Animal Welfare Programs in Germany—An Empirical Study on the Attitudes of Pig Farmers

Abstract

In Europe, there is ongoing social criticism of conventional pig farming and demands for higher farm animal welfare standards. This applies primarily to products from pig production, as consumers criticize, among other things, the animals’ housing conditions, tail docking, neutering, or keeping them on slatted floors. Various animal welfare programs have tried to meet the consumers’ demands. Pig farmers are directly involved in the production process and are therefore key stakeholders for the successful implementation of animal welfare programs such as the German Initiative Animal Welfare. The Initiative Animal Welfare was founded in 2015 and serves as an example in this study, as it has been established for two rounds and involves high numbers of participants. However, little is known about the attitudes of pig farmers towards this specific animal welfare program. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate these attitudes towards animal welfare programs using the example of German pig producers and identify group differences. Based on an online survey of German conventional pig farmers, four clusters were formed which differ in their attitude to the Initiative Animal Welfare. Overall, all farmers, regardless of the cluster, feel publicly pressured by politics and the media. In addition, all farmers are skeptical about the effort involved in participating in the Initiative Animal Welfare (IAW), especially with regard to the additional documentation requirements and unannounced controls. The findings can provide guidance for the design of animal welfare programs taking into account the needs of farmers.

German Farmers’ Attitudes on Adopting Autonomous Field Robots: An Empirical Survey

“…Previous studies using the UTAUT model in an agricultural context suggests that the attitudes towards the expected performance and effort, as well as the expected social influence, are relevant for the technology acceptance of farmers (e.g., [21,22]). However, previous studies on digital farming technologies in general, consisting of precision and smart farming [23], provide a diverse profile of farmers' attitudes on technology adoption depending on different parameters [13,14,[24][25][26][27]. This leads to the assumption that distinguishable groups also exist for farmers' attitudes toward AFR in particular.…”

Behavioral Monitoring Tool for Pig Farmers: Ear Tag Sensors, Machine Intelligence, and Technology Adoption Roadmap

“…Farmers who have more access to data about the health and wellbeing of their pigs may be expected to benefit and should have increased opportunities to intervene to promote the health and welfare of their animals. However, pig farmers may feel pressurized by the politics and media and skeptical of participating in welfare programs [32]. Modern consumers are interested in the quality and safety of their food, as well as in the humane treatment of animals raised for slaughter and the environmental sustainability of the food they consume [33].…”

Exploring Consumers’ Perception of Farm Animal Welfare in Muar, Johor

“…The agricultural sector has undergone adjustments in response to the public's concerns regarding farm animal welfare. Various animal welfare initiatives have been implemented to address consumer expectations (Schukat et al, 2020). Past studies have shown that consumers' attitudes toward farm animal welfare and protection have an impact on how farm animals are handled in society (Kupsala et al, 2015) and consumers that lived in rural areas were linked to a lower worry about Farm Animal Welfare and a greater acceptance of modern farming (Clark et al, 2016).…”