Fifty per cent of Irish consumers would change their usual place of shopping in order to be able to buy more animal-friendly food products, the first EU survey of all 25 European states on animal welfare has shown, writes Seán MacConnell in Brussels.
The Eurobarometer survey, details of which were announced in Brussels yesterday, also showed that nearly 70 per cent of Irish surveyed felt farmers should be compensated for higher costs involved in animal-friendly farming.
The survey of nearly 30,000 people late last year sought to determine the attitudes of EU citizens towards animal welfare. It found most considered it of great importance. In Ireland, 80 per cent replied positively.
Nearly 70 per cent claimed to have some knowledge of the conditions under which animals are farmed. The Danes at 88 per cent were top of the league, while 65 per cent of Irish people claimed to know about farming conditions.
Half of all Cypriots claimed never to have visited a farm as did more than 40 per cent of people in Bulgaria, Spain, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Luxembourg.
A majority, 58 per cent, said they would like to receive more information about farming conditions in their country, especially the Greeks and Italians; 49 per cent of Irish people wanted more such information.
Asked if they thought animal welfare protection had improved in the last decade, 62 per cent of Irish people thought it had, broadly in line with the rest of the EU.