Abstract
Simple SummaryYoung adults’ attitudes towards animals will be influenced by a number of factors, including: sex, age, nationality/ethnicity, residence area, animal-related activities and hobbies, food habits, culture/religion, education and pet ownership. A case study of Dutch and Belgian high school students shows that levels of concern for animal welfare were distinctly higher among female participants, those who ate little to no meat, Belgian students, pet owners and those who had been to a zoo at least once. In general, students who reported having more contact with animals also had more positive attitudes towards animals.The social context and culture in which individuals grow shapes their perspectives through life. Early on, children learn about animals through storybooks, animated movies, toys, and through interactions with pets and wildlife, and will slowly start to build beliefs around those experiences. Their attitudes towards animals will be influenced by a number of factors, including: sex, age, nationality/ethnicity, residence area, animal-related activities and hobbies, food habits, culture/religion education, and pet ownership. A case study of Dutch and Belgian high school students (aged 12–21) investigated the attitudes of young people towards animals. By using the Animal Attitude Scale (AAS) and the Animal Issue Scale (AIS) questionnaires, our study shows that levels of concern for animal welfare were distinctly higher among: female participants; those who ate little to no meat; Belgian students; pet owners; and those who had been to a zoo at least once. In general, students who reported having more contact with animals also had more positive attitudes towards animals. To understand younger generations and their attitudes toward animals is to understand how future generations will look towards and treat our fellow animals, with which we share the planet Earth.
Highlights
Animals have accompanied humans for thousands of years, with a strong bond forged between humans and other species
We aim to find out whether the variables we mentioned above and other variables like household, house type, meat-eating frequency correlate with young adults’ attitudes toward animals
We introduced the Animal Attitude Scale (AAS) [10], which was used to assess the participant’s attitude toward animals by means of a Likert scale
Summary
Animals have accompanied humans for thousands of years, with a strong bond forged between humans and other species. Our relationships with animals can take different forms. Animals can serve instrumental purposes: we currently use animals for clothing, for testing a range of human products, for gaining basic insights into human biology and behavior, and as food. The clearest example is the practice of pet-keeping, with people attributing a special status to their pets [1]. Studies have shown that most children reject the idea of humans being animals [2], they do have a propensity to anthropomorphise animals [3,4]. Most children have an appreciation for Animals 2019, 9, 88; doi:10.3390/ani9030088 www.mdpi.com/journal/animals
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