Carne ovina: perfil de consumo frente ao bem-estar animal

Abstract

There is a promising trend for the sheep meat market, due the increase on the animal production with aptitude for meat production which is gaining prominence through consumer demand for quality meat. On this context, it was aimed to investigate the knowledge of sheep meat producers and consumers about aspects related to animal welfare, as well as consumption habits, and the acceptance of products that guarantee welfare. 417 potential sheep meat consumers were interviewee, which answered questions related to consumption habits, as well as the knowledge by consumers and producers about questions that envolve animal welfare practices and their intention on buying products with animal welfare certification seal. The interviewee were selected during the 92º Expofeira of Pelotas and on strategic selling spots like: butchers, meat boutiques and supermarkets, located in the city of Pelotas. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics with frequency distribution and compared using the Chi-Square test (p-value = 0.05), when necessary, the Kruskal Wallis test was used in order to compare the obtained averages. The sample was composed by 60.2% of consumers and 39.8% of rural producers, with a predominance of male individuals 55.4%, and people of rural origin 51.6%, where 62.9% have complete high school or complete college, and 57.6% are aged between 18-39 years with an income between 1 and 2.5 minimum salary 40.3%. 34% of the interviewee say they consume sheep meat at least once a month and only 6% declare not to consume such poduct. Most of the interviewee states the animal welfare practices to be extremely important 39%, besides that, 90% declared to be concerned about the way animals are raised and slaughtered and 87.8% considered important to know more about the product before consuming. Producers and people by rural origin holds a greater knowledge about regulations governing animal welfare when compared to consumers and people with uban origin. Between the interviewee 90,1% stated they would purchase the product with animal welfare certification seal, and 74,2% would pay more to obtain guarantee that the animals were raised under animal wefare rules, where 46% reported paying up to 10% more per kg of the product. Thus, it is evident that there is a concern about animal welfare practices, yet the sheep meat consumer knowledge is still restricted about this matter, requiring the dissemination of studies that promote such knowledge.