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Selected Works

Agribusiness

Canada

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Business

Attitudes Of Canadian Citizens Toward Farm Animal Welfare: A Qualitative Study, Jeffrey M. Spooner, Catherine A. Schuppli, David Fraser Nov 2017

Attitudes Of Canadian Citizens Toward Farm Animal Welfare: A Qualitative Study, Jeffrey M. Spooner, Catherine A. Schuppli, David Fraser

David Fraser, PhD

As part of a larger project to determine if there are animal-welfare-related values shared by some commercial food–animal producers and non-producers in Canada, open-ended, semi-structured interviews were conducted to elicit opinions about animal welfare among 24 urban and rural residents not involved in commercial animal production. All participants possessed a self-described interest in food animal well-being and were therefore assumed to represent the views of Canadian non-producers most apt to engage in efforts to shape the animal welfare policies of governments and businesses. Participants described animal welfare in moral or ethical terms, expressed virtually unanimous support for animals having access …


Attitudes Of Canadian Beef Producers Toward Animal Welfare, J. M. Spooner, C. A. Schuppli, D. Fraser Nov 2017

Attitudes Of Canadian Beef Producers Toward Animal Welfare, J. M. Spooner, C. A. Schuppli, D. Fraser

David Fraser, PhD

Commercial beef production in western Canada involves raising cows and calves on large tracts of grassland, plus grain-based ‘finishing’ of animals in outdoor feedlots. This study used open-ended, semi-structured interviews to explore views on animal welfare of 23 commercial beef producers in this system. Although wary of the term ‘animal welfare’, participants understood the concept to encompass three well-known elements: (i) basic animal health and body condition; (ii) affective states (comfort, contentment, freedom from hunger or thirst); and (iii) the ability to live a ‘natural’ life. Participants attached importance to protecting animals from natural hardships (extreme weather, predators), yet many …


Attitudes Of Canadian Pig Producers Toward Animal Welfare, Jeffrey M. Spooner, Catherine A. Schuppli, David Fraser Nov 2017

Attitudes Of Canadian Pig Producers Toward Animal Welfare, Jeffrey M. Spooner, Catherine A. Schuppli, David Fraser

David Fraser, PhD

As part of a larger study eliciting Canadian producer and non-producer views about animal welfare, open-ended, semi-structured interviews were used to explore opinions about animal welfare of 20 Canadian pig producers, most of whom were involved in confinement-based systems. With the exception of the one organic producer, who emphasized the importance of a ‘‘natural’’ life, participants attached overriding importance to biological health and functioning. They saw their efforts as providing pigs with dry, thermally regulated, indoor environments where animals received abundant feed, careful monitoring and where prospective disease outbreaks could be minimized and controlled. Emphasis was also placed on low-stress …