Abstract
Simple SummaryIn this paper, we offer a methodological solution to the policymaker to improve the structure of the surveys used for public consultations. Over the years, we noticed the importance of opinions in legislative processes, particularly in animal welfare. The issue, to which European citizens have historically been sensitive, has been the target of multiple consultations aimed at considering perceptions about farming conditions. However, standard surveys suffer from bias and design errors. To overcome these problems, we propose the use of Q-methodology to understand the opinions of veterinary students. The results contribute to the improvement of traditional surveys used to understand what people think about animal welfare and could be useful in providing information to the policy making process.Opinions increasingly influence legislative processes. The case of animal welfare (AW) standards is a clear example of the role played by opinions in political decisions. The issue, to which European citizens have historically been sensitive, has been the subject of numerous consultations and investigations, aimed at considering citizens’ opinions regarding breeding conditions. However, these tools and in particular standard surveys, suffer from response biases such as the prejudices involved in the design of questions and the interpretation of the results. To mitigate these problems, we used the Q-methodology, which is an inductive but systematic methodology focused on patterns that explain the ideas of individuals. The purposive sample consisted of 36 veterinary students who were acquiring scientific knowledge about AW. The results, in addition to providing policymakers with food for thought for the further development of AW standards, contribute to testing the use of alternative methodologies to collect citizens’ views. This mapping of viewpoints helps to build a more effective form of AW policy making.
Highlights
European legislation on animal welfare (AW) is rooted in a long tradition that has seen someEuropean Union (EU) countries act as pioneers in setting minimum standards [1]
The cornerstone of EU legislation in this domain was the Directive on the stunning of animals before slaughter, adopted in 1974 [3]. It was followed by the Directive on the protection of animals during international transport in 1977 [4]; since 1999, the public interest in AW has been embedded in the Animals 2020, 10, 1364; doi:10.3390/ani10081364
We identified a strong belief in the connection between AW and the healthiness of products
Summary
European legislation on animal welfare (AW) is rooted in a long tradition that has seen someEuropean Union (EU) countries act as pioneers in setting minimum standards [1]. European legislation on animal welfare (AW) is rooted in a long tradition that has seen some. The start of European and international AW legislation was the first law against cruelty inflicted on animals, the Martin’s. Act, adopted in England in 1822 [2]. The cornerstone of EU legislation in this domain was the Directive on the stunning of animals before slaughter, adopted in 1974 [3]. It was followed by the Directive on the protection of animals during international transport in 1977 [4]; since 1999, the public interest in AW has been embedded in the Animals 2020, 10, 1364; doi:10.3390/ani10081364 www.mdpi.com/journal/animals. Because of to a specific protocol, annexed to the Treaty of Amsterdam [5,6]
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