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

Abstract

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.

‘All Ears’: A Questionnaire of 1516 Owner Perceptions of the Mental Abilities of Pet Rabbits, Subsequent Resource Provision, and the Effect on Welfare

“…Changing perceptions of the emotional and intellectual capacity of rabbits could therefore be key in changing human behavior towards improving the standard of welfare provided to this species. This is corroborated by Tamioso et al [ 14 ], suggesting that attributing emotionality to animals is significantly associated with more positive treatment from their owners.…”

“…Their study suggests that improving the public’s knowledge of companion rabbits may be vital in improving their welfare. This was corroborated by Tamioso et al [ 14 ], suggesting that attributing emotionality to animals is significantly associated with more positive treatment from their owners.…”

“…Work by Tamioso et al [ 14 ] concluded that attributing emotionality to animals is significantly associated with more positive treatment from their owners; Bertenshaw and Rowlinson [ 10 ] found dairy farmers that demonstrated positive attitudes towards animals had a significant relationship with yield and human–animal relationship; and Martens et al [ 23 ] found that an attribution of higher emotionality led to an improved human-animal bond score in dogs and cats.…”

“…Section B: Perceptions of pet rabbits—scoring perception of rabbits’ ability to experience pain, emotions, and intelligence from 0–100 (with 0 being equivalent to an inanimate object and 100 to that of a human); open-ended questions to elaborate on perception. As a perception study based on rabbits is novel, this scale was chosen based on intelligence-based perception studies by Nakajima et al [ 11 ] and Mercy for animals [ 12 ], Tamioso et al [ 14 ], which used 0–100, 0–10, and 1–5 point scales, respectively). Open-ended questions allowing the participant to elaborate on their perceptions were included, as in Bertenshaw and Rowlinson [ 10 ].…”

“…Recently, there has been an increasing interest in the mutual benefits of human–animal relationships, and the human attitudes towards animals that impact these relationships [ 10 , 11 ]. Along this line, studies have been carried out surrounding public perceptions of fish sentience [ 12 , 13 ] as well as sheep sentience [ 14 ] in the form of owner surveys, in order to better understand how the perceptions of these animals impact human behavior towards them. To the authors knowledge, a large-scale study exploring perception and attitudes towards pet rabbits’ intelligence, emotionality, and ability to experience pain has not yet been undertaken.…”