of owners in their environment? (Comfort, rest, temperature, shelter) • Behaviour - What do animals need/expect of owners to express their natural behaviours? (Freedom of movement, social interaction with other animals) Please note: The facilitator should group/organise similar expectations into one category and explain the reason for the grouping (only if the anticipated effects of the expectation not being met are the same). For example, if the community identified ‘free access to water’ and ‘clean water’, consider consolidating the two examples into one ‘free access to clean water’ category. Once the list is complete, ask the community helper to record the group-identified expectations on cards using words, symbols, or local materials. | |
| Step 2 |  | Next, ask the community helper to draw a big circle on the ground or on paper and place an animal in the centre. If you carry drawings or models of animals with you, such as the one used for animal body mapping (T20), put one of these in the centre of the circle to represent the animal instead. |
| Step 3 |  | Once all cards have been placed, ask participants which of the actors support their animals specifically. Mark the card with coloured dot or sticker representative of the animal. The more the dots or sticker representing the animal are placed on an actor, the more support the actor provides. |
| Step 4 |  | Ask participants to identify which relationships are accessible by men, women, or both, by placing a different indicative mark on the card (either using pens or stickers, or bean types). If the relationship is accessible to both men and women, ask whether accessibility is equal for both sexes. You may wish to place a > / = / < in between the representative marks or objects to indicate which sex has greater access. If it is just one group (e.g. only men) then this step is not necessary. |
| Step 5 |  | Once the social Venn diagram is complete, encourage participants to discuss what it shows (if not already identified through previous discussions). Consider using the following questions as a guide: • Why are some relationships perceived to be more or less important? • Why are certain actors more important for men or women? (If identified) • Are there differences between men, women and/or children within the household? • Why are some actors positively or negatively affecting people and their animals? • What changes in this network could improve yours and/or your animals’ lives? • What can you as an individual or group do to improve your relationships with these actors? • What have you learned because of participating in this activity? |
| Initiation Phase: | ||
| Step 6 | The diagram should be documented through photos or recreated on paper. Copies should be made and distributed to the group for their records, future reference and/or action planning. Add a copy to your project action tracker. | |
| Planning Phase: | ||
| Step 7 | Have the community helper record any actions the group agrees to the community action plan. Record the community’s agreed actions and activities in your project action tracker and support the community by following up with any identified key stakeholders. | |
Facilitator’s Notes: ‘If I were an animal’
- Consider conducting an animal feeling analysis (T19) in a prior session to assess the positive and negative factors that influence how animals feel and behave.
- Ideally, this exercise should be carried out with 15-20 participants in order have everyone input into the discussion. If the group is large, consider having a second facilitator and break the group into two.
- Encourage everyone to express their own views and avoid using only one person’s examples or contributions for the diagram. Allow enough time to discuss participants’ own beliefs and traditional animal management practices.
- It can be helpful to have pictures/diagrams on hand that represent the possible effects on animals when their expectations are not met, which may be used instead of hand writing. This can support sensitization and be used in situations where literacy is low.
Next Steps
- Follow up with the T22 Animal welfare transect walk to support the assessment and monitoring of animals’ welfare and identification of common welfare problems to inform action planning.
- As a first step, the facilitator should prepare a list of the observable indicators derived from identified expectations and effects which reflect animal-based indicators (body and behavioural related indicators), resources, and management practices. In addition, animal-based welfare indicators identified through T19 ‘Animal feeling analysis’, and/or T20 ‘Animal body mapping’ exercises can be used to inform indicator selection for the transect walk. This list of indicators can then be presented back to the community to agree on the criteria which defines each in terms of good, moderate, bad condition/state (green, yellow, red).
- Consider using the ‘effects on humans’ identified in step six to inform human indicator selection if part of the project.
- Address any identified gaps in knowledge through sensitization or training sessions. It is recommended to conduct this prior to undertaking any community-based action planning.
- Any identified gaps can be examined in more detail using the following tools, especially prior to undertaking any community-based action planning:
- T21 Animal welfare practice gap analysis to promote understanding of the drivers of gaps in animal welfare practices, such as lack of motivation, resources, or knowledge that can be used to develop targeted behavioural change strategies.
- T25 Problem animal to identify the root causes of the different animal welfare issues observed on the body of the animal and inform action planning to address them.
- T26 Animal welfare cause effect analysis to explore the root causes of specific animal welfare issues and promote understanding of the effects of the issue on animals and people as a means to generate improved motivation to take action and inform action planning.
BELOW ARE BACK UP IMAGES IN CASES NEEDED - DO NOT DELETE NOW
