# Measuring the Attitudes of Animal Hospital Staff Toward Animals in Türkiye

## TL;DR

This study surveyed animal hospital staff in Türkiye to understand their attitudes toward animals, finding generally supportive views with some gender and age differences.

## Contribution

The study provides the first descriptive baseline of animal attitudes among Turkish animal hospital staff using the AAS-10 scale.

## Key findings

- Participants reported generally positive attitudes toward animal protection.
- Women scored higher than men on the attitude scale.
- Age differences were small and not consistently significant after adjusting for other factors.

## Abstract

Little is known about general attitudes toward animals among staff working in licensed animal hospitals in Türkiye. We surveyed 193 veterinarians and other hospital personnel across 17 provinces using the 10-item Animal Attitude Scale (AAS-10). Overall, respondents tended to report supportive attitudes toward animal protection, although scores varied across individuals. Women scored higher than men. Age-group differences were small and should be interpreted cautiously given voluntary participation and the absence of key contextual measures. Scores did not differ meaningfully by occupational role or length of service. These findings provide a descriptive baseline and support hypothesis generation for future research using practice-specific measures.

This study examined general attitudes toward animals among staff working in licensed animal hospitals in Türkiye. Using the 10-item Animal Attitude Scale (AAS-10), an online survey was administered to animal hospital staff; 193 questionnaires were completed from 17 provinces. Because total scores deviated from normality, group comparisons were conducted using non-parametric tests, and a multiple linear regression model was fitted to examine joint associations with demographic and professional variables. Overall, participants reported generally positive attitudes (mean AAS-10 = 36.7 ± 5.85; range 10–50). Women scored higher than men (p < 0.001), and respondents aged 20–29 years scored higher than those aged ≥40 years (p = 0.029) in unadjusted comparisons; however, the age pattern was small and did not persist after adjustment for gender and other covariates. Professional variables, including occupational role and length of service, were not meaningfully associated with total scores. Exploratory item-level analyses suggested gender-related differences in acceptance of specific forms of animal use, but these should be interpreted cautiously given multiple comparisons. These findings provide a descriptive baseline of AAS-10 scores in a heterogeneous animal hospital workforce and support hypothesis generation for future research that incorporates practice-specific measures.