Vegan versus meat-based pet foods: Owner-reported palatability behaviours and implications for canine and feline welfare

Abstract

Consumer suspicion of conventional pet foods, along with perceived health benefits of alternative diets, are fuelling development of the latter. These include raw meat diets, in vitro meat products, and diets based on novel protein sources such as terrestrial and marine plants, insects, yeast and fungi. However, some claim vegan diets may be less palatable, or may compromise animal welfare. We surveyed 4,060 dog or cat guardians to determine the importance to them of pet food palatability, and the degree to which their animals displayed specific behavioural indicators of palatability at meal times. Guardians were asked to choose one dog or cat that had been within their household for at least one year, and not on a prescription or therapeutic diet. Of 3,976 respondents who played some role in pet diet decision-making, palatability was the third most important among 12 factors cited as important when choosing pet diets. For 1,585 respondents feeding conventional or raw meat diets, who stated they would realistically consider alternative diets, palatability was the fourth most important among 14 desired attributes. For the 2,308 dogs included, reported observations of 10 behavioural indicators of palatability at meal times reliably indicated significant effects of increased reports of appetitive behaviour by dogs on a raw meat diet, as opposed to a conventional diet. There was no consistent evidence of a difference between vegan diets and either the conventional or raw meat diets. For the 1,135 cats included, reported observations of 15 behavioural indicators indicated that diet made little difference to food-oriented behaviour. Based on these owner-reported behaviours, our results indicate that vegan pet foods are generally at least as palatable to dogs and cats as conventional meat or raw meat diets, and do not compromise their welfare, when other welfare determinants, such as nutritional requirements, are adequately provided.

It Keeps the Good Boy Healthy from Nose to Tail: Understanding Pet Food Attribute Preferences of US Consumers

“…This includes providing snacks, treats, home-cooked meals, and branded foods [ 35 ]. This has been confirmed by other studies investigating lifestyle, dietary, and human-animal relationships [ 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 ]. Further evidence stems from veterinarian research.…”

“…In this lifestyle context, convenience, as well as value and health claims, are likely to be important to pet owners who view their pets as an extension of self. These owners do not shy away from effort, time, and money to spoil their pets with goods and opportunities that reflect their own lifestyle [ 35 , 40 ]. Convenience, value for money and health are aspects that are relevant in many lifestyles.…”

“…Other studies suggest that socio-demographics do not have much impact. These studies emphasize owner dietary preferences, attitudes, and lifestyle as key-factors impacting pet supply purchases including food [ 14 , 40 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 ]. If drivers of pet food purchasing behaviour is more complex than previously assumed, this may explain the conflicting results reported by research relying solely on socio-demographic predictors.…”

Vegan versus meat-based dog food: Guardian-reported indicators of health

“…Our survey piloting and distribution were described in Knight and Satchell [ 21 ]. The ‘Online surveys’ platform we chose to use complies with the UK General Data Protection Regulation, following the UK Data Protection Act 2018, and was used by 88% of UK higher education institutions by 2019 [ 29 ], including our University of Winchester.…”

“…We also sought to determine the importance of pet health as a purchasing determinant, to a large group of dog guardians. Results of some survey parts were recently reported (palatability of different diets; [ 21 ]), or are the subject of related, forthcoming studies.…”