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. 2023 Mar 9:14:1049530.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1049530. eCollection 2023.

Factors influencing Chinese public attitudes toward farm animal welfare

Bing Jiang  1   2 , Wenjie Tang  1 , Lihang Cui  1 , Yanjiao Wei  3
Affiliations

Factors influencing Chinese public attitudes toward farm animal welfare

Bing Jiang et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

A comprehensive understanding of current Chinese public attitudes toward farm animal welfare and the relevant influencing factors is essential for improving farm animal welfare and promoting further development of animal husbandry. The attitudes of 3,726 respondents in China were investigated using paper and online questionnaires. Three components (affective, cognitive, and behavioral) of attitudes toward farm animal welfare were assessed using 18 items designed based on the literature review. Influential factors of attitudes toward farm animal welfare were explored via tobit regression. The results revealed that the Chinese public not only considers farm animals to be emotional and sentient but are also sympathetic toward farm animals that suffer inhumane treatment. Although they have limited knowledge about farm animal welfare, the public believes improving farm animal welfare is beneficial, especially for food safety and human health. The Chinese public prefers regulation policies to incentive policies for improving farm animal welfare. The main factors influencing attitudes toward farm animal welfare included gender, age, education, monthly household income, area of residence, farm animal raising experience, and attention to farm animal welfare events. The effect of these influencing factors on attitudes varied. These findings provide a basis for improving Chinese public attitudes toward farm animal welfare. The implications of formulating and implementing effective policies to improve the Chinese public attitudes toward farm animal welfare were discussed.

Keywords: affective attitudes; behavioral attitudes; cognitive attitudes; demographic factors; farm animal welfare; public attitudes.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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