CONSUMER PERCEPTION AND WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR THE WELFARE OF LIVESTOCK DURING LONG-DISTANCE TRANSPORTATION

Transcription

1 CONSUMER PERCEPTION AND WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR THE WELFARE OF LIVESTOCK DURING LONG-DISTANCE TRANSPORTATION Monika Gebska 1, PhD Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Poland Abstract. The aim of this paper was to determine the level of awareness of consumers in terms of welfare of farm animals during long-distance transportation, and to examine the expectations of consumers in this regard. The The research results indicate that the price was one of the main criteria determining the selection of meat and meat products. It was found that Polish consumers did not pay attention to the conditions or level of welfare of farm animals during long-term transportation when making decisions with regard to the purchase of meat. Key words: consumer, willingness to pay, animal welfare, transport, campaign. JEL code: Q110 Introduction Decisions of consumers when purchasing products aspects include the price, origin, brand, trademarks and, of course, the quality attributes such as taste, colour, smell etc. Numerous research projects also indicate that the interest of consumers particularly those of the Western Europe in safety of food, including the production technology, is growing. Therefore, the ethical aspect of use of animals for production of food is becoming animals, that is, the conditions of breeding, feeding, and taking care of animals on farms, during transportation and slaughter. The results of research conducted by The European Food Safety Authority in 2010 show that 64% of European consumers are concerned with farm animal welfare. According to a 10-point scale, the respondents assigned to it the average score of 7.8 (Special Eurobarometer 354, 2010). In 2005, interest in animal welfare in the context of its impact on food safety was reported by only 60% consumers. Differences in the level of consumer interest in the issue have been presented in Figure 1 (Special Eurobarometer, 2010). Most consumers having concerned with the issue of welfare were recorded in Luxemburg (81%), Portugal, Denmark (76%) and Italy (75%), and the least in Romania (49%), Bulgaria (48%), and Hungary (44%). The data indicate that in countries, which became Member States of the European Union after 2004, a lesser number level of concern has increased since 2005, particularly, in Finland (66%; +18), Lithuania (58%; +16), and Luxembourg (81%; +15) (Special Eurobarometer 354, 2010). According to the research results, the increasing number of consumers is taking into account the aspect of animal welfare in their purchase decisions. In Great on free range. In France, in the year 2006, more than 1 monika_gebska@sggw.pl 2 Eggs bearing number 0 organic, 1 free range, 2 barn, 3 caged 62% broilers on the market were bred in accordance with (BBFAW, 2012). Nevertheless, demand for products obtained from animals bred on the improved welfare conditions is still limited. In many countries of the Eastern Europe, consumers have no access to such products or this access is very limited. Another barrier is caused by the lack of knowledge on the breeding methods and the resulting level of welfare of animals. The situation is worsened by the lack of information concerning the maintenance system on the product labels. An exception in this regard is the case of consumer eggs, marked with a numerical code from 0 to 3, specifying the system of breeding of laying hens 2 barrier, since the prices of animal products obtained from animals bred on these improved conditions are much higher in comparison with the prices of products obtained from animals bred in the conventional systems (Gebska M., 2012; Gebska M., Malak-Rawlikowska A., 2012; Majewski E. et al., 2012). Raising of welfare standards results in additional costs throughout the entire food chain, and the chain participants should be able to regain these from the market. In order for this to be possible, the consumers must be aware of this fact and ready to bear the additional costs. However, many data indicate that consumers are rather unwilling to cover the additional costs, resulting from the improvement of animal welfare, although they declare such readiness (Napolitano et al., 2008; Schröder, McEachern, 2004; Tawse, 2010). Their willingness to pay a higher price depends on the economic situation and level of awareness of the is consumer income and awareness of animal welfare, the higher is their willingness to pay for products coming from animals bred on improved welfare conditions. As a result, most consumers purchase such products very rarely or they do not purchase them at all (Webster A., 2001), and only 10% (Schröder M., 165

2 Fig. 1. The share of European consumers concerned with the welfare of farm animals 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 80% 80% 78% 77% 75% 75% 70% FI SE DE DK BE NL SI AT LU IE SK HU PL EU 25 68% 65% 60% 60% 58% 58% 57% 56% 55% 54% 54% 42% 40% 40% 36% 35% 31% 31% 24% FR UK PT CZ ES CY EL LV EE IT MT LT Fig. 2. Share of consumers convinced of the existence of legislation regulating the welfare of farm animals during transportation McEachern M., 2004) are actively searching for information in this regard prior to the purchase. organisations thanks to various initiatives and campaigns. Examples of such initiatives include any activities aimed at increasing of legal requirements with regard to animal welfare, introduction of private raised standards, marking of products or information, or education campaigns. Their range and effectiveness determine the pace of increase of knowledge and awareness of consumers. A review of available literature on the subject, however, indicates that no research has been conducted in this regard. Another issue, rarely undertaken in research, is consumer awareness on welfare of animals outside the farm, that is, during transportation and slaughter. The only available data in this regard come from the research project, ordered by the Directorate The results indicated that, on average, every second respondent was convinced of the existence of legal provisions regulating the rules and conditions of transport of farm animals. The highest level of knowledge in this regard was presented by consumers from the Scandinavian countries Finland (86%), Sweden (80%), Denmark (77%) and Germany (78%), and the lowest among those from Lithuania (24%), Italy (31%) and Estonia (35%) (Figure 2) (Special Eurobarometer 229, 2005). Among the respondents, belief in the existence of such law was expressed more often by men (60%), 166

3 Characteristics of respondents (N=280) Table 1 Total Women Men N % N % N % AGE More than Elementary Vocational Secondary University NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS One Two Three Four Five or more Source: author s research with university education (67%), and purchasers consuming meat at least 4 times a week (61%). As a result of literature review, it was found to be necessary to get familiar with the level of knowledge and views of consumers concerning the level of welfare of the animals transported, and to examine the effectiveness of one of the campaigns organised by supporters of animal rights. The aim of the study was to determine the level of awareness of the Polish consumers on welfare of farm animals for slaughter. The campaign selected of the long-distance transport of animals 3 to 8 hours. a Danish member of the European Parliament, in Research results and discussion Research among the Polish consumers of meat was conducted from May to July in The research was conducted using a questionnaire, partly prepared and sent in electronic version using Google docs (Swiecka, 2012) and partly as electronic questionnaire during a conventional survey. The respondents had to have Internet access in order to be reached. the level of consumer awareness, questions were asked concerning familiarity with the terminology of welfare, with rules of animal transportation, and knowledge of the campaign aimed at shortening of animal transport time to 8 hours. The respondents were also asked to relate with the maximum transport time for 1. Characteristics of respondents The project was conducted on a sample of 280 presented in Tables 1 and 2. Almost three fourths of the respondents (70%) were women. According to the the decision-makers during everyday shopping, and more than a half of them (53%) took care of shopping on took care of everyday shopping most of those were respondents living alone. Members of one in three Among the respondents, 24% lived in the rural areas, while the remaining respondents lived in cities. Most of them or 41% lived in cities of more than 500 thousand, while 8 14% questionnaires were gathered in smaller agglomerations. Most respondents were young people, i.e. 54% were 29 years old or younger. One in seven respondents was aged years, and one in nine years (Table 1). The project was focused on young respondents due to the fact that they were the largest group with Internet access, they were the most active users of the Internet, and a substantial part of the animal right supporting campaigns was conducted on the Internet, 3 167

4 Table 2 Characteristics of respondents (N=280) Total Women Men N % N % N % Up to PLN PLN PLN PLN > PLN Rural areas euro = 4 PLN Source: author s research A decisive majority of the respondents (63%) had a university education, 25% - had a secondary education and 10% - vocational education. Only 1% of the respondents had elementary education. Among those with vocational education, most declared income per household at the level of PLN (38%). The structure was similar among those with secondary education this group was also dominated by income per household of PLN ; these persons constituted condition of respondents with university education was different. In this group as many as 42% of the respondents exceeded the level of income per household of PLN Most respondents came from large families households with 5 members constituted 30%, and those with 4 members 26% of all the respondents. The average number of household members was Research results and discussion The data obtained show that most respondents (98%) ate poultry and pork (78%). The popularity of poultry was due to the fact that it could be easily and quickly prepared. According to consumers, poultry was better than pork and beef also due to its nutritional value and the fact of being healthy. It was noticed that consumption of individual types of meat depended on income per household and the place of residence. Pork was most popular among of rural areas (39%) and persons with income below PLN 1000 (38%). Beef was most often consumed by persons in households of income exceeding PLN This is understandable as beef is the most expensive type of meat, purchased the least often. The respondents included persons declaring very frequent consumption of meat, up to 5 times a week (39%) as well as those, who, due to various reasons, eat meat sporadically (0.5%). The data indicate that a very was the price of meat. Similar results were obtained by Bartosik Purgat who found that the criterion of price Polish consumers. Knowledge of the country of origin of meat was declared by 49% of women and 37% men. In particular, the of the rural areas emphasised the importance of the fact that Poland was the country of origin of meat, which was proven by the fact consumers from cities also stated they preferred meat produced in Poland and that they took this aspect shopping. At the same time, 20% of the respondents were never concerned with the country of origin of meat. The aspect, which had the least impact on consumer decisions on purchase of meat, was the breeding conditions or animal welfare. Possibly, this was due to the lack of knowledge on welfare of farm animals. The data gathered indicate that only 17% of the respondents have ever encountered the concept of welfare, including 5% of of the rural areas. It can be noted that as the level of education increased, so did familiarity with issues associated with animal welfare. The survey results show that the Polish consumers did not consider the time of transport of animals for slaughter when making buying decisions (91%). When purchasing fresh meat, they assumed it was produced in Poland and they did not consider the possibility of import of living animals for slaughter. The highest sensitivity and 168

5 Consumer willingness to pay for meat at a price increased due to the shortening of animal transport time to 8 hours depending on gender and education Table 3 No. 1. No, meat is already expensive 2. Yes, by no more than 10% Total Gender Education N % Female Male Elementary Vocational Secondary University Yes, by no more than 20% Yes, by no more than 30% 5. Yes, the price is to me Source: author s research awareness of transport times was shown by persons aged years. The elder population aged 59 or more did not consider this at all. or Special Eurobarometer, awareness of the problem of welfare of animals in the Polish society is relatively high. hypothesis. Perhaps the knowledge of the food supply chain among the consumers is very low; in particular, they may not be aware of what is going on with the animals, before the meat is consumed. Sometimes this fact is explained by a sense of guilt when purchasing meat, they do not want to remember where the meat comes from. To stimulate changes in consumer behaviour, it is necessary to remind them how food is being produced by consumers who often visit farms or have their own animals (Special Eurobarometer 229, 2005). was found to be very low only 8% of the respondents had heard of it. The data obtained show a correlation between familiarity with the campaign and the age of respondents. Women displayed a more emotional attitude towards ethical issues associated with the time of transport of animals 104 of them considered the activities aimed at to conclude that as the level of education grows, the consumers are increasingly sensitive to the need for activities aimed at shortening the animal transport time to 8 hours. A decisive majority of respondents, after getting familiar with the rules of the Regulation 1/ regulating the maximum time of transport of animals, considered them inhumane (Swiecka, 2012). The consumers showed similar attitudes towards the time of transport of pigs, cattle, and horses, declaring that amendment to the existing law were necessary, as at present, the legal provisions allow the transport times to be too long. Shortening of the animal transport time to 8 hours would result in limiting of import of animals due to the limitations introduced in the maximum time of transport of animals for slaughter. As a result of these limitations, most livestock would be probably transported only within the domestic territory. Inhabitants of the rural areas should be particularly concerned with supporting of domestic production, which gives them workplaces and in many cases the only source of income; in fact, only 51% of them supported the concept of shortening of the transport time. On the one hand, the respondents declared the need to shorten the animal transport time, considering the existing regulations to be inhumane; on the other hand, they showed little willingness to bear the costs of such activity (Table 3). The data presented in Table 3 indicate that 43% of the respondents expressed no willingness to pay a higher price for meat, considering that the prices of this product are already very high. The household income of these respondents was at the lowest level of up to 2000 PLN/month (27%) and up to 3000 PLN/month (27%), while the average income per person was purchase of meat. Persons with secondary education were willing to accept a price increase by 10%, and those with university education even by 20-30%; income per person amounted to 1640 PLN/month and 2400 PLN/month, respectively. The respondents were asked to assess the factors providing animals with favourable conditions during transport by assigning to them scores from 0 to 3. water and feed, and ventilation and temperature control (Figure 3). In order to ensure animal welfare, 6% of the respondents suggested intensifying road inspections during transport to make sure that the legislation is followed, while 2% of them pointed to the necessity of 4 The acceptable transport time according to the Regulation 1/2005 is: for pigs - 24 h, for cattle - 29 h, for horses - 14 h. After this time, it is necessary to provide a 24-hour rest, before the animals can be transported further to the destination. 169

6 Source: author s construction Fig. 3. Range of welfare components during animal transportation according to consumers educating persons transporting animals. The highest number (24%) of respondents suggested shortening of the transport time. Other respondents did not provide their opinion on the subject. Summary and conclusions The research has shown that the price of meat was one of the three main criteria determining selection of meat products to the Polish consumers. The importance of price was differentiated according to the place of residence, education, and income of respondents. The of rural areas, having vocational education, and low income per household. It can be assumed that the Polish consumers paid no attention to the conditions of breeding and transport, and to welfare of slaughter animals. As many as 90% of the respondents replied in this manner. The same percentage of respondents did not take into consideration the length of time of transport to the place of slaughter. Willingness of consumers to pay for meat, which is to become more expensive as a result of shortening of animal transport time to 8 hours, varied depending on the place of residence and income. Persons living in cities were more eager to declare their willingness to pay more for the meat. Inhabitants of the rural areas were of opinion that meat was already expensive and they would not be willing to pay more for it for the reasons quoted above. The research project conducted proves a low level of awareness of welfare of farm animals transported, which is proven by the lack of familiarity with the campaign aimed at shortening the time of transport of animals to eight hours. The range of the campaign was limited to persons interested in animal welfare. In order for such initiatives to become more effective, it would be necessary to use other media as well apart from the Internet. It seems to be necessary to educate the entire society in this regard. Bibliography 1. Bartosik Purga, M. (2011). Kulturowe uwarunkowania (Cultural determinants of consumer behavior, the example of young Europeans). pp Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW) (2012). Farm Animal Welfare and the pp Gebska, M. (2012). Economic Effects of Raising Animal Welfare Standards of Broilers on Polish Science for Rural Development, Jelgava (Latvia), Volume 13, pp Gebska, M., Malak-Rawlikowska, A. (2012). (Economic and organizational effects of animal welfare to adapt to the requirements of cross-compliance in the production of chicken eggs in Poland). Roczniki Naukowe Stowarzyszenia Ekonomistow Rolnictwa i Agrobiznesu SERIA, Volume 5, pp Majewski, E., Malak-Rawlikowska, A., Gebska, M., Effectiveness Assessment of Improving Animal Welfare Standards in European Agriculture. Association of Agriculture. 6. to Pay for Other Species Well-being. Ecological Economics, Volume 70, pp

7 7. A. (2008). Effect of Information Abort Animal Yogurt. Journal of Dairy Science, Volume 91, pp Access: Decisions: a Focus on Animal Welfare. International Journal of Consumer Studies, Volume 28, pp Special Eurobarometer 354 Food-related Risks REPORT. (2010). Retrieved: europa.eu/en/factsheet/docs/reporten.pdf. Access: Special Eurobarometer 229 Food-related Risks REPORT. (2005). Retrieved: europa.eu/en/factsheet/docs/reporten.pdf. Access: Swiecka K. (2012). Awareness and Expectations during Long-distance Transport. Unpublished materials collected for master thesis. University of Life Sciences. pp Farm Animal and their Welfare: a Pig Production Bioscence Horisons, Volume 3, Issue 2, pp Webster, A.J.F. (2001). Farm Animal Welfare: the Five Freedoms and the Free Market. The Veterinary Journal, Volume 161, pp