Animal Welfare Assessment At Slaughter In Europe
This paper describes Welfare Quality®, an attempt to standardize farm animal welfare standards at and prior to slaughter. According to the authors, the measures of welfare are focused on the animals’ well being. There are 12 standards proposed: absence of prolonged hunger; absence of prolonged thirst; comfort around resting; thermal comfort; ease of movement; absence of injuries; absence of disease Sick animals, dead animals; absence of pain induced by management procedures; stunning effectiveness; expression of social behaviors; expression of other behaviors; good human–animal relationship; high pitched vocalizations; positive emotional state.
Article Abstract:
“Producers, retailers and other food chain actors increasingly recognize that consumer concerns for good animal welfare represent a business opportunity that could be profitably incorporated into their commercial strategies. Therefore, during the last decade, numerous trade groups (producers, processors, retailers and restaurant chains) have developed certification systems with their suppliers which include elements of animal welfare.”
“The Welfare Quality® project has developed an integrated and standardised welfare assessment system based on twelve welfare criteria grouped into four main principles (good feeding, good housing, good health and appropriate behaviour) according to how they are experienced by animals. One of the innovations of the Welfare Quality® assessment system is that it focuses more on outcome measures (e.g. directly related to animal body condition, health aspects, injuries, behaviour, etc.). This paper has the objective to discuss the rationale behind the welfare assessment and to describe the Welfare Quality® assessment of pigs and cattle at the slaughterhouse.”
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.meatsci.2012.04.009