 <p class="lead" id="first">Children differ dramatically from adults in their moral views on animals, new research shows.</p><p>University of Exeter researchers asked children aged 9-11 about the moral status and treatment of farm animals (pigs), pets (dogs) and people.</p><p>Unlike adults, children say farm animals should be treated the same as people and pets, and think eating animals is less morally acceptable than adults do.</p><p>The findings suggest that "speciesism" -- a moral hierarchy that gives different value to different animals -- is learned during adolescence.</p><p>"Humans' relationship with animals is full of ethical double standards," said Dr Luke McGuire, from the University of Exeter.</p><p>"Some animals are beloved household companions, while others are kept in factory farms for economic benefit.</p><p>"Judgements seem to largely depend on the species of the animal in question: dogs are our friends, pigs are food."</p><p>The research team -- including the University of Oxford -- surveyed 479 people, all living in England, from three age groups: 9-11, 18-21 and 29-59.</p><p>The two adult groups had relatively similar views -- suggesting attitudes to animals typically change between the ages of 11 and 18.</p><p>"Something seems to happen in adolescence, where that early love for animals becomes more complicated and we develop more speciesism," said Dr McGuire</p><p>"It's important to note that even adults in our study thought eating meat was less morally acceptable than eating animal products like milk.</p><p>"So aversion to animals -- including farm animals -- being harmed does not disappear entirely."</p><p>The study also found that, as people age, they are more likely to classify farm animals as "food" rather than "pets" -- while children were equally likely to consider pigs to fall into either of these categories.</p><p>While adjusting attitudes is a natural part of growing up, Dr McGuire said the "moral intelligence of children" is also valuable.</p><p>"If we want people to move towards more plant-based diets for environmental reasons, we have to disrupt the current system somewhere," he said.</p><p>"For example, if children ate more plant-based food in schools, that might be more in line with their moral values, and might reduce the 'normalisation' towards adult values that we identify in this study."</p>