The State of Pets in the University of Kuwait - Case Study Example

Introduction Research background Keeping pets has become a particularly common practice in Kuwait. More people have become accustomed to keeping animals pets. Before, keeping pets was seen as western practice by many Kuwait’s. However, the last two decades have seen an increase by more than 75% of pets being kept in the country. The Kuwait University is one of the areas where there is an increase in number of pet owners. Both lecturers and students have become obsessed with pet keeping. A number of issues have emerged in relation to pet keeping. These issues include pet grooming and acquisition of pets by both students and lecturers. In addition to this, many pets have been left wondering around campus property on their own due to negligence. Because of the high interest by students and lecturers in keeping pets, these studies tries to ascertain the state of pets in Kuwait university campus so as to establish and give a recommendation on a possible Pet grooming and orphanage center on the campus. A number of studies have been made on pets in Kuwait and at the international level. However, most studies on pets in Kuwait have not been documented, and this has made it hard for people who want to start pet related business find it hard to establish their businesses. The purpose of this study was to establish a pet business that will be able to serve the people of Kuwait. The study will act as a model for future studies covering a wider in scope in the field Research objectives The general objective of the study is to establish the state of pets in university of Kuwait. The specific objectives of the study include  • To establish the most common pets in university of Kuwait • To establish the demographic arrangement of pet owners • To offer recommendations on improving the state of pets in Kuwait Research Question The research question for this study is as stated below • What type of pets is commonly kept in Kuwait and how are pet owners arranged demographically?  Research Strategy This research was both quantitative and qualitative in nature. The quantitative research methods helped to collect numerical data for establishing classical scientific data. This involved use of closed questions that would tie the respondents to unbiased responses. The qualitative part of the research involved open-ended questions, which were more subjective and helped to form a complete picture of the research topic for the researcher. This research used sample questionnaires to collect data for the purposes of meeting the research objectives. The questionnaire established was designed to be both open ended and closed. This was pivotal in helping establish enough data for analyzing the study. Open-ended questions would help in getting different personal perspectives from the sample population, which would form basic insights on the research topic. Closed questions were crucial in helping to collect the needed data that would be analyzed statistically and mathematically. Closed data are paramount in establishing numerical data that can easily be analyzed scientifically. Analyzing data scientifically is vital as it makes it easy for storing, interpretation and presentation. The credibility of statistically and scientifically analyzed data is high compared to data stored in text form. The data was then analyzed mathematically by arranging all the collected data in two principal forms. The data collected through open-ended questions was separated from the data collected by closed ended questions. The open-ended data was then arranged systematically and classified according to principal categories for the purposes of analysis and storage. Closed ended questions were arranged according to the questions asked. All the data for all the closed ended questions were then arranged mathematically arranged and graphically analyzed.  Research site and time The research was carried out on the universities main campus. Those who were sampled were the students and lecturers who stay on campus. The campus was chosen due to its location, which is easily accessible, and the suitability of the study population. The sampling and distribution of questionnaires was done from 4pm to 7 pm in the evening when most of the students were in their hostels, and most of the lecturers were at their homes. The research lasted 5-week days from Monday to Friday. Categorizing and analyzing data was done during the weekend. The whole research thus took a period of seven days.  Sampling method The sampling method chosen for the study consisted of simple, stratified and systematic random sampling. The whole on-campus population was available for the study. However, there were specific groups of people on campus were targeted by the study. These were students and lecturers who reside on the campus. The sampling was also systematic as the whole population that was sampled was done according to the various hostels, room numbers, and the lecturer’s quarters, which are arranged numerically.  Sample population Three hundred people participated in the study. 230 of the survey participants were students while 70 were lecturers who stay on campus. Of the 230 students, 165 were female while 65 were male. Of the 70 lecturers, 54 were female while 16 were male. Most of the student participants were between 18 and 25 years old while the vast majority of lecturers were aged between 38- 65. The original study had planned to study more than 550 students and 105 lecturers but due to constraints and other unforeseen limitations, this was not achieved. The sample population was cooperative in the collection of data.  Research findings The research data was analyzed and categorized as shown below. The quantitative data was then presented using bar graphs for the purposes of future references. Pet ownership Lecturers Students Male Female Male Female Those with pets 5 38 22 104 Those without pets 11 16 43 61 The research found that more females kept pets compared to their male counterparts. Amongst the students and the lecturers, this was evident as it clearly showed that most of the pet owners were women. In addition to this, the percentage of the younger generation who kept pets was high compared to the older generation. This is a clear indication that more young people are embracing pet animals as part of their lifestyles. Types of pets Lecturers Students Male Female Male Female Dogs 5 14 16 24 Cats 0 17 3 68 Others 0 7 3 11 The research also ascertained that the two most common pets in the university campus were dogs and Cats. The number of Cats was more, when compared to dogs. Dogs were found to be common pet animal amongst boys while cats were more common amongst boys. How much is spend on the pets per month Lecturers Students Male Female Male Female 10-50 0 0 10 44 50-150 2 24 12 53 150-300 3 12 0 7 >300 0 2 0 0 The study also found out that there was a considerable financial expenditure on pets by all groups of the study. The female pet owners were observed to spend much more on pets compared to their male counterparts. Across the age group divide, lecturers spend more on parts compared to students perhaps due to the financial advantage they had over students Exercising the pets Lecturers Students Yes 42 123 No 1 3 When it comes to exercising pets, students and lecturers were found to have done better with almost 98 percent of those interviewed saying they exercised their pets. A very small percentage of those who do not exercise their pets claimed that this was due to time constraints. However, the study could not ascertain how much time respondents gave in exercising their pets. Those who beat their pets Lecturers Students Male Female Male Female Yes 0 0 1 0 No 5 38 21 104 Of all respondents who were interviewed, only one was found to practice abusive character on the pets. The rest were observed to take care of their pets and show compassion on the pets. Considering buying pets Lecturers Students Male Female Male Female Yes 3 4 14 37 No 8 12 29 24 Those considering adopting pets Lecturers Students Male Female Male Female Yes 1 6 2 12 No 10 10 42 49 For those who did not have pets, the study established that more than 20 percent were willing to invest in buying pets. This was seen as a good sign for the pet industry in the country. About 15 percent of those who did not have pets were considering adopting a pet. This was a clear indication that incase a pet orphanage was established, and then there would be more people who will be willing to adopt pets and hence reduce the problem of stray pets in the urban areas. Research Conclusion From the research, the researcher concluded that more females prefer to keep pets compared to their male counterparts. This is subject to further research and theoretical analysis, which can be used to establish the reasons behind this trend. In addition to this, younger people in the society find pets more attractive compared to the older generation. More people in the urban centers keep pets for fun and for other purposes. The research also concludes that the majority of pets kept at home include Research recommendations It is clear from the research findings that more and more people in Kuwait are keeping pets. The research indicates that the number of females who are keeping pets is more compared to the number of males. This is perhaps because of the affectionate nature of women. The percentage of young people who are keeping pets is high compared to the percentage of older people keeping pets. This is an emerging trend in the country and it points to a brighter future for those who work in the pet grooming and selling business. There are several recommendations that this study will make concerning the state of pets in Kuwait. The first recommendation is that more pet varieties have to be introduced in the country so that people who have different taste in pet animals may be served. In addition to these, dogs and cats of different breeds have also to be introduced because this will encourage more people to have these types of pets. Another recommendation will is to encourage the training of more animal vets who can be able to take care of these animals. Most of the pets were established to lack proper care and treatment. This may be avoided if there is a policy that protects animal pets while at the same time providing stiff penalties for those who do not take care of their pets. Setting up more pet businesses will be beneficial, as it will help encourage more people to buy and adopt pets. There is a need to establish animal orphanages to help protect and control stray animals that are found in the country. A large population of stray cats and dogs was observed during the study. The government should establish animal and pet shelter to reduce this problem. Lastly, there is a need for more pet grooming centers in urban centers. This will teach and the same time offers the pet owners more time to help groom and exercise their pets. By exercising and grooming pets, more people will love their pets and stop subjecting them to harsh and unfair treatment, as observed in the course of the study. Read More