Organic livestock production in Europe: aims, rules and trends with special emphasis on animal health and welfare

Abstract

Organic farming in Europe has increased during the last decade but the market share is still relatively low with less than 3% of farmed arable land and an even smaller proportion of farm animal species raised in organic livestock production systems. In many aspects, the biological and ethological needs of animals in organic farming systems are better met than on conventional farms. Emphasis is placed on high standards in product quality, animal health and welfare. However, limitations due to the strict organic rules place high demands on management qualifications. Practical experience shows that organic livestock production is certainly no guarantee of good animal health and welfare. It is suggested to develop quality assurance programmes for process quality assessment to ensure a certain level of management standard. Epidemiological studies are needed to evaluate health risk factors for health and welfare problems in organic livestock production. The concept of organic animal farming can only fulfil the criteria for sustainability, if all requirements on animal health and welfare, together with product quality and ecological soundness, are strongly considered and controlled.