"How do vegetarians compare with omnivores in their views of animal welfare?" In 2020, this simple question was made more timely by the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, in this pre-COVID survey in 2019; a ...standardized scale (Takooshian, 1988) was updated, for an analysis of 194 surveys, to compare the views of 33 vegetarians with 161 omnivores on four brief standardized scales: animal welfare (0-10 points, α = .58), animal research (0-10, α = .56), science (0-10, α = .65), and humans' uses of animals (0-22, α = .82). As expected, vegetarians are significantly more proanimal and antivivisection across all 25 of 25 comparisons. Future post-COVID research possibilities are discussed, to probe the likely future of plant-based diets and whether the COVID pandemic impacted these attitudes.
Idealism and relativism are components of ethical ideologies which have been explored in relation to animal welfare and attitudes, and potential cultural differences. The present study investigated ...how ethical ideologies influenced attitude toward animals among undergraduate students. With the help of stratified random sampling, 450 participants were selected from both private and public sector universities in Pakistan. Research instruments consisted of a demographic sheet, the Ethics Position Questionnaire (EPQ), the Animal Attitude Scale-10-Item Version (AAS-10), and Animal Issue Scale (AIS). The study hypotheses were explored by employing various statistical analyses like Pearson Product Moment Correlation, independent sample t-test, ANOVA, and linear regression. Results revealed that there was a significant positive relationship between ethical ideologies (idealism and relativism) and attitude toward animals in students. Results further showed that students who consumed meat less frequently scored higher on relativism as compared to those who consumed meat more frequently (however, the effect size was small). It was also found that senior students held more idealistic ideologies as compared to freshman students. Finally, idealism positively predicted concern for animal welfare among students. The current study shed light on how ethical ideologies can shape and influence animal welfare. It further highlighted the potential cultural differences for the study variables by allowing for comparison with other published studies. By understanding these dynamics better, researchers will be better equipped to help students become informed citizens that may also influence future decision-making processes.
As members of the public and the veterinary profession are increasingly concerned about animal welfare, there has been an increased scholarly interest in the attitudes of veterinarians and students ...toward animals, as these may impact human behavior, which ultimately impacts animal welfare. Here we investigated Italian veterinary students' demographic data and perceptions about nonhuman animal welfare issues that might be predictive of their attitudes. A survey eliciting information about demographics, knowledge, experience, and perceptions regarding different categories of animals, and including the Animal Attitude Scale (AAS), was administered to undergraduate veterinary medicine students in three Italian universities. Data were analyzed using nonparametric tests, and a value of
< 0.05 was considered statistically significant. In total, 876 students completed the questionnaire, with females (75.1%) making up a majority of students in all years of the course. Although veterinary students showed pro-animal welfare attitudes (mean score = 64.20 ± 0.24 out of 100), the findings suggested that year of study, gender, and geographical location had a significant impact (
< 0.05). In this study, we found a set of factors that, either individually or combined, help predict a student's attitude toward animal welfare issues, which will be useful in improving the curriculum strategy in veterinary education in Italy.
This study examined the relationships between animal abuse proclivity, everyday sadism, and attitudes toward animals in Cyprus. Past research found relationships between animal abuse proclivity and ...attitudes toward animals, and animal abuse proclivity and sadism, but much of this research is still in its early stages. There is currently no research incorporating these three constructs into one analysis. The aim of the present study, therefore, was to further explore these relationships and determine links between constructs that had not been previously studied together. For the study, 263 people were recruited from the general population of Cyprus. Participants were requested to provide demographic details and fill in the Animal Abuse Proclivity Scale, the Short Sadistic Impulse Scale, and the Attitudes Toward the Treatment of Animals Scale. Data were collected online with Greek and English versions of the questionnaires being made available. The data were subsequently merged, and path analyses were conducted to investigate the relationships. Animal abuse proclivity, specifically the Thrill subscale, was predicted by greater everyday sadism, less positive attitudes toward animals, and being female. The animal abuse proclivity Power subscale was predicted by less positive attitudes toward animals. More positive attitudes toward animals were predicted by being female and older, but attitudes toward animals were not predicted by either of the two key constructs. Finally, greater everyday sadism was predicted by less positive attitudes toward animals, younger age, and being male. Demographic differences were also identified in the analysis. The discussion highlights the significance of supporting the findings of previous studies and tentatively identifies new relationships worthy of future examination.
There are many endangered species that are not popular, but whose conservation is, nonetheless, important. The present study deals with sharks who suffer from demonization and, accordingly, from ...public indifference to the deteriorating state of their conservation. We used the seasonal appearance of sharks in the Israeli coastal zone to study public perceptions and attitudes towards sharks prior to ('control group') and after ('visitors') shark watching during a visit in an information centre. We found that the shark's image was significantly more positive among the visitors compared to the control group. We also found that visiting the information centre was strongly related to a more positive shark image and more positive attitudes toward shark conservation and willingness to act to preserve them.
The quality of human-animal interactions may crucially influence conservation efforts. Unfortunately, and despite their important roles in the functioning of the ecosystem, some animals are ...considered notoriously unpopular. Using the forced-choice paradigm, we investigated which cues humans perceive as frightening and disgusting in spiders, one of the most unpleasant animals in the world. The research was carried out with a representative sample of
N
= 1,015 Slovak adults. We found that perceived fear and disgust of spiders were triggered predominantly by enlarged chelicerae, enlarged abdomen, and the presence of body hair. Longer legs were associated with perceived fear as well; however, the presence of two eyes did not produce any statistical significance in terms of fear. We hope that further research in this field, where additional cues can be manipulated (e.g., color and number of legs), will improve conservation efforts by using an improved reputation of spiders in the eyes of the general public.
We investigated the attitudes of veterinary students towards animals and their welfare in Italy. Regression analyses revealed predictors that are significant in differentiating students' scoring ...tendency based on their gender, familiarity, and intention to work with a specific animal species, type of diet, and membership in an animal rights association. Female students, who were mostly familiar with pets and aspired to work with species other than livestock, following an animal-free diet and being a member of an animal rights association, had a significantly greater odds of having a high Animal Attitude Scale score (AAS), i.e., very positive attitude towards animals, versus a less positive attitude. Conversely, the familiarity with livestock and preference for working with livestock significantly increased the odds of a low AAS. Overall, students considered all of the Brambell Report's Five Freedoms important for animal welfare protection. However, students scored higher for companion animals than for livestock, particularly regarding the freedom to express normal behaviour and the absence of fear and distress. This study suggests that veterinary students place less importance on the psychological aspects of welfare for livestock, and there is a tendency for students who are mostly familiar, or aspire to work, with livestock to have a less positive attitude towards non-human animals and their welfare. These findings should be considered within the veterinary educational curriculum due to their potential impact on animal welfare.
Recognition of the need to include economic criteria in the conservation policy decision-making process has encouraged the use of economic-valuation techniques. Nevertheless, whether it is possible ...to accurately assign economic values to biodiversity and if so what these values really represent is being debated. We reviewed 60 recent papers on economic valuation of biodiversity and carried out a meta-analysis of these studies to determine what factors affect willingness to pay for biodiversity conservation. We analyzed the internal variables of the contingent-valuation method (measure of benefits, vehicle of payment, elicitation format, or timing of payment) and anthropomorphic, anthropocentric and scientific factors. Funding allocation mostly favored the conservation of species with anthropomorphic and anthropocentric characteristics instead of considering scientific factors. We recommend researchers and policy makers contemplate economic valuations of biodiversity carefully, considering the inherent biases of the contingent-valuation method and the anthropomorphic and anthropocentric factors resulting from the public's attitude toward species. Because of the increasing trend of including economic considerations in conservation practices, we suggest that in the future interdisciplinary teams of ecologists, economists, and social scientists collaborate and conduct comparative analyses, such as we have done here. Use of the contingent-valuation method in biodiversity conservation policies can provide useful information about alternative conservation strategies if questionnaires are carefully constructed, respondents are sufficiently informed, and the underlying factors that influence willingness to pay are identified.
Abstract
How ethical ideologies relate to public attitudes toward nonhuman animals is an increasingly prominent topic, yet it has been largely unstudied, particularly in Asian countries such as ...Japan. Using the Ethics Position Questionnaire (EPQ), Animal Attitude Scale (AAS), and Animal Issue Scale (AIS) in the present study, we examined how ethical ideologies and human demographics relate to public attitudes toward animals from a Japanese cultural perspective. The results of a questionnaire (N = 900) distributed throughout Japan indicate that public attitudes toward animals were positively associated with idealism and negatively associated with relativism. These findings are similar to those from China, but partly in contrast with those from the United States, where relativism was unrelated to attitudes toward animals. Our findings add to a growing recognition of how individual philosophy relates to public attitudes toward animals in Asian countries.
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