Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the opinions of meat consumers (n = 1780) on on-farm management of unhealthy pigs, whether support for treatment with antibiotics varies according with chance of recovery, and the effect of knowledge on the use of antibiotics on these opinions. Most participants believed that the use of antibiotics was the best solution for unhealthy pigs, and this was associated with a low level of knowledge about antibiotics. Increasing the probability of recovery after treatment increased support for treating pigs with antibiotics. However, the majority of participants rejected the consumption of meat from animals housed in “hospital pens”. After price, concern with food safety was the second main factor that influenced participants’ choice when buying meat. Support for the use of antibiotics to deal with unhealthy pigs in “hospital pens”, as well as for consumption of the meat from these animals, was higher among participants involved in agriculture. This shows that consumers are unaware of the potential negative repercussions for animal welfare associated with banning or reducing the use of antibiotics in livestock production, which is an important concern for the industry.
Highlights
Animal products are an important source of nutrients for many people around the world; production of animal protein quadrupled over the past 50 years, and the global demand continues to grow [1]
The aspects that most influenced the choice of participants when buying meat were price (42%) and food safety (38%), followed by animal welfare (8%), other aspects (8%) and sustainability (4%)
For the majority of participants, the most appropriate solution for unhealthy pigs was the use of antibiotics, which was associated with participants’ low knowledge about antibiotics
Summary
Animal products are an important source of nutrients for many people around the world; production of animal protein quadrupled over the past 50 years, and the global demand continues to grow [1]. The way animals are raised on farms has become more intensive over recent decades [2], with increasing adoption of confinement systems [3]. Critics argue that some practices used in intensive systems can harm the environment, rural communities, worker safety, food quality, food safety and animal welfare [4]. Public rejection of some aspects of intensive animal production systems has led to the development of regulations and industry actions associated with animal care on the farm, during transport and at the abattoir [5]. Recent studies in developed and developing nations have shown that citizens are concerned about husbandry systems and animal welfare [6,7,8,9,10,11]
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