Change in Norwegian consumer attitudes towards piglet castration: increased emphasis on animal welfare

Consumers' Attitudes towards Animal Suffering: A Systematic Review on Awareness, Willingness and Dietary Change

Planetary and human health depend on Westerners' ability to reduce meat consumption. Meat production degrades the environment while excessive meat intake is associated with cancer and cardiovascular disease, among others. Effective reasons and motivations are needed for consumers to change their diet. The fact that modern animal agriculture inflicts a great deal of pain on animals from their birth to their slaughter, animal welfare/suffering may drive consumers to curtail their meat consumption. This systematic review examined a total of 90 papers to ascertain consumers' awareness of the pain animals experience in animal agriculture, as well as consumer attitudes towards meat reduction due to animal welfare. Results show that consumers have low awareness of animal agriculture. Awareness of animal agricultural practices and animal sentience is associated with increased negative attitudes towards animal suffering. Animal suffering due to farming practices, transportation, slaughter, and animal sentience are factors that may encourage a reduction in meat consumption, and even dietary change in the short term. There is also evidence that animal suffering may be a more compelling motivation for consumers' willingness to change their diet than for health or environmental reasons. Therefore, increasing consumers' awareness of animal suffering in meat production is paramount to contributing to reduced pressure on the environment and improved human health.

The Open Field Test as a Tool for Behaviour Analysis in Pigs: Recommendations for Set-Up Standardization - A Systematic Review

INTRODUCTION

The open field test (OFT) is a common tool to assess anxiety and behavioural changes in rodents. It has been adapted to pigs with no systematic investigation of how environmental changes may alter the performance of pigs. Currently, the number of published studies including the OFT in domestic pig models is increasing without standardization.

METHODS

Our review aimed to investigate the open field (OF) set-ups in published studies and the similarities between performance and published parameters.

RESULTS

Following the PRISMA guidelines for reviews, we selected 69 studies for inclusion in this systematic review. We determined the specific set-up conditions such as dimensions, duration, and time of day for most of the included studies; we found high variability across studies with respect to these test specifics.

DISCUSSION

Our results indicate the inconsistent implementation of the set-up, including dimensions, timing, parameters, and additional combined tests (e.g., new object tests). Based on our findings, we have made recommendations for the performance of the OFT, according to the current literature.

Consumer evaluation of meat quality from barrows, immunocastrates and boars in six countries

The practice of surgical castration of piglets and its alternatives is still under debate. Production of boars may impair meat quality due to boar taint and reduced tenderness compared to meat from surgically castrated male pigs, while immunocastration reduces boar taint and may improve meat quality but seems to be less accepted by the pig chain. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the consumer's sensory appreciation of meat from barrows (BAs), immunocastrates (ICs) and boars (BOs) in six European countries, taking into account the selection of tainted carcass and consumers' appreciation of boar taint. Loin chops of 30 BAs, 30 ICs and 30 BOs were evaluated by 752 consumers in six countries: Belgium, Czech Republic, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Spain. Consumers rated odour, flavour, tenderness, juiciness, overall liking and willingness to buy and sensitivity to and liking of androstenone (AND) and liking of skatole (SKA) was also tested. In each of the six countries, consumers liked the odour of the BO samples less than that of BA, and IC intermediate. For flavour, tenderness, juiciness, overall liking and willingness to buy, liking scores given by the Czech, Polish and Portuguese consumers significantly differed between the BA, BO and IC. Willingness to buy was highest for BA by Czech and Polish consumers and for BA and IC by Portuguese consumers. The frequency of the negative check all terms that apply terms also differed, with a higher frequency of disgusting for BO compared to BA and IC and of off-flavour, irritating, manure, sweat, disappointing compared to BA, and intermediate for IC. 31% of the consumers disliked the odour of AND (NEG_AND), and 36% of them were not sensitive; in contrast, 77% of the consumers disliked SKA (NEG_SKA). The decrease in flavour liking score for BO compared to BA and IC was more outspoken by the NEG_AND consumer, while NEG_SKA consumers gave an overall lower liking score independent of the type of male pig. The results of this study indicate that IC can be a valid alternative for surgical castration.

Consumers' Expectations about Meat from Surgical Castrated or Immunocastrated Male and Female Iberian Pigs

A common practice in Iberian pigs is the castration of both males and females, and it can be carried out surgically or by immunization against gonadotropin-releasing factor (GnRF). The aim of this work was to determine consumers' overall liking and expectations towards Iberian pork from five different sex types (castrated females, entire females, GnRF-vaccinated females, castrated males and GnRF-vaccinated males), as well as to know the attitudes and beliefs of consumers towards castration and immunocastration. Loins from 83 Iberian pigs were collected and evaluated by 252 consumers in Barcelona and Madrid. Consumers evaluated the five types of meat in three situations: blind condition (tasting the product), expectations (without tasting) and informed condition. Finally, attitudes and beliefs towards castration and immunocastration were also determined. Results distinguished three segments of consumers labeled as "Indifferent", "Against castration and immunocastration" and "Against immunocastration". Meat from castrated males had higher overall liking scores in the blind condition. Expectations towards pork depending on its sex type affect consumer-informed acceptability; thus, it is important to consider marketing strategies to avoid or direct the effect of the information provided on the acceptability of the pork.

Effects of gonadectomy on clinical-hematological, metabolic and hormone conditions of cockerels

Gonadectomy (caponization) of cockerels is an important way of increasing their productivity, improving the quality and taste properties of the meat, and obtaining dietary products. The objective of the study was the influence of gonadectomy of cockerels on their clinical condition, morphological composition of blood, hemoglobin content and anabolism in the tissues, their productivity and chemical content of the muscles. In the experiment, we used 30 Adler silver cockerels aged 4 weeks, which were divided into two groups: control (intact) and experimental (gonadectomized) according to the analogue principle, with 15 individuals in each. The experiment lasted for 185 days, including the main period of 175 days. We determined that the body temperature of cockerels after gonadectomy increased as early as days one and three. In the blood of gonadectomized cockerels, the number of leukocytes decreased by 36.3%, thrombocytes – by 24.7%, while hemoglobin concentration, numbers of heterophils, eosinophils, basophils, monocytes and lymphocytes did not change compared with the intact individuals. On days 20 and 185 of the experiment, the concentration of testosterone in the blood plasma of gonadectomized cockerels was lower respectively by 57.1% and 53.1%, whereas no differences were found prior to gonadectomy and on the third day of the experiment. We determined increase in uric acid concentration and decrease in the level of ionizing calcium in blood plasma of gonadectomized cockerels compared with intact individuals, while the content of cortisol, glucose, total protein, triglycerides, cholesterol, total calcium and inorganic phosphorus, and also activities of alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase did not change. Live weight of gonadectomized cockerels in the period from 45 to 105 days of the raising did not change, and was higher by 10.4–17.0% from day 115 to 145, and further remained not different from the control. Thoracic muscles of gonadectomized cockerels contained 1.8 times more fat, while the levels of moisture, dry matter, protein and ash in thoracic and thigh muscles did not change. The conducted studies have revealed the effect of gonadectomy of roosters on clinical-hematological parameters, metabolic processes, productivity of birds and chemical composition of muscles and may be used to improve the production of chicken meat with high dietary and taste properties.

Digital Strategy Decision Support Systems: Agrifood Supply Chain Management in SMEs

The specific attributes of agrifood supply chains, along with their importance for the economy and society, have led to an increased interest in the parameters that enhance their effectiveness. Recently, numerous digital tools aimed at improving supply chain effectiveness have been developed. The majority of existing research focuses on optimizing individual processes rather than the overall growth of a food supply chain. This study aims to identify the stages of the information systems planning (ISP) process that affect the success of developing a strategic decision support system (DSS) for improving the decision-making process in the agrifood supply chains. Data were collected from 66 IT executives from Greek small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the agrifood sector and analyzed using regression analysis. The results revealed that situation analysis is the only stage of ISP that predicts ISP success. These findings can assist managers in appreciating the critical role of ISP for improving the performance of agrifood supply chain operations. Implementing the most appropriate information systems (IS) and digital tools results in increased competitive advantage, cost savings, and increased customer value.

Developing Sustainable Food Systems in Europe: National Policies and Stakeholder Perspectives in a Four-Country Analysis

To address climate change, health, and food-related challenges at the international and regional level, policy makers and researchers are starting to acknowledge the importance of building and developing sustainable food systems (SFSs). This study aims to discuss the drivers of, barriers to, and policy recommendations for developing sustainable food systems in four European countries (Germany, Italy, Norway, and Romania). We used critical frame analysis to investigate national policy documents on sustainable food systems and conducted in-depth interviews with various national stakeholders representing policy makers, agrifood businesses, and civil society. The novelty of this research lies in comparing national policy approaches and stakeholders’ opinions on SFS development in a multi-country analysis. These European countries have different conditions in terms of geography, socioeconomic situation, environmental performance, and sustainability orientation. Several cross-cultural differences and gaps in the existing national policies for sustainable food systems were identified, and solutions that help overcome these issues have been suggested. The first step in developing SFS should focus on interdisciplinary and trans-sectorial policy integration combined with increasing stakeholder collaboration across all sectors of the economy. We also recommend more active involvement of consumers in the food system, developing information-sharing networks, and increasing collaborations within the food supply chains.

Pain Management in Farm Animals: Focus on Cattle, Sheep and Pigs

Pain causes behavioral, autonomic, and neuroendocrine changes and is a common cause of animal welfare compromise in farm animals. Current societal and ethical concerns demand better agricultural practices and improved welfare for food animals. These guidelines focus on cattle, sheep, and pigs, and present the implications of pain in terms of animal welfare and ethical perspectives, and its challenges and misconceptions. We provide an overview of pain management including assessment and treatment applied to the most common husbandry procedures, and recommendations to improve animal welfare in these species. A cost-benefit analysis of pain mitigation is discussed for food animals as well as the use of pain scoring systems for pain assessment in these species. Several recommendations are provided related to husbandry practices that could mitigate pain and improve farm animal welfare. This includes pain assessment as one of the indicators of animal welfare, the use of artificial intelligence for automated methods and research, and the need for better/appropriate legislation, regulations, and recommendations for pain relief during routine and husbandry procedures.

On the Road to End Pig Pain: Knowledge and Attitudes of Brazilian Citizens Regarding Castration

We explored the attitudes of Brazilians towards different methods to deal with boar taint in pork (surgical castration without pain control, SC; surgical castration with pain control, SC+PC; immunocastration, IC; raising entire males, EM). Two surveys (Sv1, n = 441 and Sv2, n = 768) containing closed and open questions were conducted. Nearly 70% of Sv1 and Sv2 participants were unaware that meat of entire males may have boar taint and that SC is widely used in pig production in Brazil. In Sv1, acceptability of SC+PC (63%) and IC (53%) was greater than of SC (15%). In Sv2, acceptability of IC (55%) and EM (52%) was greater than of SC (18%). Open-ended responses indicated that participants objected to inflicting pain to pigs to attain a production goal, and were concerned with organoleptic traits and risks of exogenous residues in pork. Participants' views regarding the potential increases in the cost of meat due to adoption of alternative methods varied; some argued that avoiding pain justifies an increase in the price of pork and others that this would impact especially lower income citizens. Our findings indicate that participants opposed surgical castration without pain control, and supported alternative methods. However, the concern with potential risks of presence of residues in meat, expressed by a few participants, may need to be addressed among consumers.

Exploratory Survey on European Consumer and Stakeholder Attitudes towards Alternatives for Surgical Castration of Piglets

Surgical castration of piglets without pain relief is still common practice in many countries. Possible alternatives for surgical castration are application of pain relief or anaesthesia or production of boars (entire males) and immunocastrates. Each of these alternatives faces advantages and disadvantages which may result in different citizen attitudes and consumers acceptability. Understanding which practice is acceptable to whom and why may further stimulate implementation. Consumer (n = 3251) and stakeholder (n = 1027) attitudes towards surgical castration without pain relief, surgical castration with anaesthesia, immunocastration, and production of boars were surveyed from April to June 2020 via an online questionnaire in 16 countries (>175 respondents per country). Surgical castration without pain relief was separated from each of the alternatives due to animal welfare and showed the lowest acceptability (32%). Within the alternatives, a further partitioning between the alternatives was based on perceived quality and food safety, with an acceptance of 85% for applying anaesthesia, 71% for immunocastration, and 49% for boar production. Differences depending on professional involvement and familiarity with agriculture could be observed, mainly for the acceptance of surgical castration without anaesthesia, immunocastration, and boars. Castration with anaesthesia was highly accepted by all types of respondents.

Health Risk Perception, Consumption Intention, and Willingness to Pay for Pig Products Obtained by Immunocastration

Simple Summary

Public awareness of farm animal welfare has gradually increased. It is well-known that some routine procedures in pig farming are detrimental to animal welfare, including surgical castration, especially without anaesthesia and/or analgesia. Some alternative techniques that offer welfare advantages over surgical castration can be implemented—immunocastration is among them. However, producers fear that consumers may be frightened by this technique and therefore they delay changes in the production system. This work aimed to understand whether Italian consumers perceive a health risk from the immunocastration technique and whether this perception is connected with their willingness to consume and to pay for products derived from immunocastrated animals. The results show that, within the Italian population, there are different levels of perceived health risk and that, as the perception of risk increases, the willingness to consume products obtained from immunocastrated animals decreases (and vice versa). The health risk perception by consumers also changes the willingness to pay for immunocastrated products. Particular attention must be paid to the information transmitted to the consumer if this technology will be widely adopted in pig husbandry.

Abstract

Surgical castration without the use of anaesthesia and/or analgesia is considered to be detrimental for the welfare of pigs and for this reason its abandonment is advocated. Immunocastration is a more welfare-friendly alternative method; however, stakeholders in the pork sector fear consumer rejection due to perceived safety issues of immunocastrated meat. This work aimed to analyse whether Italian consumers perceive a health risk arising from the use of this technique and, if so, how the perceived risk may influence the purchase choices and the willingness to pay for products derived from immunocastrated animals. To achieve this objective, a survey was carried out on a representative sample of the Italian population. The results highlight that consumers perceive different levels of risk related to the use of immunocastration and that this influences purchasing behaviour and willingness to pay. Moreover, it should be noted that the willingness to pay is also influenced by certain demographic factors, since this is positively associated with younger respondents with lower incomes and less knowledge of farming systems, who live in rural areas and have a greater sensitivity to animal welfare. Given the concerns expressed by consumers, particular attention must be paid to the information transmitted if this technology will be widely implemented in pig husbandry.