Should Animal Welfare Regulations Be More Restrictive? A Case Study in Eight European Union Countries
Increasingly, intensive livestock production systems have increased societal concern regarding the current animal welfare standards. We investigated whether individuals in their roles as consumers and citizens believe that the current European regulations regarding animal welfare should be more rest...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2019-04-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/9/4/195 |
| _version_ | 1818155718342082560 |
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| author | Niloofar Pejman Zein Kallas Antoni Dalmau Antonio Velarde |
| author_facet | Niloofar Pejman Zein Kallas Antoni Dalmau Antonio Velarde |
| author_sort | Niloofar Pejman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Increasingly, intensive livestock production systems have increased societal concern regarding the current animal welfare standards. We investigated whether individuals in their roles as consumers and citizens believe that the current European regulations regarding animal welfare should be more restrictive. Factors affecting this decision were assessed by analyzing respondents’ understanding of animal welfare-related issues, their subjective and objective knowledge levels, the credibility they assign to different information sources, their perceptions toward the current restrictiveness of animal welfare standards, and their socioeconomic characteristics. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire distributed in eight European Union (EU) countries (Spain, the United Kingdom, Poland, Greece, Lithuania, Romania, Italy, and Sweden) with 3860 total responses. The results showed that consumers are more reluctant to adopt more restrictive regulations than respondents in the role of citizens. Respondents from northern European countries (Poland and Sweden) are more likely to support regulations that are more restrictive than the current minimum requirements than respondents from southern countries (Spain and Italy). Women were found to be more concerned with the welfare of pigs and laying hens—lending credibility to the Internet as an information source—and were more likely to support more restrictive animal welfare legislation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T14:46:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-422b4f2e9b574db3ab9b5b93b6dcb4c7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T14:46:51Z |
| publishDate | 2019-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-422b4f2e9b574db3ab9b5b93b6dcb4c72022-12-22T01:01:39ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152019-04-019419510.3390/ani9040195ani9040195Should Animal Welfare Regulations Be More Restrictive? A Case Study in Eight European Union CountriesNiloofar Pejman0Zein Kallas1Antoni Dalmau2Antonio Velarde3Institute for Research in Sustainability Science and Technology (IS-UPC), Polytechnic University of Catalonia, 08034 Barcelona, SpainCentre for Agro-food Economy and Development, CREDA-UPC-IRTA, 08860 Castelldefels, SpainInstitute of Agrifood Research and Technology—IRTA, Animal Welfare Subprogram, 17121 Monells, SpainInstitute of Agrifood Research and Technology—IRTA, Animal Welfare Subprogram, 17121 Monells, SpainIncreasingly, intensive livestock production systems have increased societal concern regarding the current animal welfare standards. We investigated whether individuals in their roles as consumers and citizens believe that the current European regulations regarding animal welfare should be more restrictive. Factors affecting this decision were assessed by analyzing respondents’ understanding of animal welfare-related issues, their subjective and objective knowledge levels, the credibility they assign to different information sources, their perceptions toward the current restrictiveness of animal welfare standards, and their socioeconomic characteristics. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire distributed in eight European Union (EU) countries (Spain, the United Kingdom, Poland, Greece, Lithuania, Romania, Italy, and Sweden) with 3860 total responses. The results showed that consumers are more reluctant to adopt more restrictive regulations than respondents in the role of citizens. Respondents from northern European countries (Poland and Sweden) are more likely to support regulations that are more restrictive than the current minimum requirements than respondents from southern countries (Spain and Italy). Women were found to be more concerned with the welfare of pigs and laying hens—lending credibility to the Internet as an information source—and were more likely to support more restrictive animal welfare legislation.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/9/4/195animal welfarecitizensconsumersEU |
| spellingShingle | Niloofar Pejman Zein Kallas Antoni Dalmau Antonio Velarde Should Animal Welfare Regulations Be More Restrictive? A Case Study in Eight European Union Countries Animals animal welfare citizens consumers EU |
| title | Should Animal Welfare Regulations Be More Restrictive? A Case Study in Eight European Union Countries |
| title_full | Should Animal Welfare Regulations Be More Restrictive? A Case Study in Eight European Union Countries |
| title_fullStr | Should Animal Welfare Regulations Be More Restrictive? A Case Study in Eight European Union Countries |
| title_full_unstemmed | Should Animal Welfare Regulations Be More Restrictive? A Case Study in Eight European Union Countries |
| title_short | Should Animal Welfare Regulations Be More Restrictive? A Case Study in Eight European Union Countries |
| title_sort | should animal welfare regulations be more restrictive a case study in eight european union countries |
| topic | animal welfare citizens consumers EU |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/9/4/195 |
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