Abstract
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic presents an opportunity to explore the role of animals as sources of emotional and physical support during a period when most of the population is experiencing social and environmental challenges. We investigated how companion animal owners perceived the influence of human–animal interaction on their physical and mental health during the first COVID-19 lockdown phase in the U.K., and what concerns they had regarding their animals at this time. We also explored the impact of participants’ interaction with non-companion animals during this phase. A cross-sectional online survey of U.K. residents aged over 18 was conducted between April and June 2020. The final item of the survey invited open-ended free-text responses, allowing participants to describe any experiences and/or perceptions of their human–animal relationships during the COVID-19 lockdown phase. A qualitative thematic analysis of responses was undertaken. Four main themes related to the following aspects of human–animal interactions during the COVID-19 lockdown phase were identified: the positive impact of animal ownership during the COVID-19 lockdown (e.g., amelioration of wellbeing and mental health), concerns relating to animal ownership during the COVID-19 lockdown (e.g., concerns over animals carrying the COVID-19 virus), grief and loss of an animal during the COVID-19 lockdown and the impact of engaging with non-companion animals during the COVID-19 lockdown. The findings complement and extend previous insights into the impact of human–animal interaction with both companion and non-companion animals. They also highlight the challenges of caring for an animal during the lockdown phase and indicate the need to consider the development of further targeted support strategies, such as “day care” for the companion animals of key workers in this context.
Highlights
The findings from this qualitative study support notions of the benefits of human–animal interactions with both companion and non-companion animals and highlight the challenges of caring for an animal during the lockdown phase, for example, concerns over animals carrying the COVID-19 virus, potential changes in attachment and future separation-related problems when the owner returned to work, along with other animal welfare issues, such as restrictions to veterinary care and the ability to provide adequate care for animals
The results indicated that animal ownership had a positive impact on mental and physical health during the COVID-19 lockdown phase in the U.K., as purported by various mechanisms, including the promotion of health through companionship and emotional support and encouraging physical activity, offering a distraction from inner feelings of distress, providing a source of motivation to engage owners in activities, responding to owners in an intuitive manner and providing a sense of connectedness or “normalcy”; there were significant concerns that might have outweighed these in some cases
Our results indicate that the benefits derived from animal ownership or even interaction with animals in the wild may arise by offering a distraction from inner feelings of distress, providing a source of motivation and a sense of connectedness or normalcy
Summary
The concept of the human–animal bond is well-established [1,2], where it is generally acknowledged that relationships between humans and companion animals can be enduring and meaningful [1]. The belief that “pets are good for human health” [3] is gaining increasing popularity despite the acknowledgement that the research evidence in this area offers contradictory findings and often encompasses substantial methodological weaknesses [4,5]. Studies have reported that animal ownership has benefits for the individual, including enhanced mental health outcomes, such as decreased anxiety [6], stress reduction, Int. J.
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