Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-18T10:12:08.680Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Defining and measuring farmers’ attitudes to farm animal welfare

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

H Hansson  and
CJ Lagerkvist
H Hansson*
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, PO Box 7013, SE-75007 Uppsala, Sweden
CJ Lagerkvist
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, PO Box 7013, SE-75007 Uppsala, Sweden
*
* Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints: Helena.Hansson@slu.se
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Identifying farmers’ attitudes to farm animal welfare (FAW) is an important step in determining farmers’ efforts to improve FAW, knowledge of which is of particular importance for understanding how the living conditions of production animals are determined. This study developed a hypothetical model of farmers’ attitudes to FAW, including the antecedents of these attitudes and possible influences on FAW-related behaviour. Two models for empirical measurement of attitudes, namely formative and reflective models, were also evaluated and compared. The results suggested that choice of measurement model considerably influences conceptualisation of attitudes and that there may be considerable model misspecifications in previous literature relating to farmers’ FAW attitudes. Existing literature on farmers’ FAW attitudes was reviewed with the aim of providing a preliminary indication of the coverage of farmers’ FAW attitudes. A need for future research related to farmers’ attitudes to FAW was identified.

Keywords

animal welfareattitudesfactor analysisfarmersmeasurement modelspsychometrics
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 23 , Issue 1 , February 2014 , pp. 47 - 56
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial reuse or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

References

Ajzen, I 1991 The theory of planned behaviour. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 50: 179–211. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-TCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ajzen, I 2001 Nature and operations of attitudes. Annual Review of Psychology 52: 27–58. http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.27CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ajzen, I 2002 Perceived behavioral control, self-efficacy, locus of control, and the theory of planned behavior. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 32: 665–683. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2002.tb00236.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ajzen, I and Fishbein, M 2000 attitudes and the attitude-behavior relation: reasoned and automatic processes. European Review of Social Psychology 11: 1–33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14792779943000116CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Austin, EJ, Deary, IJ, Edwards-Jones, G and Arey, D 2005 Attitudes to farm animal welfare-factor structure and personality correlates in farmers and agriculture students. Journal of Individual Differences 26: 107–120. http://dx.doi.org/10.1027/1614-0001.26.3.107CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bock, BB and van Huik, MM 2007 Animal welfare: the attitudes and behaviour of European pig farmers. British Food Journal 11: 931–944. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00070700710835732CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bock, BB, Prutzer, M, Kling Eveillard, F and Dockes, A 2007 Farmers’ relationship with different animals: the importance of getting close to the animals. Case studies of French, Swedish and Dutch cattle, pig and poultry farmers. International Journal of Sociology of Food and Agriculture 15(3): 108–125Google Scholar
Coleman, GJ, McGregor, M, Hemsworth, PH, Boyce, J and Dowling, S 2003 The relationship between beliefs, attitudes and observed behaviours of abattoir personnel in the pig industry. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 82: 189–200. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0168-1591(03)00057-1CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conner, M and Abraham, C 2001 Conscientiousness and the theory of planned behavior: toward a more complete model of the antecedents of intentions and behaviour. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 27: 1547–1561. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/01461672012711014CrossRefGoogle Scholar
de Lauwere, C, van Asseldonk, M, van ‘t Riet, J, de Hopp, J and ten Pierick, E 2012 Understanding farmers’ decisions with regard to animal welfare: the case of changing to group housing for pregnant sows. Livestock Science 143: 151–161. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2011.09.007CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DeVellis, RF 2003 Scale Development: Theory and Applications. Sage Publications Inc: Thousands Oaks, CA, USAGoogle Scholar
Farm Animal Welfare Council 2009 Five Freedoms. Farm Animal Welfare Council: London, UK. www.fawc.org.uk/freedoms.htmGoogle Scholar
Fazio, RH and Olson, MA 2003 Attitudes: foundations, functions, and consequences. In: Hogg, MA and Cooper, J (eds) The Sage Handbook of Social Psychology. Sage: London, UKGoogle Scholar
Feist, GJ 2012 Predicting interest in and attitudes toward science from personality and need for cognition. Personality and Individual Differences 52: 771–775. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2012.01.005CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fraser, C 1995 Science, values and animal welfare: exploring the ‘inextricable connection’. Animal Welfare 4: 103–11710.1017/S0962728600017516CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gawronski, B, Hofmann, W and Wilbur, CJ 2006 Are ‘implicit’ attitudes unconscious? Consciousness and Cognition 15: 485–499. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2005.11.007CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grube, J, Mayton II, DM and Ball-Rokeach, SJ 1994 Inducing changes in values, attitudes, and behaviors: belief systems theory and the method of value self-confrontation. Journal of Social Issues 50: 153–173. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1994.tb01202.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hair, JF, Black, WC, Babin, BJ and Anderson, RE 2010 Multivariate Data Analysis: A Global Perspective, Seventh Edition. Pearson: New Jersey, USAGoogle Scholar
Hanna, D, Sneddon, IA and Beattie, VE 2009 The relationship between stockperson's personality and attitudes and the productivity of dairy cows. Animal 3: 737–743. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1751731109003991CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hansson, H and Lagerkvist, CJ 2012 Measuring farmers’ attitudes to animal welfare and health. British Food Journal 114: 840–852. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00070701211234363CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hemsworth, PH 2003 Human-animal interactions in livestock production. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 81: 185–198. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0168-1591(02)00280-0CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hubbard, C, Bourlakis, M and Garrod, G 2006 Farmers’ perceptions of animal welfare across the UK farm assurance schemes. The rural citizen: Governance, culture and wellbeing in the 21st century. University of Plymouth: UKGoogle Scholar
Hubbard, C, Bourlakis, M and Garrod, G 2007 Pig in the middle: farmers and the delivery of farm animal welfare standards. British Food Journal 11: 919–930. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00070700710835723CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jarvis, CB, Mackenzie, SB and Podsakoff, PM 2003 A critical review of construct indicators and measurement model misspecification in marketing and consumer research. Journal of Consumer Research 30: 199–218. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/376806CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kahneman, D 2003 Maps of bounded rationality: psychology for behavioral economics. The American Economic Review 93: 1449–1475. http://dx.doi.org/10.1257/000282803322655392CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kahneman, D and Sugden, R 2005 Experienced utility as a standard of policy evaluation. Environmental & Resource Economics 32: 161–181. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10640-005-6032-4CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaiser, FG 2006 A moral extension of the theory of planned behaviour: norms and anticipated feelings of regret in conservationism. Personality and Individual Differences 41: 71–81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2005.11.028CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaiser, FG and Scheuthle, H 2003 Two challenges to moral extension of the theory of planned behaviour: moral norms and just world beliefs in conservationism. Personality and Individual Differences 35: 1033–1048. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(02)00316-1CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kauppinen, T, Vainio, A, Valros, A, Rita, H and Vesala, KM 2010 Improving animal welfare: qualitative and quantitative methodology in the study of farmers’ attitudes. Animal Welfare 19: 523–53610.1017/S0962728600001998CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kauppinen, T, Vesala, KM and Valros, A 2012 Farmer attitude toward improvement of animal welfare is correlated with piglet production parameter. Livestock Science 143: 142–150. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2011.09.011CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kielland, C, Skjerve, E, Osterås, O and Zanella, AJ 2010 Dairy farmer attitudes and empathy toward animals are associated with animal welfare indicators. Journal of Dairy Science 93: 2998–3006. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.2009-2899CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kling-Eveillard, F, Dockès, AC and Souquet, C 2007 Attitudes of French pig farmers towards animal welfare. British Food Journal 11: 859–869. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/0007070 0710835679CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Korsnick, JA, Judd, CM and Wittenbrink, B 2005 The measurement of attitudes. In: Albarracín, D, Johnson, BT and Zanna, MP (eds) The Handbook of Attitudes. Psychology Press Taylor & Francis Group: New York, USAGoogle Scholar
Lagerkvist, CJ, Hansson, H, Hess, S and Hoffman, R 2011 Provision of farm animal welfare: integrating productivity and non-use values. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy 33: 484–509. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/aepp/ppr037CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lund, V, Hemlin, S and White, J 2004 Natural behavior, animal rights, or making money — a study of Swedish organic farmers’ view of animal welfare issues. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 17: 157–179. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/B:JAGE.0000017393.31486.c2CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McInerney, J 2004 Animal welfare, economics and policy. Report on a Study Undertaken for the Farm & Animal Health Economics Division of Defra, Exeter, UKGoogle Scholar
Pennings, JME and Garcia, P 2001 Measuring producers’ risk preferences: a global risk attitude construct. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 83: 993–1009. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/0002-9092.00225CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pennings, JME and Leuthold, R 2000 The role of farmers’ behavioral attitudes and heterogeneity in futures contracts usage. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 82: 908–919. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/0002-9092.00090CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pennings, JME and Smidts, A 2000 Assessing the construct validity of risk attitude. Management Science 46: 1337–1348. http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.46.10.1337.12275CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perkins, A and Forehand, M 2011 Implicit social cognition and indirect measures in consumer behavior. In: Gawaronski, B and Payne, BK (eds) Handbook of Implicit Social Cognition: Measurement, Theory and Applications. Guilford Press: New York, USAGoogle Scholar
Podsakoff, PM, MacKenzie, SB, Podsakoff, NP and Yeon Lee, J 2003 The mismeasure of man(agement) and its implications for leadership research. The Leadership Quarterly 14: 615–656. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2003.08.002CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pretty, RE, Wegener, DT and Fabrigar, LR 1997 Attitudes and attitude change. Annual Review of Psychology 48: 609–647. http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.48.1.609CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rositter, JR 2002 The C-OAR-SE procedure for scale development in marketing. International Journal of Research in Marketing 19: 305–335. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0167-8116(02)00097-6CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rushen, J 2003 Changing concepts of animal welfare: bridging the gap between applied and basic research. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 81: 199–214. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0168-1591(02)00281-2CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Serpell, JA 2004 Factors influencing human attitudes to animals and their welfare. Animal Welfare 13: S145–15110.1017/S0962728600014500CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Siegel Levine, D and Strube, MJ 2012 Environmental attitudes knowledge, intentions and behaviors among college students. The Journal of Social Psychology 152: 308–326. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2011.604363CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tuyttens, FAM, Vanhonacker, F, Verhille, B, De Brabander, D and Verbeke, V 2012 Pig producer attitude towards surgical castration of piglets without anaesthesia versus alternative strategies. Research in Veterinary Science 92: 524–530. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rvsc.2011.02.017CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
van Huik, MM and Bock, BB 2007 Attitudes of Dutch pig farmers towards animal welfare. British Food Journal 11: 879–890. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00070700710835697CrossRefGoogle Scholar
van Overwalle, F and Siebler, F 2005 A connectionist model of attitude formation and change. Personality and Social Psychology Review 9: 231–274. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/s15327957 pspr0903_3CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Waiblinger, S, Menke, C and Coleman, G 2002 The relationships between attitudes, personal characteristics and behaviour of stockpeople and subsequent behaviour and production of dairy cows. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 79: 195–219. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0168-1591(02)00155-7CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weber, EU, Blais, AR and Betz, NE 2002 A domain-specific risk-attitude scale: measuring risk perceptions and risk behaviours. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making 15: 263–290. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bdm.414CrossRefGoogle Scholar