The aim of this study was to investigate the opinions of meat consumers (n = 1780) on on-farm management of unhealthy pigs, whether support for treatment with antibiotics varies according with chance of recovery, and the effect of knowledge on the use of antibiotics on these opinions. Most participants believed that the use of antibiotics was the best solution for unhealthy pigs, and this was associated with a low level of knowledge about antibiotics. Increasing the probability of recovery after treatment increased support for treating pigs with antibiotics. However, the majority of participants rejected the consumption of meat from animals housed in “hospital pens”. After price, concern with food safety was the second main factor that influenced participants’ choice when buying meat. Support for the use of antibiotics to deal with unhealthy pigs in “hospital pens”, as well as for consumption of the meat from these animals, was higher among participants involved in agriculture. This shows that consumers are unaware of the potential negative repercussions for animal welfare associated with banning or reducing the use of antibiotics in livestock production, which is an important concern for the industry.

中文翻译：

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肉类消费者对不健康生猪的看法：应该在农场对它们进行抗生素治疗还是安乐死？

本研究的目的是调查肉类消费者（n = 1780）对不健康猪的农场管理的看法，对抗生素治疗的支持是否根据康复机会而变化，以及知识对抗生素使用的影响就这些意见。大多数参与者认为，使用抗生素是治疗不健康猪的最佳解决方案，这与抗生素知识水平较低有关。治疗后恢复的可能性增加，增加了对用抗生素治疗猪的支持。然而，大多数参与者拒绝食用“医院围栏”中动物的肉。除了价格之外，对食品安全的担忧是影响参与者购买肉类选择的第二个主要因素。从事农业的参与者更支持使用抗生素来处理“医院围栏”中不健康的猪以及食用这些动物的肉。这表明消费者没有意识到在畜牧生产中禁止或减少使用抗生素可能对动物福利产生负面影响，这是该行业的一个重要担忧。