Public and industry stakeholders’ knowledge of animal welfare standards in livestock production systems and its link to attitudes, behavior and training.

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n n n n nThere is the potential for improving stakeholdersr knowledge of animal welfare inthe livestock industries through training programmes, but their influence on attitudesto livestock welfare, is unclear and not well understood. Two studies were undertakento address this, the first being a survey investigating public knowledge of meat chickenproduction systems in South East Queensland, Australia and how it influencesattitudes towards animal welfare and consumption behaviour. The collected dataindicated that consumersr knowledge was limited, but where it existed it was relatedto an improved attitude towards chicken welfare and high levels of chicken meatconsumption. The data from the first study indicated that consumers were willing topay extra for the establishment of an animal welfare labelling system, suggesting thatmany consumers would like to have a better understanding of the systems ofproduction of the animals they are consuming. The study indicated the importance ofeducating consumers about chicken production systems, which may help to improvetheir empathy towards chickens. Most respondents did not support the practice ofkilling birds without stunning for religious reasons and regarded the practice to beunacceptable or very unacceptable. Consumers gained their knowledge from multiplesources.n n n n nThe second research study investigated the knowledge of stakeholders in thelivestock industries of East and Southeast Asia who responded to a questionnaireabout their knowledge of animal welfare considerations during livestock transport andslaughter, guided by the standards and guidelines for animal welfare for theinternational livestock trade set up by The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE),(Office Internacionale dr Epizootie). The growing economic advancement in the Eastand Southeast Asian region suggested potential benefit of a research study toexamine stakeholdersr understanding of welfare during transport and slaughter oflivestock. The survey of stakeholdersr knowledge of livestock welfare in the transportand slaughter industries was conducted in four South East Asian countries, Malaysia,China, Vietnam and Thailand, in association with trainer and stakeholder workshopsconducted in each country. Attitudes of participants towards animal welfare duringslaughter and transport were identified. Knowledge scores were in accordance withrespondentsr assessment of their own knowledge level. Stakeholders received training, after which their knowledge scores increased. Knowledge scores had fewconnections to attitudes, but respondents that were certain about their attitudes tolivestock welfare were most likely to have a correlation to a high level of knowledge.Regional differences were evident and should be considered in future trainingprovisions.n n n n nThe biggest knowledge improvement was among Thai respondents, who tendedto be younger and less experienced than in other countries. Respondents with thebiggest improvement in knowledge scores were most likely to be involved in the dairyindustry and least likely to be involved in the sheep and goat industries, while meatprocessors and those involved in pig or poultry production showed moderateimprovements. Respondents who obtained their knowledge from multiple sources hadthe most knowledge, but the lowest increase after training. Connections betweenattitudes to improving animal welfare and knowledge were limited, being mainlyconfined to ambivalent responses about their attitudes. The study suggests thatknowledge can be improved in animal welfare by training programs focused onlivestock welfare around transport and slaughter, and this may make people morecertain about their attitudes towards animal welfare. However, local culturalbackgrounds must be considered in designing future training programs.n n n n nThe common theme between the two studies was the investigation of the extentof knowledge regarding animal welfare in meat production industries. It is concludedthat improving knowledge of animal welfare in the animal production industries willenable stakeholders to have clear and empathetic attitudes towards animals in thesesystems.