Tackling the future challenges of Organic Animal Husbandry - vTI

! Agriculture and Forestry Research, Special Issue No 362 (Braunschweig, 2012) ISSN 0376-0723
Download: www.vti.bund.de/en/startseite/vti-publications/landbauforschung-special-issues.html
292
Alternatives to piglet castration without pain relief – Acceptance and willingness-to-pay
of organic consumers in Germany
Abstract
ASTRID HEID, ULRICH HAMM
University of Kassel, Germany, www.uni-kassel.de/agrar/alm,
eMail: a.heid@uni-kassel.de
An important aspect of the ongoing discussion on the adequacy of alternatives to piglet castration
without pain relief is consumers’ acceptance. This explorative study with 89 consumers of organic
pork in Germany examined participants’ attitudes towards and willingness-to-pay for three alternatives.
Participants strongly rejected castration without pain relief. The practice was contrary to
their image of animal friendly husbandry in organic farming. The criteria animal welfare,
health/food safety, taste, organic farming and costs were important for participants’ evaluation of
the alternatives. Hereby, participants were aware of the need to trade-off these criteria, e.g. animal
welfare and taste. The relevance of the criteria differed between alternatives. The results of the
Vickrey auctions reflected the previous discussions with the highest willingness-to-pay for castration
with pain relief, followed by fattening of boars, immunocastration and castration without pain
relief.
Key words: organic consumers, piglet castration, animal welfare, Vickrey auction, focus group
discussion
Introduction
With the beginning of 2012 surgical castration of piglets in organic farming in Europe is only allowed
if “adequate anaesthesia and/or analgesia” are applied to minimize the suffering of the animals
(Commission Regulation (EC) No 889/2008). Piglets are castrated to avoid the occurrence of
boar taint, an unpleasant odor and flavor of pork. Until recently castration was usually performed
without any kind of pain relief. Hence, organic pig production needs to implement alternatives to
this practice which meet animal welfare requirements and ensure sensory meat quality. An important
aspect to include in the still ongoing discussion on the adequacy of alternatives is consumers’
acceptance. This paper examines German organic consumers’ attitudes and willingness-to-pay
for alternatives to piglet castration without pain relief combining qualitative (focus group discussions)
and quantitative (Vickrey auctions) consumer research methods.
Material and methodology
Nine focus group discussions combined with Vickrey-Auctions were conducted in three German
cities in autumn 2009. Participants’ attitudes towards and willingness-to-pay (WTP) for three alternatives,
castration with anesthesia and analgesia, immunocastration, and fattening of boars were
examined. Focus groups are moderated group discussions with six to twelve participants. They are
used to gain insights into participants attitudes and opinions towards a specific topic (Burns and
Bush 2010). Vickrey auctions are also called “sealed-bid second-price auctions” because all participants
place their sealed bids simultaneously and, while the highest bid wins, the price payable is
determined by the second highest bid (Lusk and Shogren 2007; McAfee and McMillan 1987).
Before each focus group discussion began, participants received standardized information on the
issue of piglet castration without pain relief, castration with anesthesia and/or analgesia, immunocastration
and fattening of boars. In the following discussions consumers were asked to express