Recognition survey 2026 12% improvement in 10 years

We have been conducting a survey on the awareness of livestock animal husbandry since 2016, 10 years have passed. The awareness of the situation has previously been low even by international standards.

According to a study of attitudes toward animal welfare in 14 countries, 73.7% of subjects understood what “animal welfare” meant, 20.4% understood it somewhat, and 5.7% did not understand it. In Japan, on the other hand, only 23.3% knew or had heard of animal welfare, a difference of 50%.

Nevertheless, looking back over the past 10 years, it is clear that awareness and consciousness of animal welfare has steadily risen, as at that time even corporate sustainability and CSR staff had never heard of the term. Awareness of animal welfare itself has increased by 12% over the past 10 years. Improvements in awareness of individual gestation stalls and battery cages have varied in the degree of improvement for each issue. There was only a 3-4% improvement on the issue of gestation stalls for pigs and broilers, but a 10% improvement on the issue of cage rearing, and a 16% improvement on the question, “Are you aware that flat or pastured eggs are sold in supermarkets?” showed a 16% improvement on the question “Do you know that flat or pastured eggs are sold in supermarkets? This may indicate that eggs are at the center of the animal welfare issue and that the sales floor is an important place for citizens to learn.

Recognition Survey Results

The ten questions are as follows

1. Did you know that many sows are confined in gestation stalls, a narrow enclosure in which they cannot change direction?
2. Did you know that many piglets are castrated and have their teeth and tails cut off without anesthesia?
3. Did you know that most chickens for eggs are kept in a narrow wire mesh (about 22 cm x 22 cm per hen) called a battery cage?
4. Did you know that many chickens for eggs have their beaks amputated without anesthesia?
5. Did you know that chickens for meat (broilers) are being bred to grow faster and, as a result, are more susceptible to disease?
6. Did you know that most dairy cows spend most of their time tied up?
7. Did you know that many cows are castrated and their horns cut off without anesthesia?
8. Have you ever heard of the term “animal welfare” or “animal wellbeing”?
9. Did you know that heirloom or pastured eggs are sold in supermarkets?
10. Do you know that breeding methods banned in Europe are being practiced in Japan?

[Survey title] Questionnaire on Livestock Animals (Meat, Eggs, Milk)
[Survey entity] NPO Animal Rights Center
[Survey period] 2026/3/23-3/30
[Number of valid responses] 2,981
[Survey design] Methodology: Internet survey using a general research company (Internet monitor)
[Survey area] Japan

Unit: Percentage

Clear age difference.

Looking at the level of awareness of animal welfare by age group, it was clear that awareness was low among those in their 50s. On the other hand, awareness was relatively high among those in their 20s.