Attitudes towards animal welfare in Portuguese students from the 6th and the 9th year of schooling: implications for environmental education

Abstract

This study aimed to identify attitudes towards different uses of animals in two groups of students: 264 pupils from the 6th year of schooling and 199 from the 9th, using an adaptation of the Animal Attitude Scale – 10-item version. Inferential statistics was used to check differences between groups, and in each group considering gender and mammal pet owners. The effect size (r value) was applied to identify the magnitude of the differences found. The results showed positive attitudes about animal welfare, with the exception of meat consumption. The younger group favour zoos, since they think animals are better protected; the older group favours the inevitability of the use of animals in medical research. Girls and owners of mammals as pets tended to be more concerned about the impact of the uses on animals but these differences showed low or medium magnitude. The results may help the interconnection of animal welfare issues in environmental education, reinforcing non-anthropocentric approaches in this field.