Australian Dog Owners’ Acceptance of Insect-Based Pet Food
Insect-based dog food is increasingly becoming available in pet food markets, potentially offering environmental and nutritional benefits, depending on insect species and how they are reared, processed, and utilized. However, there is limited understanding of dog owners’ attitudes towards the use of...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Insects |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/16/3/290 |
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| author | Anna Triggs Ishka Bless Lukas Danner Maria Saarela Kerry Wilkinson |
| author_facet | Anna Triggs Ishka Bless Lukas Danner Maria Saarela Kerry Wilkinson |
| author_sort | Anna Triggs |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Insect-based dog food is increasingly becoming available in pet food markets, potentially offering environmental and nutritional benefits, depending on insect species and how they are reared, processed, and utilized. However, there is limited understanding of dog owners’ attitudes towards the use of insects as protein alternatives for dogs. An online survey was conducted to explore Australian dog owners’ (<i>n</i> = 201) attitudes towards insect-based pet food, segmenting participants according to their food neophobia, previous insect consumption, and dog-human relationship. Participants’ dog food purchases were highly influenced by perceived health/nutrition, palatability, and product quality, with these factors being of most importance to ‘dog people’ (i.e., participants with closer relationships with their dogs). Participants were reasonably accepting of insect-based pet food made from mealworms and crickets and slightly accepting of products made from black soldier fly larvae. In contrast, participants’ responses to plant-based pet foods were neutral. Food neophiles, and to a lesser extent, insect-eating consumers (i.e., those who had previously eaten insects), were found to be more willing to feed their dogs insects in comparison to non-neophiles and non-insect-eating consumers. Overall, Australian dog owners appear to be supportive of feeding their dogs diets supplemented with insect protein. Insights from this study will help inform the development and marketing of insect-based pet foods. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b405d2766fcb48bd875c2270b8185d4e |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2075-4450 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Insects |
| spelling | doaj-art-b405d2766fcb48bd875c2270b8185d4e2025-08-20T02:42:34ZengMDPI AGInsects2075-44502025-03-0116329010.3390/insects16030290Australian Dog Owners’ Acceptance of Insect-Based Pet FoodAnna Triggs0Ishka Bless1Lukas Danner2Maria Saarela3Kerry Wilkinson4School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide, PMB 1, Glen Osmond, SA 5064, AustraliaSchool of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide, PMB 1, Glen Osmond, SA 5064, AustraliaSchool of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide, PMB 1, Glen Osmond, SA 5064, AustraliaSouth Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), Department of Primary Industries and Regions, GPO Box 397, Adelaide, SA 5001, AustraliaSchool of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide, PMB 1, Glen Osmond, SA 5064, AustraliaInsect-based dog food is increasingly becoming available in pet food markets, potentially offering environmental and nutritional benefits, depending on insect species and how they are reared, processed, and utilized. However, there is limited understanding of dog owners’ attitudes towards the use of insects as protein alternatives for dogs. An online survey was conducted to explore Australian dog owners’ (<i>n</i> = 201) attitudes towards insect-based pet food, segmenting participants according to their food neophobia, previous insect consumption, and dog-human relationship. Participants’ dog food purchases were highly influenced by perceived health/nutrition, palatability, and product quality, with these factors being of most importance to ‘dog people’ (i.e., participants with closer relationships with their dogs). Participants were reasonably accepting of insect-based pet food made from mealworms and crickets and slightly accepting of products made from black soldier fly larvae. In contrast, participants’ responses to plant-based pet foods were neutral. Food neophiles, and to a lesser extent, insect-eating consumers (i.e., those who had previously eaten insects), were found to be more willing to feed their dogs insects in comparison to non-neophiles and non-insect-eating consumers. Overall, Australian dog owners appear to be supportive of feeding their dogs diets supplemented with insect protein. Insights from this study will help inform the development and marketing of insect-based pet foods.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/16/3/290black soldier fly larvaecricketsdog-human relationshipentomophagyfood neophobiamarketing |
| spellingShingle | Anna Triggs Ishka Bless Lukas Danner Maria Saarela Kerry Wilkinson Australian Dog Owners’ Acceptance of Insect-Based Pet Food Insects black soldier fly larvae crickets dog-human relationship entomophagy food neophobia marketing |
| title | Australian Dog Owners’ Acceptance of Insect-Based Pet Food |
| title_full | Australian Dog Owners’ Acceptance of Insect-Based Pet Food |
| title_fullStr | Australian Dog Owners’ Acceptance of Insect-Based Pet Food |
| title_full_unstemmed | Australian Dog Owners’ Acceptance of Insect-Based Pet Food |
| title_short | Australian Dog Owners’ Acceptance of Insect-Based Pet Food |
| title_sort | australian dog owners acceptance of insect based pet food |
| topic | black soldier fly larvae crickets dog-human relationship entomophagy food neophobia marketing |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/16/3/290 |
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