The relative importance of pig welfare in seven European Countries

Animal welfare is becoming a prominent politically sensitive matter because of the continuous societal pressure for more humane production systems. The European society is demanding products with high animal welfare standards and requiring animals to be raised as closely as possible to their natural conditions. However, people are still considered uninformed and unfamiliar with the different farm production systems. In this context, the pig welfare has received special attention from the European authorities by approving unceasingly different regulations changes. The aim of this study is: a) To identify the relative importance of pig welfare within the different animal production systems, b) to understand the animal welfare concept and to identify the level of information of three Mediterranean societies, c) to analyse the different aspect regulated by the animal welfare rules. Data were collected in three Mediterranean countries (Spain, Italy and Greece) using different face to face questionnaires that were carried out for 4 groups of participants: Consumers (250 by country), citizens (250 by country), university students (250 by country) and secondary school students (250 by country). The preliminary results showed that society is most concerned with pig welfare in comparison of other animal production systems. Furthermore, the most society would prefer to have more information on animal welfare showing a high level of heterogeneous information source by participants groups. The results also suggest the need for a better understanding of societal preferences for food produced under varying conditions with respect to animal well-being.Postprint (published version

Should animal welfare be included in educational programs? Attitudes of secondary and university students from eight EU countries

Animal Welfare educational programs aim to promote positive attitudes of future generations towards animal production systems. This study investigated whether secondary and university students in the majors that are not related to AW teaching believe that this concept should be included also in their educational programs. The determinant factors affecting students’ attitudes towards such a decision were analysed. This research has focused on eight European countries (Spain, the United Kingdom, Poland, Greece, Lithuania, Romania, Italy, and Sweden) targeting 3,881 respondents composed of 1,952 secondary and 1,929 university students. Results showed that female university students with a level of subjective and objective knowledge on AW and who required more restrictive AW regulations, gave support to include the concept in their educational programs. However, Students who support medical experiments that use animals to improve human health were less likely to accept AW education. Students in Italy compared to those in Sweden were prone to support AW educational programs. Results highlight the importance of teaching the AW concept as a comprehensive teaching tool at universities and schools’ programs as it may constitute a starting point for a more sustainable society toward improving animal living conditions, mainly in the Mediterranean countries in secondary schools

Should animal welfare be included in educational programs? Attitudes of secondary and university students from eight EU Countries

Animal welfare educational programs aim to promote positive attitudes of future generations towards animal production systems. This study investigated whether secondary and university students in the majors that are not related to AW teaching believe that this concept should be included also in their educational programs. The determinant factors affecting students' attitudes towards such a decision were analyzed. This research has focused on eight European countries (Spain, the United Kingdom, Poland, Greece, Lithuania, Romania, Italy, and Sweden) targeting 3,881 respondents composed of 1,952 secondary and 1,929 university students. Results showed that female university students with a level of subjective and objective knowledge on AW and who required more restrictive AW regulations, gave support to include the concept in their educational programs. However, Students who support medical experiments that use animals to improve human health were less likely to accept AW education. Students in Italy compared to those in Sweden were prone to support AW educational programs. Results highlight the importance of teaching the AW concept as a comprehensive teaching tool at universities and schools' programs as it may constitute a starting point for a more sustainable society toward improving animal living conditions, mainly in the Mediterranean countries in secondary schools.Postprint (author's final draft

The relative importance of pig welfare in seven European Countries

Animal welfare is becoming a prominent politically sensitive matter because of the continuous societal pressure for more humane production systems. The European society is demanding products with high animal welfare standards and requiring animals to be raised as closely as possible to their natural conditions. However, people are still considered uninformed and unfamiliar with the different farm production systems. In this context, the pig welfare has received special attention from the European authorities by approving unceasingly different regulations changes. The aim of this study is: a) To identify the relative importance of pig welfare within the different animal production systems, b) to understand the animal welfare concept and to identify the level of information of three Mediterranean societies, c) to analyse the different aspect regulated by the animal welfare rules. Data were collected in three Mediterranean countries (Spain, Italy and Greece) using different face to face questionnaires that were carried out for 4 groups of participants: Consumers (250 by country), citizens (250 by country), university students (250 by country) and secondary school students (250 by country). The preliminary results showed that society is most concerned with pig welfare in comparison of other animal production systems. Furthermore, the most society would prefer to have more information on animal welfare showing a high level of heterogeneous information source by participants groups. The results also suggest the need for a better understanding of societal preferences for food produced under varying conditions with respect to animal well-being