Improve animal welfare
Improving farm animal welfare through welfare assessment
Good welfare is not simply the absence of negative experiences. It's characterised by the presence of positive experiences, such as pleasure. Defra’s Animal Welfare Committee, considered that a “good life” for farmed animals is a life where positive experiences (positive welfare) far outweigh any negative experiences (negative welfare).
To ensure we are delivering good farm animal welfare we need to be able to measure both the absence of negative outcomes and the outcomes and opportunities for positive experience.
Welfare outcome assessment:
Working with the AssureWel partnership we have developed a widely recognised system of welfare outcome assessment for the major farm animal species.
These protocols are largely based on “absence of negative experience” measures and allow us and our farmers to know a level of welfare is being achieved on-farm and provide valuable information to monitor improvements.
Contact us for guidance on monitoring and improving welfare using outcome measures.
Positive welfare assessment:
If farm animals are given resources that they value and that provide them with positive physical and mental experiences, they will have the opportunity to experience positive welfare and therefore a "good life".
We are revising and developing existing frameworks* to identify and communicate the opportunities for positive welfare that farm animals have. This includes a combination of freedoms, opportunities and choices within their environment to express their normal behaviour.
Additionally, we are compiling a protocol of positive welfare measures that will ensure the resources and opportunities provided are being used and valued.
You can find out more about our plans on our project summary (PDF) A Good Life for Farm Animals.
Contact us to find out more or find more detail in this introduction to kick off this ongoing programme of positive welfare work.
* For full references of the Frameworks being developed:
(1) Edgar, J.L., Mullan, S.M., Pritchard, J.C., McFarlane, U.J. and Main, D.C., 2013. Towards a ‘good life’ for farm animals: Development of a resource tier framework to achieve positive welfare for laying hens. Animals, 3(3), pp.584-605. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani3030584
(2) Stokes, J.E., Rowe, E., Mullan, S., Pritchard, J.C., Horler, R., Haskell, M.J., Dwyer, C.M. and Main, D.C., 2022. A “Good Life” for Dairy Cattle: Developing and Piloting a Framework for Assessing Positive Welfare Opportunities Based on Scientific Evidence and Farmer Expertise. Animals, 12(19), p.2540. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12192540
(3) Rowe, E.; Mullan, S. Advancing a “Good Life” for Farm Animals: Development of Resource Tier Frameworks for On-Farm Assessment of Positive Welfare for Beef Cattle, Broiler Chicken and Pigs. Animals 2022, 12, 565. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12050565