TABLE 5.
Beliefs of consumers by demographic characteristics and previous castration knowledge related to animal welfare issues and practices and fat content perception.
| Attitude (N = 131) | Gender | Age | Education | Employment | Incomes | Area of residence | Castration knowledge | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female | Male | 18–30 | 31–45 | 46–60 | >60 | P | S | U | I | A | R | Low | Mean | High | Rural | Urban | Yes | No | |
| Animal welfare issues and practices | |||||||||||||||||||
| Animal welfare worries me | 7.5 | 7.5 | 7.4 | 7.3 | 7.8 | 7.5 | 8.4a | 7.2b | 7.6ab | 7.4 | 7.6 | 7.2 | 7.6 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 7.6 | 7.5 | 7.4 | 7.6 |
| I know that sometimes male pigs intended for consumption are castrated without anaesthesia at birth | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 4.4 | 2.6 | 3 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 2.1 | 2.7 | 3.5 | 2.6 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 3.2 |
| I think castration of pigs without anaesthesia should not be performed | 7.2 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 7.2 | 7.7 | 7.6 | 8.0 | 7.7 | 7.6 | 8.0 | 7.5 | 7.6 | 7.4 | 7.5 | 7.9 | 7.5 | 7.7 | 7.5 | 7.7 |
| The castration of pigs is justified because it improves the smell and flavour of the meat | 4.6 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 4.4 | 6.9a | 4.3b | 3.9b | 3.2a | 2.1b | 3.0a | 3.6 | 4.1 | 4.8 | 6.1a | 4.0b | 4.9 | 4.0 |
| I believe that meat from castrated pigs should be labelled as such | 7.7 | 7.2 | 7.2 | 7.3 | 7.6 | 7.5 | 7.8 | 7.7 | 7.2 | 7.3 | 7.4 | 7.8 | 7.2 | 7.2 | 7.9 | 7.7 | 7.3 | 7.4 | 7.4 |
| Fat content perception | |||||||||||||||||||
| A high fat content in a meat product is negative for me | 7.2 | 7.0 | 6.9 | 7.0 | 7.4 | 7.0 | 7.8 | 7.1 | 7.1 | 7.3 | 7.1 | 6.9 | 7.2 | 7.2 | 6.8 | 6.5 | 7.2 | 7.3 | 7.0 |
Note: Items in the same row and within classification category with different superscripts are significantly different (p < .05) after the application of a Krustal–Wallis test for independent samples; P: Primary, S: Secondary, U: Higher/university; l, High; I: Inactive, A: Active, R: Retired. Bachelor's degree, Low: <2000, Mean: 2000–2500, High: >2500. Scores from 1: ‘not at all agree’ to 9: ‘completely agree’.