Consumer awareness of culling and animal welfare

Animal mistreatment in businesses around the world is becoming a hotly debated topic. Many animal welfare laws protect wild animals and pets, but make exemptions for animals in farms, zoos or labs. There are economic benefits behind animal mistreatment since businesses can maximize profits by, for example, raising animals in crowded spaces, or forcing them to perform shows. However, ethical arguments on this issue reveal that animal mistreatment may actually cost more than humane animal treatment. Furthermore, consumer awareness on animal mistreatments is increasing, so this poses both a threat and opportunity to businesses. As society puts more and more value on sustainable green business today, inhumane animal treatments may harm a company's reputation and reduce its sales. Businesses should be aware of this trend and examine new humane alternatives to their traditional practices in order to stay competitive in the market.

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The attitudes of table egg consumers in Serbia on the welfare of laying hens

Biotechnology in Animal Husbandry ◽

10.2298/bah1904387t ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 35 (4) ◽

pp. 387-398

Author(s):

Natasa Tolimir ◽

Marijana Maslovaric ◽

Zdenka Skrbic ◽

Robert Radisic ◽

Milos Lukic ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Willingness To Pay ◽

Animal Welfare ◽

Laying Hens ◽

Age Group ◽

Survey Questionnaire ◽

Consumer Awareness ◽

Number Of Children ◽

The Family ◽

Survey Results

In order to examine the attitude of egg consumers about the poultry welfare and their willingness to spend more money to buy eggs produced in accordance with animal welfare principles, 529 consumers were surveyed in three regions of Serbia (Belgrade, region of Sumadija and Western Serbia and South and Eastern Serbia region). Through the survey questionnaire, consumers have stated how important the welfare of laying hens is to them and if they are willing to spend more money on eggs produced acording to principles of animal welfare. The answers of the surveyed consumers were analyzed by gender, age, education, number of children in the family and the environment in which they live. According to the results of the survey, it can be concluded that in Serbia, poultry welfare is moderately important to 28.17% of egg consumers and very important to 50.77% of consumers, while not at all or little to 21.13%, and that there are differences between individual regions. The willingness to pay more for eggs produced according to welfare principles was expressed by 78.53% of consumers, on average for all three regions. The analysis of data within the category of consumers for which the poultry welfare is very important, revealed that 54.15% are women and 44.02% are men, and that the welfare is more important for consumers with higher education (52.66%) compared to middle school (47.67%), also, for consumers in the 35-55 age group (55.60%) compared to younger and older respondents and those with three or more children in the family (52.94%) compared to families with fewer children. The survey results indicate that consumers in Serbia attribute more importance to the welfare of laying hens, and show their willingness to pay more for eggs produced in compliance with the welfare principles. In the coming period, the education focusing on the increase of consumer awareness of the importance of the welfare of laying hens and the connection with the quality of the product will be necessary.

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On visions and promises — ethical aspects of in vitro meat

Emerging Topics in Life Sciences ◽

10.1042/etls20190108 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (6) ◽

pp. 753-758

Author(s):

Silvia Woll

Keyword(s):

Animal Welfare ◽

Environmental Issues ◽

Meat Production ◽

Ethical Aspects ◽

Existing Problems ◽

In Vitro Meat ◽

Production And Consumption ◽

Production Conditions

Innovators of in vitro meat (IVM) are convinced that this approach is the solution for problems related to current meat production and consumption, especially regarding animal welfare and environmental issues. However, the production conditions have yet to be fully clarified and there is still a lack of ethical discourses and critical debates on IVM. In consequence, discussion about the ethical justifiability and desirability of IVM remains hypothetical and we have to question those promises. This paper addresses the complex ethical aspects associated with IVM and the questions of whether, and under what conditions, the production of IVM represents an ethically justifiable solution for existing problems, especially in view of animal welfare, the environment, and society. There are particular hopes regarding the benefits that IVM could bring to animal welfare and the environment, but there are also strong doubts about their ethical benefits.

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