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.
Discussions on farm animal welfare have become frequent, especially in developed countries. The aim of this research was to study the perception of fish sentience, welfare and slaughter by highly educated citizens from Bogotá, Colombia, and Curitiba, Brazil. An online survey with 12 questions presented as open-ended, multiple choice and 5-point Likert-type scale formats was available to respondents. Answers from 395 participants in Bogotá and 387 in Curitiba were analyzed, and results are presented in the order Bogotá followed by Curitiba. The percentage of participants who perceived fish as sentient animals was 79.7% and 71.8%. The classification of sentience perception among taxonomic groups seems in accordance with the phylogenetic proximity to humans, suggesting participants were more likely to perceive sentience in mammals than in other animals. The descending order related to the highest perception of fish suffering in different scenarios was fishing with hook and line (75.6%, 70.6%); municipal live fish fair (68.7%—only in Curitiba); fish-and-pay ponds (59.7%, 54.4%); fish kept as laboratory animals (58.0, 48.1%); fish farming (35.7, 36.8%); fish in pet stores (35.5%, 26.1%); production of ornamental fish (19.3%, 21.8%); fish in aquarium exhibits (18.8%,16.9%); and fish kept as pets (12.4%,12.3%). Lack of knowledge about the conditions of capture, handling, transport and sale of ornamental fish may justify the perception of low level of suffering in the last scenarios. Regarding humane slaughter, 57.0% and 55.0% of respondents were unaware of the issue. After reflection induced by the questionnaire, 76.0% and 72% of participants believed that fish should be included in humane slaughter regulations. This study presents original data suggesting that respondents from Bogotá and Curitiba consider fish as sentient beings. The perception of suffering in specific scenarios challenges common activities. Recognition of suffering also endorses humane slaughter regulations to reduce pain in a large number of individuals of fish slaughtered annually for human consumption in Colombia and Brazil.
This study aimed to refine bird-soiling as a broiler chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) welfare indicator, and to develop and test two additional indicators, namely contact dermatitis on the breast and abdominal areas and carcase scratches. We constructed a questionnaire with pictures of birds presenting different indicator levels for classification as absent, low, moderate or severe. The questionnaire was sent to 146 invited experts for the first round and 88 for the second, in a Delphi process. Visual scales were built for the target indicators, which were tested by three assessors in ten flocks on-farm (n = 1,303 birds) and at the slaughterhouse (n = 1,631 birds). High concordance was observed among groups of Delphi respondents and among assessors. A total of 90.7% of the birds were either moderately or severely soiled, 99.9% were poorly feathered, 73.4 and 90.0% presented erythaema and carcase scratches, respectively. The correlations between litter quality and all outcomes assessed on-farm, and between bird-soiling and contact dermatitis on the breast and abdominal areas, were moderate. Results suggest that adoption of the proposed scales may improve our ability to assess broiler chicken welfare, since relevant problems were prevalent and measurement consistency acceptable. Substantial concordance observed among assessors encourages application of these animal-based indicators to assess broiler chicken welfare in a wide range of poultry houses, in a variety of different countries, thereby allowing the scales to be tested in a host of animal welfare conditions.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.