WELFARE QUALITY

An EU project
Uniformity of welfare assessment
◦ Future EU welfare label?

Emphasis on animal-based measures

Better for welfare although harder
Why else?
 How
long?
Four Principles 12 Criteria
 WELFARE QUALITY
Audit Scheme
Development
The challenge:

Animal-based measures developed to be simple and show

◦ Validity
◦ e.g. sickness + diarrhoea / fear …more challenging
◦ Sensitivity
◦ If an animal has a problem, will the measure detect it.
◦ Specificity
◦ If observed, can it be sure it was that welfare problem that
caused it
◦ Reliability (intra and inter- reliability)
◦ Feasibility (EU v South America)

Trialled on practical farms

Ultimate objective = EU-wide welfare label

Extended to other species in AWIN project 2015 publications

 How do you determine if a
standard of welfare has been met?
•Legislation usually - Pass/fail

•Unclassified
•Basal
•Good
•Excellent
•0-3 / stars

•You need to decide the standards

User friendly
Electronic
GoatApp

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/health_food-safety/information_sources/docs/ahw/20140507_pres_1515_equine-welfare-indicators.pdf, ACCESSED 19.11.15

Early example Is it
record /
/
rce

Animal Needs Index ANI 35L

resou l
anima
?
based

Scoring for human care (cattle)

◦ cleanliness of housing -0.5 to +1.0
◦ state of equipment -0.5 to +1.0
◦ state of coat -0.5 to +1.0
◦ cleanliness of animals -0.5 to +1.0
◦ state of hooves -0.5 to +1.0
◦ injuries from housing -0.5 to +1.0
◦ animal health -0.5 to +1.0

1985 f
h – a head o
B ot
time? ship
n
sto c kperso
+
 Overall score (max = +45)
<11 not suitable with respect to welfare
<16 scarcely suitable with respect to welfare
<21 mediocre suitable with respect to welfare
ANI 35L (minimum for existing organic buildings)
<24 fairly suitable with respect to welfare
(minimum for new organic buildings)
<28 suitable with respect to welfare
>28 very suitable with respect to welfare
How do you
determine if a
standard of
welfare has
been met?
Showed 50 experts and asked to
indicate point at which consider
a problem / needed intervention
and that became the standard

E.g. Dairy cattle 13%

In reality as ugh as 80% of farms

would not have hit the standard
Schemes
Red Tractor
RSPCA Assured (“Freedom Foods”)
◦ Integrating welfare outcome (animal-based)
measures

Supermarkets
Global Chains
Soil Association (Organic)
RSPCA
Education
Example
https://www.rspcaassured.org.uk/about-us/how-rspca-assured-works/
RSPCA
https://science.rspca.org.uk/documents/1494935/9042554/RSPCA+wel
fare+standards+for+dairy+cattle+%28PDF+7.76MB%29.pdf/41638530-
20de-c6cc-5e9c-7b73f9c8f4b7?t=1557731468543
RSPCA simple icons
https://science.rspca.org.uk/sciencegroup/farmanimals/standards/dairycattle
Other sources of info for your audit
(evidence that they are being improved)

https://science.rspca.org.uk/documents/1494935/9042554/Dairy+STAG+summary+notes+July+2019.pdf/6b8f654d-c2dc-
363f-998f-6c23d76ef8fd?t=1573815142957
Premium and demand
Think outside the box in your
audit
https://betterchickencommitment.com/en-GB/
https://betterchickencommitment.com/en-GB/
 Updates

https://www.fwi.co.uk/business/compliance/red-tractor-scheme-to-move-to-remote-compliance-checks
. 20.5.20
https://www.fwi.co.uk/business/compliance/rspca-assured-switches-to-virtual-farm-assessments?utm_te
rm=RWRpdG9yaWFsX0FuaW1hbHNGYXJtZWQtMjAwNTEz&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_
campaign=AnimalsFarmed&CMP=amimalsfarmed_email
 ELMs Environmental Land
Management Schemes

AHDB Cross-sector: College Lecturers Event, General Industry updates and Brexit webinar" will begin in 1 Day on:
Mon, Oct 26, 2020 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM GMT
ELMs may reward higher welfare
UK gov
When for
Companion
Animals?
e.g.
Newcastle
City Council
https://www.newcastle.gov.uk/b
usiness/trading-
standards/animal-health-and-
licensing/animal-boarding-
licence
Example:
cats
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/u
ksi/2018/486/schedule/4/made
Other schemes:
http://www.carodog.eu/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Shelter-Quality-Protocol-2014.pdf
p6
40
 Behavioural Assessment of Stress
Cat Stress Score (Kessler & Turner, 1997)
◦ 7 point scale based on postures of
◦ Body, Belly (respiration rate), Legs, Tail, Head

1= Fully relaxed
laid on side, belly exposed, slow breathing, legs
extended, tail extended or loosely wrapped, head laid
on surface

7=Terrorized
crouched on all fours shaking, belly not exposed, fast
ventilation, legs bent, tail close to body, head lower
than body
When else welfare assessment?
Breeding
Pet shops
Boarding kennels

Euthanasia
Pain relief
Shows
Pets as Therapy?
Pets at children’s parties?
Transport tbc
Slaughter tbc
Behavioural Assessment of Pain
Pain scales  Visual analogue scale (0-100)
 Think about:
Simple descriptive scales (human)
◦ Visual analogue scale (0-100) • Demeanour
◦ Numerical rating scale • Response to people
• Response to food
• Posture
• Mobility
• Activity
• Response to touch
• Attention to painful area
• Vocalisation
• Physiological signs
Behavioural Assessment of
Pain
Numerical rating scale (0-10)

◦ Vocalisation
◦ Movement
◦ Agitation

Work package – pain assessment

 Horse Grimace Pain Scale (HGS).

Dalla Costa E, Minero M, Lebelt D, Stucke D, et al. (2014) Development of the Horse Grimace Scale (HGS) as a Pain Assessment Tool in
Horses Undergoing Routine Castration. PLoS ONE 9(3): e92281. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0092281
http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0092281
tbc

46