article · Frontiers in Animal Science
Billions of animals are slaughtered each year for meat, bringing ethical and animal welfare concerns to the forefront. A survey of 4,291 members of the public across 14 culturally and religiously diverse countries examined knowledge and views regarding animal welfare and stunning practices during slaughter. In highly developed nations with limited exposure to slaughter, knowledge regarding welfare and local stunning regulations was low, as was personal comfort with witnessing slaughter. Across 13 of the 14 countries surveyed, a majority of participants cared about avoiding animal suffering at slaughter. Furthermore, most respondents favoured rendering animals unconscious through preslaughter stunning, even in regions where the practice is not widely adopted. The results show that while concern for animal suffering is broadly shared across cultures, views on specific slaughter techniques differ according to cultural and local religious interpretations.
Animal welfare during slaughter is an increasingly important ethical and consumer issue worldwide. By showing that concern for animal suffering transcends national and cultural boundaries, this research demonstrates that modern consumers expect humane standards. It alerts policy makers and food producers that public expectations regarding preslaughter practices are evolving globally, not merely in wealthy nations.
The findings provide market insight for commercial meat processors, livestock exporters, and agricultural regulators seeking to align operations with international consumer expectations. While the study itself does not describe a commercial product or technical tool, it offers early-stage market evidence that may guide investments in preslaughter stunning equipment, animal welfare certification, and culturally compliant slaughterhouse practices across diverse international markets.
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Most people around the world eat meat and billions of animals are slaughtered each year to meet that demand. For many, eating meat is a biocultural activity steeped in tradition and formative in cuisines and identity. Eating meat, however, comes with a myriad of ethical and practical considerations. In tandem with animal rights and environmental sustainability concerns surrounding the impact of animal slaughter for meat, animal welfare science has identified numerous ways animals may suffer on an individual level during various methods of slaughter. Practices of slaughter differ around the world and the degree to which culture and regional interpretations of religion impact consumer expectations and perceptions of suffering at slaughter are relatively unknown. We begin to address some of these gaps by conducting a survey of 4,291 members of the general public to assess knowledge and attitudes around animal welfare at slaughter and religious slaughter, across 14 culturally and religiously diverse countries in local languages; Australia, Philippines, Nigeria, United Kingdom and United States (English), Bangladesh (Bengali), Brazil (Portuguese), Chile (Spanish), China (Traditional Chinese), India (Hindi and English), Malaysia (Bahasa Malay, Chinese and English), Pakistan (Urdu), Sudan (Arabic) and Thailand (Thai). Our results demonstrate that in highly developed countries where exposure to slaughter is low, comfort witnessing slaughter and knowledge about animal welfare at slaughter and the local application of stunning is also low. Cultural and religious differences exist by country, however in all countries except Bangladesh, the majority of participants stated that it mattered to them that animals do not suffer during slaughter, and in most countries, participants would prefer that animals be rendered unconscious before they are slaughtered (preslaughter stunning); including in countries where this practice is not currently widespread. These findings suggest that concern for the reduction of animal suffering during slaughter is a universal human tendency, rather than a cultural development, while opinion of how best to achieve this (i.e., to stun or not to stun) may be cultural and tied to local interpretations of religious slaughter requirements. The findings of this study serve as an indication for meat industries and governments that continual review and improvement of animal welfare processes at slaughter are required to continue to meet evolving general public sentiment.
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DOI: 10.3389/fanim.2023.1141789
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