The Strategies

So what strategies are available to change the behaviour of irresponsible pet owners? The list below is not necessarily exhaustive but it contains the strategies considered in most change campaigns. Some of them are obvious. Others, we use already but don't think of as strategies per se. Still others have been tried in other policy areas but not in UAM. Considering them together allows us to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of each and the circumstances in which they are most appropriately used.

The first strategy concentrates on changing people's attitudes. The underlying assumption is that attitudes cause behaviour. Many of the high profile education campaigns in other policy areas (eg anti-litter, safe driving etc) have concentrated on changing attitudes in the hope of influencing people's subsequent behaviour.

The remaining techniques collectively focus on changing behaviour. They target the behaviour irrespective of the attitudes associated with it. Regulation is the behaviour-change technique we are most familiar in UAM but there are several others which we condier in following sections.

One final strategy, just starting to be seen in Australia, is to promote responsible behaviour by encouraging a closer relationship between people and their pets. The argument here is that people are likely to behave responsibly when they have a stronger bond with their pet.

Changing Attitudes

It is understandable that there is so much interest in changing attitudes. If people are made aware of their actions, it follows that they will be more likely to act responsibly. However much of the early research in other policy areas showed weak causal links between attitudes and behaviour. It was not until the late 1970s that more sophisticated studies led to wider acceptance of the attitude-causes-behaviour explanation. By 1981, researchers were no longer questioning if attitudes predict behaviour, but when attitudes predict behaviour.

A central concept in this new research is the notion of 'attitude accessibility' which is of particular significance to UAM. The theory holds that each of us holds a multitude of attitudes. Some we feel strongly about and they are 'accessible' in helping guide our behaviour. Others we're only vaguely aware of and they are 'inaccessible' in guiding our behaviour.

For example, people may keep their dog leashed in designated on-leash areas because they understand that it is the responsible thing to do. The attitude about responsible behaviour is accessible and it guides their behaviour.

By contrast, if someone is only vaguely aware of the on-leash designation - they might have 'seen something about it in the paper' without it registering, then the attitude is likely to be inaccessible in guiding their behaviour and other factors will come into play. The person may fail to keep their dog leashed because the apparent norm is that letting your dog off the leash is acceptable (as evidenced by other unleashed dogs in the park, lack of signs etc).

There are two critical determinants of attitude accessibility. The first is repeated expression: the more an attitude is associated with a behaviour, the greater the strength of association and the greater the likelihood that the attitude will be accessible. This means that the more the message is relayed, the greater the chance of it being accessible when someone is faced with a decision about which way to behave.

The second determinant of attitude accessibility is the manner of attitude formation. Evidence tends to show that attitudes formed through personally experiencing the behaviour themselves are likely to be more readily accessible than attitudes formed by other means such as reading or hearing about the requirement.

Changing behaviour

Behaviour-change techniques target a change in the behaviour rather than the attitudes associated with it. The argument is not that changing attitudes doesn't work, but that it can be expensive and slow to show results. Often we need to call on other techniques to use in the meantime. Some analysts take the argument further and say that when the consequences of a behaviour are unclear, vague or remote we should not expect many people to change their behaviour as a result of a change in attitudes alone. They believe people need to experience the change in behaviour as well and that this can be achieved through the use of appropriately selected and designed behavioural techniques.

Behaviour-change techniques are usually classified as either antecedent or consequence techniques depending on whether they encourage or stop a behaviour from happening in the first place (antecedents) or encourage or stop a behaviour from happening in the future (consequences).

Antecedent Strategies

Antecedents include:

One further antecedent, relevant to faeces management, is unremoved litter existing in the setting already.

Each of these is now considered in turn.

Information

A problem like excessive barking will not be solved if people don't know how to solve it. A heavy handed enforcement approach, even changing people's attitudes, will be ineffectual if people don't know what to do. Thus the first technique for overcoming ignorance is to show people how.

Many dog owners have no notion of training animals and work on folk misinformation (rub his nose in it if he urinates in the house) or patent absurdities (beat or reprimand the dog for not coming when it finally comes). Many don't realise that problem behaviours can be eliminated or prevented by proper training and understanding of the animal's natural behaviour.

In Australia, lack of information is one component of the management task especially with the newer, more complex dimensions of UAM. Considerable progress has already been made already with programs that provide people with the information they need to be responsible pet owners (eg Pet Pep, Canine Good Citizen, Selectapet and so on).

Formal programs, however, are only part of the story. Councils should be tapping away at the educative function in all their dealings with the public. It should be an explicit objective of every aspect of the UAM function whether it be out on patrol, dealing with a complaint, or issuing a citation. Increasingly the vision will be one of friendly adviser rather than patrolling inspector. It implies training in pet care and animal husbandry and is a far cry from their feared status as 'dog catcher' of years gone by.

Prompts

Prompts can be written (signs, brochures, flyers) or verbal. Verbal information delivers the same types of information as written messages but in face to face contacts. Obviously prompts have information value as well, however of interest here, is their use as triggers to responsible behaviour. The examples below are from other policy areas but have clear application to UAM.

To be effective, prompts should have the following characteristics:

1. The prompt should be administered close to the opportunity to provide the associated response;

2. The prompt should specifically state the desired response;

3. The desired response should be relatively convenient; and

4. The prompt should be conveyed in polite non-demanding language.

Empirical studies generally support these criteria. In studies of litter disposal it has been shown that identifying a particular disposal location with specific instructions was more effective than were non-specific instructions. Thus signs that said "Clear your own table" in a cafeteria were clearer and most effective when disposal sites were visible. Even better in this study weresigns that read "Place your trays and dishes in the tray holders along the west wall". The message was clear and the desired response was relatively convenient.

The importance of politeness and the positive nature of the message has also been explored. Messages making explicit commands prohibiting litter (Don't litter) have actually been shown to generate an increase in littering. More effective are normative appeals such as "Help Keep Your Pool Clean".

Another study looked at the difference between written and verbal appeals to reduce littering and damage to trees in a forest campground area. Brochures were given to two different groups of campers. One group received the brochures only, a second group was given the brochure with a personal appeal to reduce littering and tree damage, and a third group was used as a control (ie no prompts were given to them). Compared to the control group, both treatment groups exhibited markedly less littering behaviour. The group receiving a personal appeal also displayed significantly fewer problem behaviours than did the brochure only group.

If these conclusions can be extended to UAM (and intuitively it would seem that it can), then it has implications for the day to day activities of the patrolling Animal Control Officer (ACO). Built into their work would be the use of a battery of verbal and written prompts. This happens already. It is cost effective and can be absorbed into day to day operations. However it needs to be spelled out explicitly, and supported with training and encouragement from senior rangers/administrative staff.

Environmental design.

This involves making changes to the environment that:

In Australia we have already guidelines for pet-friendly housing and pet-friendly public open space as contained in this compendium. We call it passive compliance. The challenge here, however is institutional, not behavioural. It depends on whether Council urban and open space planners are willing to plan for pets.

Another form of environmental alteration is the design and siting of rubbish bins. It has been well documented, for example, that increasing the availability of rubbish bins can lead to substantial reductions in rubbish. It would also seem that attractively or brightly decorated bins increase proper disposal. For example, a hat-shaped bin lid that displayed the words "Thank-you" when depressed to take rubbish was found to markedly increase rubbish disposal in a football stadium at an American University.

While the findings can't be applied directly to faeces disposal, they obviously lay the ground work for further research and may explain part of the success of the Shire of Warringah's 'Pooch Patch' that simulates the proverbial telegraph pole.

Community Involvement

Three studies in the US examined the problem of removing dog faeces using a community group as part of the intervention strategy. A collaborative effort was used between an ad hoc community group and a university based research team to reduce the amount of dog faeces deposited in the street. The strategy involved group members asking dog owners in the street to pick up litter. Interventions that lasted only a day brought about temporary changes. In contrast when the intervention lasted 4 consecutive weeks, carryover effects were noted up to 4 weeks later.

Commitment and Goal Setting

This intervention involves obtaining promises or agreements from people to change their behaviour eg by obtaining a commitment from car drivers to take the bus two times per week for a specified period. The commitment in UAM might be for a person to promise to walk their dog every day or keep it on the lead until they reach the free running area. Commitments can be obtained in any number of ways to suit the situation at hand. People are usually approached personally and the approach can be either random (in their home or at parks, shopping centres etc) or non-random (names can be obtained from records, membership of clubs, interest groups etc). The commitment itself might be written and explicit eg they may be given a card to tick off on a daily basis. Or, it can involve simple verbal promises. Its most noteworthy aspect is its success at producing durable behaviour change compared to other strategies. In explaining the success of commitment in one recycling study, it was argued that commitments and goal setting could mean that people find their own reasons for recycling. They may even begin to even like doing it, and as a result, continue to perform these behaviours on their own. Their findings support the notion that internal sources of control have a stronger and more lasting influence on behaviour than external forces such as rewards and penalties.

It seems logical to look for ways to refine the use of commitment and goal setting as a specific technique in UAM.

Prior litter

It has been well documented that littering is significantly more likely to occur in a littered setting than in a clean setting. The implications of this for UAM is that maintenance clean-ups should be integral to the overall faeces management strategy.

Consequence Strategies

Consequence strategies occur after a behaviour. They include (i) rewards and other incentives and (ii) penalties. Available evidence suggests that consequence strategies are effective for as long as they are maintained but are lost soon after the consequence contingencies are withdrawn.

Rewards and other incentives

Rewards and other incentives can be monetary or non-monetary. They include direct subsidies, reduction or waiving of fees, gifts, prizes and awards. They are less coercive, less intrusive and less likely to alienate subjects than mandatory approaches. They also have educative value. Recipients of awards, for example, can be promoted as role models.

Many Councils reward responsible dog owners in an effort to encourage them to keep doing the right thing. Good behaviour means owners have their dogs on a lead in 'public places', or under effective control as appropriate, keep their dog out of prohibited areas, clean up after their dogs, prevent them from barking excessively and brought about temporary changes. In contrast when the intervention lasted 4 consecutive weeks, carryover effects were noted up to 4 weeks later.

 

Penalties

Penalties (ie regulation backed up by sanctions) will probably always be the backbone of UAM in Australia. However they are not intrinsically suited to all aspects of animal control as detailed in the first part of this discussion.

Integrating The Benefits Into The Policy Equation

The benefits of owning pets are now widely accepted by academics and policy makers as well as the community at large. More Councils are looking at what they can do to support their pet owning community.

What needs to be pointed out is that these initiatives are more than just positive statements of support to even up the balance.

They are actually rational responses to the more sophisticated task environment. We already know that strategies which encourage permanent and loving bonds between owners and pets can reduce relinquishment and abandonment by pet owners. If people have a positive relationship with their pets they are likely to be responsible in other ways too - by providing them with an enriched environment, keeping them inside at night for their own protection, taking them out for regular walks etc - all of which make the task of animal control easier.

We believe that strengthening the bond between people and their pets should be an integral part of UAM - for everyone's benefit, not just pet owners. Good examples include one-day Pet Expos and the provision of purpose-designed recreation facilities for dogs and their owners.

Putting It All Together: Moving Towards Integrated Urban Animal Management

Change campaigns are now a feature of Australian environment, health and social policy. Such campaigns use a range of tools as described in the previous section but each is implemented systematically as part of an overall strategy. Amongst the national success stories are Life. Be in it and Keep Australia Beautiful. Victoria too, has had some well-publicised successes with the Quit campaign, the Sunsmart campaign, and the Transport Accident Commission's (TACs) road safety campaign. What we don't hear so much about are the failures. In Victoria, both the 100 Ways to Keep Vic Fit and the Don't be a Wally with Water campaigns experienced uncertain, if not disappointing results. It is useful to reflect on what we can learn from an evaluation of these campaigns.

Messages will be more effective if segmentation strategies are used. Thus part of the reason for the success of the TAC ads is their segmentation (the first ads were aimed specifically at 18-25 year olds and their families). The Quit campaign too has been highly segmented.

Campaigns promoting prevention of some future problem are less likely to succeed than those dealing with immediate consequences.

The tone and values espoused are also important. The Quit and road safety campaigns emphasise values to do with family relationships and responsibilities. While they made extensive use of scare tactics, the negative message was accompanied by a clear indication of the actions to be taken to prevent the problems. By contrast the 100 ways to Keep Vic Fit campaign emphasised broader conservation goals and, implicitly, an associated guilt. Its language was slightly negative and painted the picture of the average Victorian as unthinking, careless and unimaginative.

The Case of the City of Stirling

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