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A method for the economic valuation of animal welfare benefits using a single welfare score
- R Bennett, A Kehlbacher, K Balcombe
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- Journal:
- Animal Welfare / Volume 21 / Issue S1 / May 2012
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 01 January 2023, pp. 125-130
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- Article
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Unless the benefits to society of measures to protect and improve the welfare of animals are made transparent by means of their valuation they are likely to go unrecognised and cannot easily be weighed against the costs of such measures as required, for example, by policy-makers. A simple single measure scoring system, based on the Welfare Quality® index, is used, together with a choice experiment economic valuation method, to estimate the value that people place on improvements to the welfare of different farm animal species measured on a continuous (0-100) scale. Results from using the method on a survey sample of some 300 people show that it is able to elicit apparently credible values. The survey found that 96% of respondents thought that we have a moral obligation to safeguard the welfare of animals and that over 72% were concerned about the way farm animals are treated. Estimated mean annual willingness to pay for meat from animals with improved welfare of just one point on the scale was £5.24 for beef cattle, £4.57 for pigs and £5.10 for meat chickens. Further development of the method is required to capture the total economic value of animal welfare benefits. Despite this, the method is considered a practical means for obtaining economic values that can be used in the cost-benefit appraisal of policy measures intended to improve the welfare of animals.
Fifteen - Urban Mobility, Working Culture, and Administration During the COVID-19 Crisis: Adjustments for a Resilient City
- Edited by Pierre Filion, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Brian Doucet, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Rianne van Melik
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- Book:
- Volume 4: Policy and Planning
- Published by:
- Bristol University Press
- Published online:
- 25 April 2023
- Print publication:
- 22 July 2021, pp 159-168
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- Chapter
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Summary
Introduction
A resilient city can guarantee accessibility and mobility to its citizens and effectively mitigate adverse impacts of crises on its population and infrastructure (Holling, 1973; Holling and Gunderson, 2002). So far, the concept of ‘resilience’ has mostly been used in the context of disaster management and climate adaptation. However, during the COVID-19 crisis, the still rather vague concept of pandemic resilience has emerged. In the context of urban mobility, it refers to, for example, the facilitation of active mobility modes and the creation of livable public spaces. To date there is little research on the impact of governance, administrative structures, and planning processes on pandemic resilience.
Thirty-five interviews in four German areas – the metropolitan areas of Berlin, Leipzig, Bremen, and Stuttgart – were conducted with decision makers and stakeholders, including local politicians and civic servants, members of civil society organizations along with both private and public sector organizations providing transport services. While responsibility for the resilience of cities and infrastructures is shared in Germany between the federal, state, and local governments, this study focuses exclusively on the municipal level. The selection of respondents was guided by their position and role within organizations involved in the introduction of crisisrelated measures for cycling or walking. The interviews were conducted using a videoconferencing platform and lasted between 30 and 90 minutes. They were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed inductively and iteratively relying on multiple coders who developed a common coding system.
Our study attempts to answer the questions: what makes a city resilient in times of crises, using the pandemic as an example, and what lessons can be learned from self-reported issues that were encountered by actors and stakeholders in their response to the crisis? We analyze the issues that were reported by our interviewees and reflect on the problems that were experienced by municipalities. We also investigate the way in which adaptation measures were implemented during the COVID-19 crisis and whether they improve the long-term resilience of cities.
In the following, we share some of the insights gained from our study. In response to the social distance requirements, municipalities introduced different mobility measures such as pop-up bike lanes. We identify three types of crisis responses, and provide insights into the changes in administrative processes that were experienced by the interviewees. Furthermore, we reflect on the requirements for a resilient transport system that includes a robust public transport system.