Di Pasquale Jorgelina, Nannoni Eleonora, Sardi Luca, Rubini Giulia, Salvatore Renato, Bartoli Luca, Adinolfi Felice, Martelli Giovanna
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Teramo, 64100 Piano D'Accio, Teramo, Italy.
Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, University of Bologna, Via Tolara di Sopra 50, 40064 Ozzano Emilia (BO), Italy.
Animals (Basel). 2019 Apr 26;9(5):198. doi: 10.3390/ani9050198.
Immunocastration of pigs represents an alternative method to surgical castration, being more respectful of animal welfare. However, this new technology may not be accepted by consumers due to their perception of possible risks tied to the use of the product, thus representing a concern for the production sector. The study aimed at verifying the attitude of Italian consumers towards immunocastration and to assess whether their perception can be affected by science-based information on advantages and disadvantages of immunocastration. A total of 969 consumers (divided in three groups representative of the Italian population) were contacted and asked to complete an online questionnaire. Only technical (neutral) information on immunocastration was provided to the first group; the second and the third group received information on the advantages (+) and disadvantages (-) of the technique, shown in reverse order (+/- and -/+, respectively). The level of information did not affect consumers' perception of immunocastration. Overall, immunocastration is perceived in a predominantly positive manner (54.5%), with a relatively low level of risk perception (34.2%), and a good willingness to pay more for meat deriving from immunocastrated pigs (+18.7%).
猪的免疫去势是手术去势的一种替代方法，对动物福利更为尊重。然而，这项新技术可能不被消费者接受，因为他们认为使用该产品可能存在风险，因此这对生产部门来说是一个问题。该研究旨在验证意大利消费者对免疫去势的态度，并评估基于科学的免疫去势优缺点信息是否会影响他们的认知。总共联系了969名消费者（分为代表意大利人口的三组），并要求他们完成一份在线问卷。第一组仅提供关于免疫去势的技术（中立）信息；第二组和第三组分别以相反的顺序（分别为+/-和-/+）收到关于该技术优点（+）和缺点（-）的信息。信息水平并未影响消费者对免疫去势的认知。总体而言，免疫去势主要被视为积极的（54.5%），风险认知水平相对较低（34.2%），并且消费者有较高的意愿为来自免疫去势猪的肉支付更高的价格（+18.7%）。
