Behavioral factors linking sustainability and animal welfare in dairy farming

Animal welfare plays a key role in achieving sustainable development goals and addresses the growing concerns of citizens and consumers about animals and their products. This study, using the extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), aims to examine the social and psychological factors influencing pro-animal behavior among dairy farmers. Despite its importance, this topic has been less explored in the research literature of sustainability. Data for the research were collected through a cross-sectional survey and a closed-ended questionnaire from two groups of traditional (n = 122) and factory (n = 208) dairy farmers in Iran. A random sampling approach was used to select the samples. SPSS₂₆ and SEM-PLS₃ software were used for data analysis, assessment of measurement and structural models, hypothesis testing, and model validation. The results showed that attitude (Beta = 0.43; Sig = 0.0001), perceived behavioral control (Beta = 0.31; Sig = 0.0001), and subjective norms (Beta = 0.11; Sig = 0.01) had statistically significant and positive impacts on pro-animal behavior. According to the results, awareness of the consequences of pro-animal behavior had a statistically significant and positive impact on attitude towards pro-animal behavior (Beta = 0.54; Sig = 0.0001) and perceived behavioral control (Beta = 0.30; Sig = 0.0001). Additionally, perceived behavioral control (Beta = 0.12; Sig = 0.006) and subjective norms (Beta = 0.17; Sig = 0.0001) had a positive and significant impact on attitude towards pro-animal behavior. In general, the independent variables in the validated model of present study could account for 48 percent of pro-animal behavior variance as the dependent variable. This study, by extending and applying the TPB to analyze pro-animal behavior, not only contributes theoretically to the sustainability literature but also provides practical and valuable insights to facilitate the development of pro-animal behaviors and improve animal welfare for stockmen, decision-makers, and responsible organizations.