Norwegian pig farmers’ motivations for improving animal welfare Svein Ole Borgen and Guro Aadnegard Skarstad Norwegian Agricultural Economics Research Institute, Oslo, Norway Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore Norwegian pig farmers’ motivation for improving animal welfare, and to develop the rudiments of a more general understanding of farmers’ animal welfare discourses related to motivation for improving animal welfare. Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents a discourse analysis of qualitative interviews with 60 Norwegian pig farmers. Supplementary sources are governmental policy documents, research reports and statistics. Findings – The pig farmers’ motivation for improving animal welfare is a moral, economic and regulatory question. Their discourse on animal welfare must be interpreted in light of the specific contextual factors, such as public regulation and the market situation of agro-foods in Norway, which contribute to shaping the farmers’ practices. Research limitations/implications – An implication of the study of interest for policy makers is that many pig producers currently look upon animal welfare as a “competitive-free” zone. This appreciation impacts their attitudes towards animal welfare schemes and other measures that are intended to improve animal welfare. However, since the farmers’ discourse is highly context-specific, their motivation for entering specialised animal welfare schemes is also expected to change with future changes in the economic, political and regulatory context within which they are embedded. Originality/value – The paper is a first-of-its kind investigation of farmers’ conception of animal welfare in Norway. It provides novel insights into the Norwegian pig farmers’ definition of animal welfare, and suggests how their motivation can be understood in analytical terms. Keywords Animal husbandry, Livestock, Norway Paper type Research paper Introduction The increased focus on animal welfare in recent years shows that human beings’ relationship to animals is problematic and has been regulated in new and more extensive ways. For instance, private animal welfare schemes have emerged as an increasingly important regulatory instrument for the implementation of animal welfare measures throughout Europe (Buller and Morris, 2003). This reflects that animal welfare has gained more relevance for commercial actors’ efforts to differentiate from their competitors. In several European countries, farmers can now enter animal welfare schemes, defined as schemes with requirements well above the EU and national legislation (Bock and van Leeuwen, 2005), premium prices often being an inducement. So far, however, such quality assurance schemes have to a small extent been developed in Norway. This situation does not imply that animal welfare issues have been taken The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/0007-070X.htm The authors thank Stig Gezelius, Agnar Hegrenes and Ola Nafstad for valuable comments on drafts of the article. Norwegian pig farmers’ motivations 891 British Food Journal Vol. 109 No. 11, 2007 pp. 891-905 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0007-070X DOI 10.1108/00070700710835705