Consumer Perception of Animal Welfare and Livestock Production in the Araucania Region , Chile

Given the importance of animal welfare (AW) in developed countries, a survey was carried out among 384 consumers in Temuco, Chile, to establish their knowledge and perceptions about animals handling during production, to detect preferences for meat produced under AW principles, their willingness to pay a higher price for this and to distinguish different consumer segments. Approximately 60% of people surveyed knew about livestock management practices, half of them considered that these practices had a negative effect on the animals, but only 32.1% have changed their meat consumption habits due to this. Seventy percent of the people surveyed had over 50% of knowledge about AW aspects. There is a strong preference and willingness to pay a higher price for meat produced under AW principles. Consumers have a positive perception of the fact that the meat that they consume comes from pasture-fed animals, raised in the open, and raised, transported and slaughtered following humane principles. Three segments were identified by using cluster analysis: the most numerous (58.6%) considers confinement and feeding with concentrates as positive; the second group (25.5%) showed a strong rejection of the use of hormones, feeding with broiler litter and concentrates, and places a positive value on raising animals in the open. The smallest segment (15.4%) placed the highest value on humane treatment of the animals, plus a positive value on concentrates use and rejected confined raising. The conclusion is that a large part of the population perceives AW as a desirable condition when purchasing beef Considerando la importancia del bienestar animal (BA) en los países desarrollados, se realizó una encuesta a 384 consumidores de Temuco, Chile, para determinar el conocimiento y percepción sobre el manejo productivo de animales bovinos y ovinos y BA, detectar la preferencia y disposición a pagar por carne producida con animales tratados con las normas BA y distinguir diferentes segmentos de consumidores. Aproximadamente 60% de los encuestados conoce el manejo del ganado, la mitad considera que éste afecta negativamente a los animales, pero sólo 32,1% ha cambiado sus hábitos de consumo debido a ello. Un 70% de los encuestados tuvo un grado de conocimiento sobre aspectos de BA superior a 50%. La preferencia y disposición a pagar un mayor precio por carne producida con BA son altas. Los consumidores perciben positivamente que la carne que consumen provenga de animales alimentados en praderas, criados al aire libre y que hayan recibido buen trato en el matadero, transporte y predio. Mediante análisis cluster se distinguieron tres segmentos: 58,6% considera positiva la crianza en confinamiento y la alimentación con concentrado; 25,5% presenta alto rechazo por el uso de hormonas, alimentación con camas de broiler y concentrado y valora positivamente la crianza al aire libre; el segmento minoritario, 15,4%, presenta la mayor valoración por el buen trato del animal, valora positivamente los concentrados pero rechaza la crianza en confinamiento. Se concluye que gran parte de la población percibe el BA como una condición deseable al comprar carne bovina, afectando positivamente la adquisición de este producto