Strategies for human behaviour change to promote animal welfare at slaughter
The attitude and behaviour of people plays a critical role in determining the welfare outcomes of animals under their care. This is because there is a reciprocal relationship between human and animal behaviour, whereby the behaviour of a person will impact an animal’s behaviour, and that animal’s behaviour will impact that person’s behaviour. For example, staff at a slaughtering establishment may consider cattle difficult to handle so use electric prodders and force more often, which results in the cattle being more stressed and difficult to handle.
While improving the welfare of animals at slaughter is a multifaceted challenge in most cases it begins with changing the behaviour of the people involved in managing and handling those animals. However, making sustainable changes in the behaviour of people in the workplace can be challenging. As a first step, if wanting to promote behaviour change and improve animal welfare fostering a culture that prioritises the welfare of animals is essential. This involves not only implementing policies and procedures but also ensuring that those responsible for carrying them out are committed and adequately trained. This change in attitude and behaviour to improve animal welfare at slaughter also extends beyond on-the-ground management and staff to broader stakeholders involved, from industry leaders, government, retailers, and customers. This article covers some of the evidence-based strategies of behaviour change and how they can be used to promote change to improve the welfare of animals at slaughtering establishments.
The science of behavioural change
There are several science-based models for behavioural change that can be used to help identify the factors influencing behaviour and guide the development of effective strategies to promote positive change in a workplace.
COM-B model and behaviour change wheel
The COM-B model suggests that for behavioural change to occur an individual must have capability, opportunity, and motivation (Michie et al., 2011). As an example, applying this in a workplace that is looking to improve hygiene practices would look like offering training programs on hygiene to improve staffs’ knowledge (capability), make hand washing areas readily available and easy to access (opportunity), and implement a point-based system where staff receive rewards for maintaining desired hygiene standards (motivation).
The behaviour change wheel model is based on the COM-B model as the sources of behaviour and then expands upon it to include nine intervention functions that influence behaviour and seven categories of policy that enable the intervention functions (Figure 1) (Michie et al., 2011). The sources of behaviour include capability (psychological and physical), opportunity (social and physical), and motivation (automatic and reflective). The nine intervention functions that can be used to cause behaviour change include education, persuasion, incentivization, coercion, training, enablement, modelling, environmental restructuring, and restrictions. Lastly, the categories of policy are guidelines, environmental/ social planning, communication/marketing, legislation, service provision, regulation, and fiscal measures.
Using the hygiene example from above, in a workplace the behaviour change wheel model can be used to first analyse the sources of behaviour that are enabling or preventing staff from doing behaviours that would improve hygiene standards. Based on the sources of behaviour the most relevant intervention functions can be implemented to promote behaviour change, such as increase staff awareness of the importance of hygiene (education), provide training on good hygiene practices (training), and offer rewards to staff for maintaining hygiene standards (incentivization). Then to support these intervention functions, broader policy change within the business should be implemented to promote sustained behaviour change like establishing clear hygiene procedures (guidelines) and launching a work hygiene campaign (communication/marketing).
Figure 1. The behaviour change wheel model (Michie et al., 2011).
Nudge theory (habit formation)
The nudge theory is a tool that acknowledges that the behaviour of people is not always conscious or deliberate (Thaler & Sunstein, 2008). Nudges are changes in an environment that can be used to influence a person’s decisions and behaviour by making the desired behaviour the easiest, most appealing, and natural choice. Using our hygiene example, in a workplace this could look like placing hand sanitisers and washes in unavoidable areas where they are highly visible, using hand washing signs as reminders, and having hand-free soap dispensers to reduce effort (Venema & van Gestel, 2021).
Self-determination theory (intrinsic motivation)
The self-determination theory suggests people are more likely to change their behaviour when they feel they have control over their decisions (autonomy), are skilled and capable at their job (competency), and have a sense of belonging in a workplace (relatedness) (Deci et al., 2017). In the workplace this may look like ensuring staff have input into the decision-making processes that affect them, offering them the opportunity to up skill, as well as creating a positive culture where staff feel valued at work.
Strategies of behaviour change to improve animal welfare
When looking to change the behaviour of staff at a slaughtering establishment to improve the welfare of animals the above-mentioned models can be applied through a step-by-step process.
Identify the target audience and behaviour
The first step in encouraging behaviour change is identifying who needs to change their behaviour, the problem behaviour (or lack of behaviour), and the behaviour outcome that is desired. Without this step it is difficult to determine the best intervention strategies to promote behavioural change, as well as evaluate whether those strategies were effective.
Select intervention strategies
Once the audience and desired behaviours are identified, a targeted intervention strategy can be developed. Most intervention strategies are focused on directly targeting those that need to change their behaviour, however indirect strategies can also be useful. Establishing a pro-welfare workplace culture is an example of an indirect way to promote behaviour change that could improve animal welfare. This can be achieved by management showing a clear commitment to improving animal welfare through prioritising welfare in some cases over performance and recognising staff that display best practice. This commitment to animal welfare from management can help encourage good practices and allow staff to feel like they have permission to also prioritise animal welfare.
For direct intervention strategies, demonstrations (e.g., role play and modelling) and instructional training of the desired behaviour are the most common strategies used to change the behaviour of people in animal care roles (Glanville et al., 2020). These types of interventions assumes that when people are more informed and understand why they are doing something then they are more likely to perform the desired behaviour. Applying this in a slaughtering establishment, it is important that staff that are involved with live animals are provided comprehensive training so that they are knowledgeable in normal animal behaviour and competent in using best practice handling techniques.
Another intervention strategy is through providing staff responsibility and ownership of developing the solution to the problem behaviour. This could look like involving staff in developing new training material that demonstrate the desired behaviours and establishing a two-way feedback system whereby staff receive feedback but also give feedback on the outcomes. Engaging with staff in a collaborative way can help promote a shared commitment to animal welfare within the business to encourage long term behavioural changes.
Monitor and review
Regular monitoring of practices is important to know whether the intervention strategies have been effective at inducing the desired behaviour change from people. As it relates to evaluating the effectiveness of behaviour change to improve animal welfare the most useful measures are directly monitoring staff to ensure they are performing the desired behaviour. Animal-based measures should also be included to assess animal welfare to ensure that the behaviour change is having the desired affect at improving welfare. The results of monitoring should be reviewed regularly to ensure continued effectiveness as well as facilitate opportunity for continuous improvement.
Summary
Improving animal welfare at slaughter in many cases involves changing the attitude and behaviour of the people responsible for managing and handling live animals at slaughtering establishments. There are several evidence-based models of behaviour change that provide useful intervention strategies to encourage behaviour change that can be applied to the context of a slaughtering establishment. Some key considerations when wanting to change the behaviour of people are to (1) identify the target audience and specific behaviours to change, (2) use targeted interventions strategies to change behaviour, and (3) monitor and review outcomes to ensure lasting improvements in both human behavior and animal welfare.
References
Deci, E. L., Olafsen, A. H., & Ryan, R. M. (2017). Self-determination theory in work organizations: The state of a science. Annual review of organizational psychology and organizational behavior, 4(1), 19-43. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-032516-113108
Glanville, C., Abraham, C., & Coleman, G. (2020). Human behaviour change interventions in animal care and interactive settings: A review and framework for design and evaluation. Animals (Basel), 10(12). https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10122333
Michie, S., van Stralen, M. M., & West, R. (2011). The behaviour change wheel: A new method for characterising and designing behaviour change interventions. Implementation Science, 6(1), 42. https://doi.org/10.1186/1748-5908-6-42
Thaler, R., & Sunstein, C. (2008). Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth and happiness. Yale University Press.
Venema, T., & van Gestel, L. (2021). Nudging in the workplace: Facilitating desirable behaviour by changing the environment. In A handbook of theories on designing alignment between people and the office environment (pp. 222-235). Routledge.