Animal welfare initiative very popular with consumers
German consumers are convinced of the concept of the Tierwohl (ITW) initiative. 69 percent have heard of it before, and 94 percent think the concept is good or very good. Consumers are also impressed by the way they are kept. 78 percent are of the opinion that the labeling leads in the long term to greater consideration of animal welfare when shopping. 87 percent think it is good or very good. This was the result of a representative survey by the forsa Institute, which was recently carried out on behalf of the ITW.
"The fact that consumer satisfaction with the Animal Welfare Initiative is consistently over 90 percent and has now even increased to 94 percent compared to the previous year is a great confirmation of all the joint efforts of those involved in the ITW from agriculture, the meat industry, Retail and gastronomy, ”explains Robert Römer, Managing Director of the Tierwohl Initiative.
Significance of the type of husbandry identification is growing
The way in which it is kept has also been gaining in importance since it was launched in April 2019. The perception of the seal on the packaging of meat products has increased significantly in recent years: While 2019 percent of those surveyed recognized the seal in 31, it will be 2021 percent in 57. This means that the posture form seal is now better known than the EU organic seal, which 52 percent of those questioned saw on the packaging.
"The keeping form seal is and will remain an indispensable label to enable consumers to take animal welfare into account when making a quick purchase decision in the market," explains Dr. Alexander Hinrichs, Managing Director of the Animal Welfare Initiative. “The results of the survey confirm that we will continue to expand the labeling of the type of husbandry in the future. Therefore, the planned expansion of the label to milk and dairy products from 2022 is another important step "
Consumers can now find the posture markers across Germany on packaging at ALDI Nord, ALDI SÜD, Bünting Group, EDEKA, Kaufland, LIDL, Netto Marken-Discount, PENNY and REWE. The participating dealers currently label an average of around 90 percent of the total pork, chicken, turkey and beef products with the type of husbandry label.
About the forsa survey
On behalf of the Tierwohl GmbH initiative, forsa Politik- und Sozialforschung GmbH has repeatedly carried out a survey on the keeping of farm animals in Germany and on animal welfare seals. As part of the current study, a total of 1.000 citizens aged 18 and over in the Federal Republic of Germany, selected according to a systematic random procedure, were surveyed. The survey was carried out from July 19 to 30, 2021 using the forsa.omninet survey panel. The test results are presented in the following report. The results obtained can be transferred to the population of 3 years and older in Germany with the error tolerances possible in all sample surveys (in the present case +/- 18 percentage points).
About the Initiative animal welfare
With the Tierwohl (ITW) initiative launched in 2015, the partners from agriculture, the meat industry, food retail and gastronomy commit themselves to their joint responsibility for animal husbandry, animal health and animal welfare in livestock husbandry. The animal welfare initiative supports farmers in implementing measures for the welfare of their livestock that go beyond the legal standards. The implementation of these measures is monitored across the board by the Animal Welfare Initiative. The Animal Welfare Initiative's product seal only identifies products that come from animals from participating companies in the Animal Welfare Initiative. The animal welfare initiative is gradually establishing more animal welfare on a broad basis and is continuously being further developed in the process.
