Press Release: EU consumers willing to pay for better animal welfare

EU consumers are willing to make an extra effort to buy animal welfare friendly products, even if this means changing where they shop or paying more for goods, according to a Eurobarometer survey on attitudes to animal welfare, published on 22 March 2007. The report shows, however, that citizens feel they lack the necessary information to distinguish between products on animal welfare grounds. In the first EU survey on animal welfare to cover all 27 Member States, as well as Turkey and Croatia, 62% of respondents said that they would change their shopping habits in order to access more animal welfare friendly goods. The survey also revealed that citizens do not feel that they are provided with this option at the moment, due to insufficient information on animal welfare in food production. A large majority of respondents backed the idea of labelling or logos to indicate the animal welfare standards met in producing the foods they buy. The survey demonstrates general support for financially rewarding EU farmers who use better animal welfare practices.