How we use the BQA feedyard welfare assessment as an educational tool

Abstract

Animal welfare has become a major concern for the meat-consuming public. While the vast majority of producers take the welfare of their livestock very seriously, groups opposed to animal agriculture have been able to expose, by undercover video, acts of blatant abuse on multiple animal agriculture operations. In the past, producer organizations have made attempts to establish animal welfare programs, but these were actually little more than generalized animal welfare statements. As consumers have requested more knowledge and transparency in how their food is produced, producers (and their respective associations) have responded positively. One of the ways that the beef industry has responded is by designing animal welfare programs that apply objective measurements. The application of this type of program has become not only a benchmark for animal handlers, but it can also be used as a tool for education and assessing progress.