How Do Consumers Feel About Animal Wellness

What do consumers think about animal wellness standards? To answer this question, we conducted a survey of more than 7,000 consumers across seven countries: the United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico, Italy, and Spain. The findings paint a clear picture of global and national attitudes toward animal wellness standards.

When asked about the importance of animal wellness when purchasing animal products, the responses revealed the core attitudes of consumers toward animal welfare and set the tone for understanding the rest of responses. In countries where consumers ranked animal wellness as highly important, their answers to subsequent questions tended to reflect this priority.

On average, 73% of respondents globally consider animal Wellness to be “very” or “extremely important” when purchasing products. South Africa leads with 84% of respondents, followed by Brazil at 81%.

Spain and the U.S. show the lowest percentages, with 64% and 67% respectively. Spain also has the highest percentage of respondents who consider animal wellness “moderately important.”

Women and younger age groups (18–44) show stronger concern overall.

Regarding the likelihood of purchasing products certified by third-party organizations for Animal Wellness, the results align with the previous question, with 74% of respondents globally indicating they are “likely” or “very likely” to purchase products certified for animal wellness. South Africa and Brazil share the highest percentages at 80%. The U.S. ranks last with 65% but also has the highest proportion of “neutral or undecided” respondents (28%).

Certification is most influential for the 30–44 age group.

The responses to the question regarding the willingness to pay more for products certified for Animal Wellness confirm how significant price is in food purchasing decisions. The average of consumers who answered “probably” or “definitely willing” is 67%, the lowest among all the questions (excluding the last one about awareness).

Again, Brazil and South Africa show the highest percentages of favorable answers, at 75% and 76%, respectively, though these figures are lower compared to other questions. Spain, on the other hand, ranks last with only 57% of favorable responses but also has the highest percentage of “neutral or undecided” answers.

Willingness to pay declines with age, but women consistently lead in all regions.

The question of whether consumers expect major international brands to be compliant with animal wellness standards reveals strong consensus globally. 82% of consumers “agree” or “strongly agree” that international brands should comply with animal wellness standards. This is the highest average percentage we’ve seen in any question, revealing that while not everyone prioritizes animal wellness in their own purchasing decisions, most people expect major brands to maintain high standards.

Brazil and South Africa lead with 88% and 86% of respondents expecting compliance from international brands. U.S. consumers have the lowest expectations at 73%.

Women continue to show stronger concerns overall. Expectations are highest among consumers aged 30–59, rather than the younger groups that showed more concern in earlier questions.

Despite the strong interest in animal wellness shown in previous questions, actual knowledge of standards is surprisingly low across the board. When asked how informed they feel about the current animal wellness standards in their country, less than half of consumers feel “very” or “extremely” informed.

While U.S. consumers showed the lowest concern for animal Wellness in earlier questions, they report the highest awareness of standards at 38%. This suggests that being more informed about animal wellness standards doesn’t necessarily translate into placing greater importance on them in purchasing decisions.

There is a clear age gap between respondents: younger consumers—especially in South Africa and Brazil—report being better informed about standards, while older adults show the lowest levels of awareness.

With NSF, you can have access to a wide range of animal welfare certifications, supply chain assurance programs, and second- and third-party audits for any stage of livestock production.

The schemes we cover include the NSF Global Animal Wellness standards (GAWS) and several third-party certifications such as those from the American Humane Association and raised without antibiotics.