Using social media to better understand perceptions of dog welfare during the pandemic

New research from us presents insight into public opinion regarding dog welfare during the COVID-19 pandemic, obtained through the application of social media text mining. The charity is proactively developing new methods to ensure it is listening to, and acting upon, dog owners' concerns.  

Our dedicated researchers examined tweets from the UK and Republic of Ireland, to reveal main topics of concern and attitudes towards dogs during a global pandemic, along with sources of influence regarding changes to public perception. 

There is growing concern that the COVID-19 pandemic may have negatively affected multiple aspects of dog welfare. For example, due to lockdown restrictions, many households had to deviate from their daily routine, increasing the probability of their dog developing behavioural issues. Additionally, an increased demand for dogs may have stimulated the large-scale breeding and/or increase in puppy smuggling or dog theft. Gathering insight on public opinion, along with tracking main topics of concern and sources of influence, helps aid the development of proactive response strategies. 

Polls and surveys are often used to evaluate public opinion. However, these are costly initiatives, often involving large scale marketing strategies. An alternative method, now being undertaken by ourselves, includes the application of social media text mining.  

Businesses commonly apply text mining to effectively learn what their audiences care about and what influences their online behavior. Whilst charities may use social media to promote their message, they rarely take advantage of these tools. Given the real-time streaming nature of social media and ability to search archives for relevant conversations, these methods may provide a unique, yet untapped, tool for the sector. Therefore, along with providing valuable insight into dog welfare, this research hopes to serve as proof of concept: encouraging the use of these tools within the field.  
 

McMillan and colleagues examined tweets mentioning dog(s), from the UK and Republic of Ireland, after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (27th March - 22nd August 2020). Common areas of concern included ‘dog meat trade’, ‘separation anxiety’ and ‘dog theft’. As the pandemic continued, sentiment (i.e., positivity/negativity of language used), of tweets became more negative, possibly reflecting the overall mood of the nation.  

By assigning Twitter accounts to sectors, researchers found that Personal (i.e., UK and ROI public), Press (i.e., mass media), State (i.e., Government, Police and NHS), and Other (i.e., welfare organisations, social enterprises, research organisations, charity, and business) accounts differed in both messaging and sentiment. Press and Personal accounts displayed the most negative online presence: commonly using words related to ‘anger’ and ‘sadness’, whilst State and Other accounts exhibited a more positive presence.  

Researchers also found that Press, State and Other accounts exhibited different levels of influence upon public opinion. While this may directly impact upon human-animal interactions, both negatively and positively: it could also indirectly affect animal welfare, by altering support towards specific topics e.g., political causes. 

This highlights the importance of sector responsibility concerning appropriate and accurate messaging online. Fundamentally, understanding public opinion and sources of influence is extremely important, as these will impact upon future challenges within the field.