Rabbit meat in the east of Algeria: motivation and obstacles to consumption

Abstract

<p>In Algeria, rabbit meat consumption is insufficiently anchored in culinary traditions compared to other types of meat that are widely consumed, namely sheep and chicken. The purpose of this research is to investigate the influence of sociogeographic variables, both intrinsic and extrinsic quality cues, on consumption frequency, purchasing decision, motivations and the main deterrents to rabbit meat consumption. A survey is conducted with 360 consumers across 15 <em>wilayas</em> (districts) in Eastern Algeria. The results help us draw a conclusion that rabbit meat is consumed in all surveyed <em>wilayas</em> with a low frequency of consumption for the majority of respondents (79%). On the one hand, the causes of consumption are mainly: good taste (59%) and nutritional value (27%). On the other hand, the limiting factors are different: scarcity of rabbit meat on the market (42%), price (22%), eating habits (17%), lack of information on nutritional value (13%), bad taste (3%) and its resemblance to cat meat (3%). Regarding purchasing criteria, tenderness (58%) and freshness (14%) were chosen by most consumers. Although most consumers recognise the nutritional benefits of rabbit meat, it is poorly ranked in the choice of its consumers, placing it fourth after sheep, beef and poultry. Cross tabulation results show that gender, employment status and geographical areas are three variables that significantly affect the consumer’s perception and behaviour towards rabbit meat. This study is the first to analyse the Algerian consumer profile and sheds light on factors encouraging and hindering rabbit meat consumption.</p>

Rabbit Meat—Production, Consumption and Consumers’ Attitudes and Behavior

“…Results indicated that there is a high proportion of consumers who do not eat rabbits (34-35%) [17,36]. Those who consume rabbit meat rarely eat it, with an average frequency of one to three times a year (29-79% of survey respondents), which is lower than those for other meat types [36,41].…”

Descriptive analysis of rabbit meat marketing parameters in the north-east of Algeria

“…As for the geographic distribution, the majority of butchers' shops (27; 84.36%) were located in six main wilayas: Bordj Bou Arreridj, Sétif, Mila, Constantine, Batna, and Béjaïa. These are the main areas where rabbit breeding units are present (Sanah et al, 2020); the remaining wilayas such as Sekikda, Oum El Bouaghi, Guelma and Annaba presented a low number of butchery shops (5; 15.64%).…”

“…Consumers, the last link in the chain, will buy rabbits (alive or slaughtered) directly from the breeder (the farm). This is found to be the most common method for 56% of consumers (Sanah et al,2020).…”

“…Thus, rabbit meat consumption peaks are mostly in winter and during the month of Ramadhan. Nevertheless, periods of low consumption are the religious festivals such as Aïd El Fitre, the year-end holidays (Sanah et al, 2020).…”

Rabbit meat trade of major countries: regional pattern and driving forces

“…Lukefahr et al (2004) reviewed the meat rabbit production in North America. From the perspective of rabbit meat consumption, some research focused on specific groups of people, including children and university students (González-Redondo et al, 2010;Escribá-Pérez et al 2019), but most research works concentrated on one country, including Italy, France, Hungary, Spain, the USA and Mexico, among others (Chalah and Hajj 1996;Beal et al 2004;Olivares et al 2005;Bodnar and Horvath 2008;Dairo et al 2012;Kowalska 2015;Petracci et al 2018;Sanah et al 2020). Sugiyama et al (2017) studied meat consumption in Mexico from the standpoint of varied ecological and social contexts.…”