People’s attitudes towards animals are likely to impact their quality of care offered. Understanding perceptions of cats is important to identify potential cat welfare issues and to facilitate best care practices. An...People’s attitudes towards animals are likely to impact their quality of care offered. Understanding perceptions of cats is important to identify potential cat welfare issues and to facilitate best care practices. An online survey was developed to gather information from 1172 U.S. residents on perceptions of cats and sources of cat welfare information. Demographic variables, information regarding respondents’ characterization, knowledge and beliefs of cats, their behavior, and welfare needs were collected. A subsample of cat owning households was surveyed regarding their opinions on cat behavior. Veterinarians were also surveyed to determine if they differed from general respondents in their views of and knowledge of cats and their care. The highest percentage of respondents in both groups identified veterinarians as the most accessible (52% veterinarian, 29% general public respondents) and most credible sources (veterinarians 76%, general public 29%) of information on cat behavior. In response to being asked about acceptable reasons to relinquish cats, more general respondents selected “convenience” (13% veterinarians, 3% general population). Several inconsistencies in perceptions and practices between and within members of the general public and veterinarians were observed. General respondents and veterinarians both indicated a lack of confidence in addressing behavioral issues in cats. Both groups disagreed that they (in the case of veterinarians) or their veterinarians provided useful resources on cat behavior or health. Opportunities exist for improvement in consistency between knowledge, attitudes and practices or services relative to cats. Improved competence and information transfer on both the behavioral and physical health aspects of cat welfare are also needed.展开更多
The interest of consumers in farming activities is evident and agricultural producers have responded to this increasing interest in a number of ways, including inviting visitors to farm operations through tourism or f...The interest of consumers in farming activities is evident and agricultural producers have responded to this increasing interest in a number of ways, including inviting visitors to farm operations through tourism or farm visits. Livestock industries, in particular, are interacting with the public in numerous ways, including via marketing channels for their products, interacting with community leaders and community members in regard to location siting and regulations, and inviting people onto their operations via agritourism. An improved understanding of who visits agricultural locations (particularly livestock operations) and consumers’ perceptions about livestock agriculture is needed in order to begin to understand the possible relationships between on-farm experiences and consumers’ perceptions. Thus, it is important to gain a deeper understanding in consumers’ interests, including their levels of concern for production process attributes, such as animal welfare, relative to product attributes like price and taste. This analysis investigates the demographics of consumers who have (and have not) visited various agritourism operations, studies differences in preferences for (or perceptions of) animal welfare relative to other pork attributes between consumers who have or have not visited a livestock operation, as well as amongst consumers with varying levels of involvement in household food production. Indeed the relationships explored are between having visited a livestock operation and the perceptions. This study found that 69% of participants had visited a livestock operation (pig farm, dairy farm, and/or horse farm) at some point. The majority of respondents agreed that agriculture was an important industry, yet, those who had visited livestock operations were more likely to note concerns about the impact of livestock operations on water quality in their county.展开更多
This study provides an economics assessment of various food safety measures in China. A choice experiment approach is used to elicit Chinese consumer preferences for various food safety attributes using data from a 20...This study provides an economics assessment of various food safety measures in China. A choice experiment approach is used to elicit Chinese consumer preferences for various food safety attributes using data from a 2008 urban consumer survey. An alternative welfare calculation is used to model aggregate market impacts of select food safety measures. Our results show that the largest welfare gains are found in the current government-run certiifcation program. The implementation of a third-party certiifcation system, a traceability network and a product label would generate signiifcant value and would help reduce current system inefifciencies in China. This study builds on previous research and provides an alternative approach for calculating consumer valuation of safety and quality attributes that can be used to estimate aggregate economic and welfare impacts.展开更多
文摘People’s attitudes towards animals are likely to impact their quality of care offered. Understanding perceptions of cats is important to identify potential cat welfare issues and to facilitate best care practices. An online survey was developed to gather information from 1172 U.S. residents on perceptions of cats and sources of cat welfare information. Demographic variables, information regarding respondents’ characterization, knowledge and beliefs of cats, their behavior, and welfare needs were collected. A subsample of cat owning households was surveyed regarding their opinions on cat behavior. Veterinarians were also surveyed to determine if they differed from general respondents in their views of and knowledge of cats and their care. The highest percentage of respondents in both groups identified veterinarians as the most accessible (52% veterinarian, 29% general public respondents) and most credible sources (veterinarians 76%, general public 29%) of information on cat behavior. In response to being asked about acceptable reasons to relinquish cats, more general respondents selected “convenience” (13% veterinarians, 3% general population). Several inconsistencies in perceptions and practices between and within members of the general public and veterinarians were observed. General respondents and veterinarians both indicated a lack of confidence in addressing behavioral issues in cats. Both groups disagreed that they (in the case of veterinarians) or their veterinarians provided useful resources on cat behavior or health. Opportunities exist for improvement in consistency between knowledge, attitudes and practices or services relative to cats. Improved competence and information transfer on both the behavioral and physical health aspects of cat welfare are also needed.
文摘The interest of consumers in farming activities is evident and agricultural producers have responded to this increasing interest in a number of ways, including inviting visitors to farm operations through tourism or farm visits. Livestock industries, in particular, are interacting with the public in numerous ways, including via marketing channels for their products, interacting with community leaders and community members in regard to location siting and regulations, and inviting people onto their operations via agritourism. An improved understanding of who visits agricultural locations (particularly livestock operations) and consumers’ perceptions about livestock agriculture is needed in order to begin to understand the possible relationships between on-farm experiences and consumers’ perceptions. Thus, it is important to gain a deeper understanding in consumers’ interests, including their levels of concern for production process attributes, such as animal welfare, relative to product attributes like price and taste. This analysis investigates the demographics of consumers who have (and have not) visited various agritourism operations, studies differences in preferences for (or perceptions of) animal welfare relative to other pork attributes between consumers who have or have not visited a livestock operation, as well as amongst consumers with varying levels of involvement in household food production. Indeed the relationships explored are between having visited a livestock operation and the perceptions. This study found that 69% of participants had visited a livestock operation (pig farm, dairy farm, and/or horse farm) at some point. The majority of respondents agreed that agriculture was an important industry, yet, those who had visited livestock operations were more likely to note concerns about the impact of livestock operations on water quality in their county.
基金supported by the US National Science Foundation (0912174)
文摘This study provides an economics assessment of various food safety measures in China. A choice experiment approach is used to elicit Chinese consumer preferences for various food safety attributes using data from a 2008 urban consumer survey. An alternative welfare calculation is used to model aggregate market impacts of select food safety measures. Our results show that the largest welfare gains are found in the current government-run certiifcation program. The implementation of a third-party certiifcation system, a traceability network and a product label would generate signiifcant value and would help reduce current system inefifciencies in China. This study builds on previous research and provides an alternative approach for calculating consumer valuation of safety and quality attributes that can be used to estimate aggregate economic and welfare impacts.
