On-farm Animal Welfare Assessments and Audits in the UK

Abstract

Other than in a research context, the route through which welfare assessments and audits are implemented for production animals is farm assurance. Farm assurance can affect the welfare of animals through encouraging improvements in welfare by setting good standards of provision for animals, through excluding systems which are inherently bad for welfare from certification or through discouraging the very poorest farmers from continuing in business. However, as farm assurance originated in response to changes in UK food safety legislation, conflicts can exist between requirements of food safety measures, environmental protection and animal welfare. To date, the evidence that farm assurance is actively improving the welfare of animals within systems is not compelling, although the more extensive management practices required by the Soil Association organic farming scheme have recently been shown to result in less lameness and hock damage.