Abstract
Citizens’ concerns about farm animal welfare are often dismissed on the assumption that they are not well informed about farming practices. We conducted exploratory surveys of interested citizens (n = 50) before and after a self-guided tour of a 500-head dairy farm. ‘Before’ survey questions explored perceptions, concerns, and values about dairy cattle farming and welfare, in addition to a short knowledge-based quiz on dairy cattle husbandry. An ‘after’ survey explored the extent to which these constructs shifted after the tour. Before, most participants correctly answered quiz questions about general feeding and housing practices, but scores were low on questions about specific practices such as cow-calf separation. Participants considered several elements as necessary for a ‘good’ life for dairy cattle: fresh food and water, pasture access, gentle handling, space, shelter, hygiene, fresh air and sunshine, social companions, absence of stress, health, and safety from predators. These elements reflect a diverse conception of animal welfare that incorporates values for physical and mental well-being, natural living, and humane care. The visit had a mixed effect on perceptions of whether dairy cows had a ‘good’ life, improving perceptions for a quarter of participants, worsening perceptions in a third, with no shift in the remaining participants. The visit appeared to mitigate some concerns (e.g., provision of adequate food and water, gentle humane care) while reinforcing or eliciting others (e.g., lack of pasture access, early cow-calf separation). Moreover, animal welfare-relevant values held by participants (e.g., natural living, care) appeared to play an important role in influencing perceptions of farm practices. These results suggest that education and exposure to livestock farming may resolve certain concerns, but other concerns will likely persist, especially when practices conflict with deeply held values around animal care.
Highlights
Animal agriculture has come under increasing criticism with respect to farm animal welfare, but these critiques are sometimes dismissed by people working in agriculture on the basis that
Positive associations with the dairy industry were classed as follows: (1) Dairy farming as an enterprise that entails hard work (n = 7 of 50 participants): i.e. top of mind responses of “a lot of work” [P9], “labour intensive” [P35] and “dedicated farmers” [P10], that referenced the long hours and labour involved in dairying and often associated with respect for the farmers involved; and (2) dairy farming as an idyllic, important activity (n = 4), i.e. generalized notions of dairying as a wholesome, family-friendly pursuit with a distinct place in the rural landscape, e.g. “good way of life, essential for our area” [P24], “wholesome country” [P41], and “enjoyable environment for family life,” [P13]
This study explored how a select sample of interested citizens perceived dairy farming and its effects on animal welfare
Summary
The aims of the current study were first to describe existing animal welfare perceptions, concerns and values within a group of interested lay citizens before their visit to a working dairy farm, and secondly, to determine how their concerns and values, together with performance on a knowledge-based quiz, shifted after visiting the farm
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