Economic and Welfare Impacts of Providing Good Life Opportunities to Farm Animals.

Jessica E Stokes,Siobhan Mullan,David C.J Main,Taro Takahashi,Federica Monte

doi:10.3390/ani10040610

Abstract

Simple SummaryAn input-based framework to evaluate positive welfare opportunities for farm animals presents a case for incorporating quality of life measures into farm assurance schemes, thereby encouraging more producers to deliver higher welfare. Using an original dataset of UK laying hen farms that uniquely connects input-based measures of positive welfare to outcome-based measures of both positive and negative welfare, this study investigates the feasibility of evaluating positive welfare within certification schemes from both scientific and financial viewpoints.Existing animal welfare standards for legislation and food certification programmes are primarily designed to avoid harms to the livestock, with minimal consideration given to their behavioural freedoms. Recent research has shown, however, that animal welfare should not only be evaluated by the absence of negative states but also by the presence of “good life” or positive experiences enjoyed by animals. The objective of the present study is to investigate the scientific validity and on-farm cost implications of utilising potential input-based measures of positive welfare as part of evaluation criteria for farm assurance schemes. Building upon the Farm Animal Welfare Council’s concept of good life opportunities, an assessment was undertaken on 49 noncaged laying hen farms across the UK by measuring on-farm resources to facilitate positive experiences alongside commonly measured metrics for welfare outcomes. The financial cost of providing these resources on each enterprise was also estimated using a farm-scale costing tool. The results suggested that 63% of resource needs that facilitate the behaviour opportunities of laying hens are already being provided by these producers, far above legal and commercial requirements. This practice attracts no reward mechanism or direct financial benefit under the current market structure. Additional provision of opportunities was positively associated with behavioural outcomes, but only limited impact was observed on health and productivity measures. Economic modelling indicated that significant room exists to further improve welfare scores on these farms, on average by 97%, without incurring additional costs. Together we argue that these results can be seen as evidence of market failure since producers are providing positive welfare value to society that is not being currently recognised. It is therefore contended that measuring and rewarding the supply of good life opportunities could be a novel policy instrument to create an effective marketplace that appropriately recognises high welfare production.

Highlights

Certification schemes for animal-originated food products provide an effective means to assure consumers of the farm’s compliance with welfare standards [1]
Beyond the primary purpose of consumer assurance, the analytical framework behind each certification scheme can be utilised for on-farm decision support, scientific research as well as investigations into future legislative requirements [7]
Regardless of whether input-based or outcome-based, the majority of existing welfare-focused certification schemes are designed to reduce negative behavioural, health and physical outcomes on the farm by providing environments and management that are thought to safeguard the animal’s quality of life. While this method of certification holds a clear merit of excluding welfare-inconsiderate farms from supply chains, it has been widely accepted that animal welfare should be evaluated by predominantly the absence of negative subjective states and by the increasing presence of positive experiences [8,9]

Summary

Introduction

Certification schemes for animal-originated food products provide an effective means to assure consumers of the farm’s compliance with welfare standards [1]. Regardless of whether input-based or outcome-based, the majority of existing welfare-focused certification schemes are designed to reduce negative behavioural, health and physical outcomes on the farm by providing environments and management that are thought to safeguard the animal’s quality of life. While this method of certification holds a clear merit of excluding welfare-inconsiderate farms from supply chains, it has been widely accepted that animal welfare should be evaluated by predominantly the absence of negative subjective states and by the increasing presence of positive experiences [8,9]. This concept reflects the view that, in order to provide animals with good lives, it is essential to understand what they want as well as what they need to stay fit and healthy throughout their lifecycles [10]

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