Perception of animal sentience by Brazilian and French citizens: the case of sheep welfare and sentience

The study compared the perception of ordinary citizens from Curitiba, Brazil (OB) and Clermont-Ferrand, France (OF), as well as OB, Brazilian veterinarians (VB), biologists (BB) and animal scientists (AB), concerning animal welfare and sentience. An online survey containing 18 open-ended, multiple choices and Likert scale questions was conducted from November 2014 to May 2016. The survey covered questions on demographics, perception of animal welfare, sheep welfare, sentience and animals’ emotional capacities. In total, 1103 respondents participated in the survey (388 OB, 350 OF, 248 VB, 92 BB and 25 AB); data were compared using non-parametric tests. Brazilian citizens (46.9%) believed more than OF (3.7%) that welfare is not considered for farm animals and OB attributed higher scores of suffering to sheep during management procedures (median 4, severe suffering) than OF (3, moderate suffering). Additionally, OB gave higher scores of emotions to animals (5) than OF (4). In general, OB and BB had similar perceptions; OB and BB differed from VB and AB who were similar to each other. Citizens (46.9%) and BB (29.3%) believed more than VB (18.5%) and AB (12.0%) that welfare is not considered for farm animals; OB and BB also attributed higher scores of suffering to sheep during management procedures than VB and AB. Women and older respondents showed higher perception of animal welfare issues. There was no clear correlation between perception of animal welfare or sentience and education. Overall, ordinary citizens differed on their perceptions of welfare and sentience in livestock and specifically in sheep, and sheep suffering during management procedures. Ordinary citizens from Curitiba showed higher perception of animal welfare issues as compared to respondents from Clermont-Ferrand and to veterinarians and animal scientists. Ensuring a better consideration of welfare at farm level and in educational programs seems warranted according to the results of this study

Perception of sheep welfare and sentience by citizens, veterinarians, biologists and animal scientists of Curitiba, Parana, Brazil.

We compared the perception of citizens (C), veterinarians (V), biologists (B) and animal scientists (A) from Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, regarding sheep welfare and sentience. Knowledge about animal welfare in C (15.2%) differed from V (0.0%), B (1.1%) and A (0.0%), in terms of respondents who did not know about the subject (P<0.01). Animal welfare was defined mainly considering terms related to Freedom from fear and distress, Freedom from hunger, thirst and malnutrition and Freedom from discomfort. C and B differed from V and A on the perception of farm animal welfare, as C and B believed that welfare is not or less considered for farm animals (P<0.05). In addition, C and V showed higher perception of association between higher levels of animal welfare and productivity than B and A (P<0.05). The perception of sheep sentience did not differ among respondents (P>0.05). When asked about sheep suffering caused by management practices, in general, V and A attributed lower scores of suffering, when compared to C and B (P<0.05). The results suggest that C and B, and V and A, have similar perceptions on the consideration of welfare for farm animals and sheep suffering. The respondents showed similar perceptions of sheep sentienc

Data for: Ocimum americanum and Lippia alba essential oils as anaesthetics for Nile tilapia: Induction, recovery of apparent unconsciousness and sensory analysis of fillets

Data from Ocimum americanum and Lippia alba essential oils as anaesthetics for Nile tilapia: Induction, recovery of apparent unconsciousness and sensory analysis of filletsTHIS DATASET IS ARCHIVED AT DANS/EASY, BUT NOT ACCESSIBLE HERE. TO VIEW A LIST OF FILES AND ACCESS THE FILES IN THIS DATASET CLICK ON THE DOI-LINK ABOV

Data for: Electrical stunning in pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus) using direct current waveform

Original data from the use of electrical stunning in pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus) using direct current waveform

Data for: Ocimum americanum and Lippia alba essential oils as anaesthetics for Nile tilapia: Induction, recovery of apparent unconsciousness and sensory analysis of fillets

Data from Ocimum americanum and Lippia alba essential oils as anaesthetics for Nile tilapia: Induction, recovery of apparent unconsciousness and sensory analysis of filletsTHIS DATASET IS ARCHIVED AT DANS/EASY, BUT NOT ACCESSIBLE HERE. TO VIEW A LIST OF FILES AND ACCESS THE FILES IN THIS DATASET CLICK ON THE DOI-LINK ABOV

Data for: Ocimum americanum and Lippia alba essential oils as anaesthetics for Nile tilapia: Induction, recovery of apparent unconsciousness and sensory analysis of fillets

Data from Ocimum americanum and Lippia alba essential oils as anaesthetics for Nile tilapia: Induction, recovery of apparent unconsciousness and sensory analysis of filletsTHIS DATASET IS ARCHIVED AT DANS/EASY, BUT NOT ACCESSIBLE HERE. TO VIEW A LIST OF FILES AND ACCESS THE FILES IN THIS DATASET CLICK ON THE DOI-LINK ABOV

Data for: Ocimum americanum and Lippia alba essential oils as anaesthetics for Nile tilapia: Induction, recovery of apparent unconsciousness and sensory analysis of fillets

Data from Ocimum americanum and Lippia alba essential oils as anaesthetics for Nile tilapia: Induction, recovery of apparent unconsciousness and sensory analysis of filletsTHIS DATASET IS ARCHIVED AT DANS/EASY, BUT NOT ACCESSIBLE HERE. TO VIEW A LIST OF FILES AND ACCESS THE FILES IN THIS DATASET CLICK ON THE DOI-LINK ABOV

Data for: Electrical stunning in pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus) using direct current waveform

Original data from the use of electrical stunning in pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus) using direct current waveform.THIS DATASET IS ARCHIVED AT DANS/EASY, BUT NOT ACCESSIBLE HERE. TO VIEW A LIST OF FILES AND ACCESS THE FILES IN THIS DATASET CLICK ON THE DOI-LINK ABOV