A Nationwide Survey of Animal Science Students' Perceptions of Animal Welfare across Different Animal Categories at Institutions in the United States

Simple Summary The field of animal welfare science studies the well-being of animals, including an animal's physical and emotional state. Previous studies have investigated veterinary students' perceptions of animal welfare, although few studies have focused on animal science students' perceptions of the topic. The aim of this study was to determine if animal science students' perceptions of animal welfare differed across a multitude of animal categories, including agricultural animals, cats and dogs, horses and other equids, research animals, and wildlife. Results indicate that most survey respondents agreed that animal welfare was important for all animal categories. In qualitative analyses of the open-ended survey questions, basic needs and human interaction were identified by respondents as key welfare components for all animal categories; however, the frequency with which identified welfare themes was mentioned differed by category. Results also highlighted perception differences within different agricultural animal species; fewer respondents agreed that poultry and swine are raised with an appropriate level of welfare compared to dairy and beef cattle. Understanding animal science students' perceptions of animal welfare may lead to a greater understanding of how they will assess and manage animal welfare issues as part of their future careers in the agricultural and animal-related sectors. Animal welfare is an increasingly important topic across multiple academic disciplines; however, few studies have investigated student perceptions of animal welfare outside of veterinary medicine. The objective of the study was to evaluate animal science students' perceptions of animal welfare to determine if perceptions differ across animal categories. An online survey was distributed to animal science programs at institutions across the United States. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were performed on 624 responses. Almost all respondents agreed welfare was important for all animal categories (>= 97%). The survey asked respondents to rate the level of importance of 12 welfare parameters and there was evidence that the level of importance differed by animal category (p < 0.0001), e.g., fewer respondents indicated having positive interactions with humans was important for agricultural animals. In a subset of questions about agricultural animals, fewer respondents agreed that swine (325, 52.1%) and poultry (268, 43.0%) are raised with an appropriate level of welfare compared to dairy (425, 68.1%) and beef cattle (421, 67.5%). Four free-response questions asked respondents to report their general perceptions of welfare. Thematic analysis identified multiple themes, such as basic needs and human interaction, with most responses (75%) including two or more themes.