Ahead of World Animal Day AnimalhealthEurope has published key findings from a recent survey on the knowledge and opinions of European citizens towards the use of veterinary medicines for the treatment and prevention of diseases in pets and farm animals.

The survey commissioned by AnimalhealthEurope, covered 9 European countries, and compared to previous years, there is a very small increase in awareness on the rules for the use of veterinary medicines. Awareness on the benefits of veterinary medicines for both animal welfare and sustainable food production is well recognised.

Benefits recognised include:

• 66% believe veterinary medicines have a positive impact on the welfare of farm animals;
• 70% believe the vaccination of farm animals helps to prevent diseases being transferred to people;
• 81% believe that healthy farm animals enable farmers to produce and supply food in a sustainable manner;
• and 84% believe healthy farm animals will produce better quality products.

When asked about farm animals, the vast majority of respondents agree on the importance of vaccination. 74% agree farm animals should be vaccinated regularly, and 78% agree that for farm animals, it is better to prevent disease than to cure it. Furthermore, 65% say that regular vaccination can help to reduce the need to use veterinary antibiotics on farms.

When asked about pets, preventive care is also recognised as important with 78% of respondents agreeing pets should be vaccinated regularly. 87% agree that pets should be checked by a vet regularly (at least once per year) and 82% believe it is important to regularly use tick and flea prevention when keeping a pet.

Some lack of knowledge on the rules and regulations on the use of veterinary medicines was still identified, with one in three respondents thinking that organic farms are not allowed to use veterinary antibiotics. 55% are unaware that use of hormones as growth promoters in farming is not allowed in Europe, and 59% don’t know that the use of veterinary antibiotics as growth promoters in farming is not allowed either.

Further interesting findings were on the profile of those responding to the survey, with only 18% saying they live in rural areas, and 60% saying they are pet owners. Although the lack of awareness on use can be concerning as this is can lead to misinformation permeating peoples’ views and opinions, as well as news stories or reports, it’s encouraging to see such positive views all round on the benefits veterinary medicines bring not just to animal health and welfare, but also sustainable food production.

• ENDS –

Notes:

• AnimalhealthEurope commissioned Produkt+Markt to carry out an online survey among citizens in Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom. The target group was a representative and balanced sample of citizens in terms of regional distribution, gender and age (>18 years), and counted 6300 respondents (1000 per country – 1300 Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden combined). The survey focuses on topics covering the right to receive medicines, animal welfare, disease prevention and cure, as well as zoonoses, food safety and general awareness.
• This is the third survey of European citizens carried out by AnimalhealthEurope. A similar survey was conducted in 2016 and 2020.
• AnimalhealthEurope represents 14 of Europe’s leading manufacturers of animal medicines and 16 national associations representing 21 countries, covering 90% of the European market.