The Prioritisation of Animal Welfare Values across Countries

Recent advances in values theory show that values prioritising the welfare of animals are distinct from values prioritising environmental concerns. Evidence shows that personal values expressing concern for animals relate to giving to animal charities and identification with the animal rights movement. However, studies have only examined samples from the USA and Australia.
The current study explored the relations between animal welfare values and behaviour in nine countries: Australia (n = 420), Canada (n = 408), China (n = 418), Italy (n = 408), Malaysia (n = 424), Netherlands (n = 404), Poland (n = 410), Singapore (n = 403), and USA (n = 422). Specifically, we examined the relations of animal welfare values, measured with the Best-Worst Refined Values scale (BWVr), with giving time and money to animal charities. Additional analyses compared the donation of time and money between high, medium, and low animal welfare values groups in each country.
Animal welfare values were positively related to giving both time and money to animal charities in each of the nine countries. Interestingly, but not unexpectedly, the proportion of individuals who prioritised animal welfare values differed significantly across countries. Western countries (USA = 25%, Canada = 24%, Australia = 22%, Poland = 18%, Italy = 18%, Netherlands = 16%) had higher proportions of people who prioritised animal welfare values compared to Eastern countries (Singapore = 7%, Malaysia = 5%, and China = 4%). There were also significant differences within the Western countries between the USA, Canada and Australia compared to the European countries in this study.
These cultural variations may reflect the maturity of the animal rights movement in these specific countries. Future research should examine how social movement maturity may influence change in value priorities over time.