Motivations for Industry Stakeholders in China, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia to Improve Livestock Welfare

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Animal welfare is a global issue that is important to civilians in many countries. Despite this, large gaps exist between practices as recommended by a scientific understanding of farm animal welfare; the expectations and understanding of society at large; and the realities within livestock industries across the world. The reasons for this are as numerous as they are challenging to overcome, however, understanding what might motivate key stakeholders to make improvements could form a base from which to begin. The livestock industry are arguably the most important stakeholders with the capacity to make meaningful choices that impact the welfare of animals, yet seldom are they consulted as to why they might make choices that either improve or threaten the welfare of the animals. This study aimed to collect information about the motivations and barriers to improve animal welfare from leaders in the livestock industry. A complex relationship of motivators is uncovered, and the importance of factors such as financial benefit and food safety is discussed. Figures are presented to begin illustrating the relationship between motivators. The findings of this study serve to better understand the motivations of livestock stakeholders in these key Asian nations, and the barriers that may prevent them from making choices that improve the welfare of the animals. ABSTRACT: Understanding what might motivate livestock stakeholders to improve animal welfare is useful information when developing initiatives that benefit from stakeholder engagement. This study was designed to assess the strength of motivating drivers in the development of attitudes to animal welfare, and the factors that impacted their ability to improve animal welfare. During a series of qualitative focus group sessions with livestock leaders across the same countries (Malaysia, China, Vietnam and Thailand), the current study presented livestock leaders (n = 139) with the most significant results in their country, and collected data pertaining to the meaning and applicability of these results. This data was then subject to thematic analysis to identify salient and repeated motivating factors and meanings. This process revealed a complex picture of relationships between motivators and the contexts that drive them. Figures are presented to begin illustrating these relationships. Some strong motivators were uncovered that were previously rated low in the survey (i.e., financial benefit) or not included at all (e.g., food safety). This paper also presents the opportunity to better understand the strength and relationship of extrinsic and intrinsic motivational forces behind animal welfare improvement.