Maus-tratos em cães e gatos: aspectos clínicos, epidemiológicos e legais.

Abstract

Animal abuse is part of the spectrum of family and community violence, and should be seen as one of the main public health problems in the world, its occurrence can be used as an indicator of child abuse, family violence and criminal behavior. In Brazil, there are still few studies in the area of Veterinary Medicine on epidemiology and frequency of cases of mistreatment of dogs and cats seen in veterinary clinics and hospitals. Thus, the aim of this study was to identify the occurrence and epidemiological aspects of clinical care for dogs and cats at Hospital Veterinário Universitário Prof. Dr. Ivon Macêdo Tabosa (HVUIMT), from the Federal University of Campina Grande, campus of Patos, PB, Brazil, as well as identifying the knowledge and attitudes of Paraiba veterinarians about the activities of animals that are victims of abuse, profile of possible aggressors, their perceptions of animal abuse and interpersonal violence. To this end, a documentary and retrospective study of all clinical treatments of dogs and cats carried out at HVUIMT, from January 2009 to December 2018, was carried out, and an online survey was carried out with veterinarians working in the state of Paraíba. , during the site of the Regional Council of Veterinary Medicine of the State of Paraíba (CRMV-PB). The data obtained were compiled and analyzed descriptively. In the analyzed period, 28,572 dogs and 11,702 cats were served. Of these, there may be a total of 943 enterprises of animals that are victims of abuse, of which 59.8% (564/943) were dogs and 40.2% (379/943) cats. Both dogs (229/564) and cats (206/379) up to one year of age were more affected by mistreatment, obtaining frequencies of 40.60% and 54.35% of cases, respectively. Total number of 1,763 questionnaires made available to veterinarians enrolled in the CRMV-PB, with the participation of 75 professionals. Of these, 82.7% (62/75) were allowed to believe in the connection between animal abuse and interpersonal violence, 90.7% (68/75) had no technical difficulty in identifying animal abuse, however , almost half of the participants, 48% (36/75) declare that they do not know the law that deals with animal mistreatment. In addition, in relation to reports of animal aggressors, 90.7% (68/75) reported that they were never made. Conclude that the resources of animals used for mistreatment are part of the veterinary clinical routine and that, at some point in their career, veterinarians will compare themselves with tutors who may also be affected by the violence, and should be being trained to help break the cycle of violence.