Welfare outcome assessment
Most of our RSPCA welfare standards for farm animals are essentially ‘input’ standards, requiring farmers to provide their animals with certain resources, such as space, feed, and veterinary care. However, it is important to know about the effect these resources are having on the welfare of the animals.
We believe that it is no longer acceptable to make assumptions about the state of animals' welfare based simply on the resources provided to them. We've therefore been working hard to develop practical, reliable methods for assessing the health, physical condition and behaviour of farm animals to give us a more accurate and direct picture of their welfare. This approach is known as 'welfare outcome assessment'.
We began this process in 1999 by commissioning the University of Bristol to develop welfare outcome assessment protocols for laying hens, pigs and dairy cattle. The RSPCA’s Farm Livestock Officers (who carry out monitoring of the Freedom Food scheme) have been carrying out these assessments since August 2007 on Freedom Food approved farms.
The AssureWel project
We are now involved in a 5 year project called AssureWel in collaboration with the Soil Association and University of Bristol. One key aim of the AssureWel project is to develop a system of welfare outcome assessment for the major farm animal species, which can be incorporated into farm assurance schemes including the RSPCA Freedom Food and the Soil Association certification schemes.
For more information download the AssureWel project brochure (PDF: 4,340 KB).
Where we are now
Year 1 of the project focused on laying hens, developing assessment protocols for key indicators of welfare such as feather cover, aggression and beak trimming. The assessment methodologies for key indicators of welfare for dairy cattle are currently being developed and field-tested.
For the latest information download the AssureWel project newsletter April 2011 (PDF: 596 KB).
The benefits
Welfare outcome assessment can be used by Freedom Food assessors and RSPCA Farm Livestock Officers as supporting objective evidence when checking compliance with RSPCA welfare standards. The results can also be shared with individual farmers enabling them to concentrate on any areas of welfare highlighted as needing improvement. Through the project, we will provide further advice and support to producers and producer groups on detecting, monitoring and improving welfare issues, with the potential for developing benchmarking, training and farmer learning networks. Information from welfare outcome assessments can also help to inform further development of the RSPCA welfare standards.
For more information about the AssureWel project contact Anna Fraser at farm_animals@rspca.org.uk.
The AssureWel project is supported by the Tubney Charitable Trust.
