Key Tenets of Operational Success in International Animal Welfare Initiatives

SIMPLE SUMMARY: With increasing frequency, animal welfare organisations are looking to operate in multiple countries. Apart from lessons learned by trial and error and personal experiences informally shared, little formal knowledge is available to support the challenging task of achieving success for the animal welfare movement beyond borders. Through gaining interview insights from leaders of some of the world’s biggest international animal welfare organisations, this study was able to conduct an analysis to find reoccurring themes and important concepts relating to both successful and unsuccessful initiatives, and investigate the reasons behind their success level. The prominent findings are presented and aim to be of use when looking to develop international animal welfare strategy. ABSTRACT: Animal welfare is an increasingly global initiative, which makes the intricate business of operating across borders of particular relevance to the movement. There is, however, a distinct absence of literature dedicated to investigating operational strategies that are more likely to result in the success of international animal welfare initiatives. In addition to this, opportunities exist to investigate the human aspects of animal welfare, parallel to the growing field of animal-based science. This study aimed to begin addressing these gaps by conducting semi structured interviews with 15 leaders of some of the largest international animal welfare charities. Leaders were asked to describe their experiences of successful and unsuccessful initiatives within the animal welfare movement. Thematic analysis was then conducted to identify recurring concepts and extrapolate potentially applicable information. Engaging stakeholders and communities in locally-led and culturally respectful ways were discussed, as was the importance of knowledge, moderation, flexibility, and mutual benefits. The dangers of attacking personal and cultural identity are also highlighted and discussed. Key quotes and examples are presented, supplemented with mind maps as a tool to more readily apply the findings of the study in strategy development.