# It Matters Who You Ask: Validity and Reliability of Animal Empathy Scoring Scales in Canadian Public and Participants in Beef Production

## TL;DR

This study shows that empathy scales for animals work well with the general public but not with those working in beef production.

## Contribution

The study demonstrates that empathy measurement tools are unreliable for individuals working directly with livestock.

## Key findings

- AES-SF is reliable and valid for the general public but not for beef industry participants.
- LES showed high reliability in the public but not in industry participants.
- Empathy measures validated for the public may lack validity in livestock workers.

## Abstract

Human empathy towards animals provides insights into how we choose to live, what products we purchase, policies we support, and how we treat animals under our care. The methods used to evaluate our empathy towards animals, however, often focus on general domestic species, are too long to be useful in surveys, or have not been developed for use with those that work with animals. This study found that tools for measuring empathy towards animals were reliable in Canadian public populations, even when shortened. The same tools, however, were unreliable when used to assess empathy towards animals in people that work directly with animals for food production. Thus, when wanting to understand human empathy towards animals it is necessary to be mindful of who is being asked and to use validated and reliable tools for that population.

Reliable measurements are central to understanding animal-directed empathy. This research study utilizes data from two online surveys to evaluate the validity and reliability of measures of animal-directed empathy. The survey data was of (1) Canadians who have participated in beef cattle processing events (n = 812), and (2) members of the public from across Canada (n = 668). As a part of these surveys, individuals were asked 22 animal empathy score (AES) questions, and an additional 5 questions about livestock-directed empathy (LES). The AES correlated well with an 8-question short form (AES-SF) previously developed in other studies. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the AES-SF structure was a good fit within the public responses but did not fit well with the responses of those participating in the beef industry. The reliability of the AES and AES-SF was high in the public population, but low in the population participating in beef cattle production. The LES fit well with the public responses, with high reliability and moderate correlation with AES; however, it did not fit well within the industry participant responses. Overall, the results support the use of AES-SF as a measure of animal-directed empathy within public populations. Measurement of this construct needs further development for individuals working directly with livestock species. Researchers should proceed with caution in using animal-directed psychometric measures validated with public populations, as evidence from this study suggests these measures have poor reliability and validity in populations of individuals working directly with livestock species.