I
International News
THE RSPCA NEWSLETTER
FOR ANIMAL WELFARE
ORGANISATIONS OVERSEAS
The Freedom Food farm assurance
and food labelling scheme was
set up by the RSPCA in 1994
and remains the only UK farm
assurance scheme that is solely
dedicated to improving the welfare
of farm animals reared for food. The
scheme approves farms, including
indoor and outdoor production
systems, that meet RSPCA welfare
standards for farm animals. The
farm’s hauliers and abattoirs also
need to meet our standards.
W
e believe that animals reared
for food deserve a better life.
This means providing them
with an environment that meets their
needs – needs not confined to space, food
and water but psychological needs too.
So providing a stimulating environment
that enables the animals to exhibit their
natural behaviour is very important.
We also believe that any farm can
rear animals to higher welfare standards
In this
issue of
IN
RSPCA PHOTOLIBRARY/ANDREW FORSYTH
Autumn/Winter 2011
Freedom Food assessor checking pig and housing.
Higher welfare benefits
farm animals and people
as long as the will to do it is there. It’s
not just small farms producing premium
products that can make it, larger farming
businesses that supply a wider range of
more affordable food can also join the
scheme. As more people look for food
with higher welfare credentials,
it encourages more farms to
invest in farming this way.
Freedom Food-labelled products
can already be found in most
major UK supermarkets.
So how did Freedom Food start?
Mike Sharpe, its former chief executive
explains: “We literally started with a blank
sheet of paper. There were no standards,
no members, no processes and precious
little support in the early days. But we had
great plans to improve animal welfare by
properly engaging and working with the
farming industry – something that had
previously been thought impossible.”
In the early days there were some
misgivings from farmers about the
scheme’s association with the RSPCA
NEWS
from you
Srikandi Animal
Care in Indonesia
and some people at the RSPCA were
anxious about working in partnership
with the farming industry. When Freedom
Food first launched, one requirement was
that each farm had to provide detailed
veterinary plans. Industry said that it
could not be done – but it is now
national practice. Outbreaks of
disease, such as Foot-and-Mouth
in 2001, have also threatened the
scheme. During this outbreak
more than six million animals
were culled, with the industry losing
an estimated £3,000 million. Despite
this, the scheme has continued to thrive.
Why is this? Sue Henderson, from major
UK supermarket Sainsbury’s says: “The
Freedom Food approach is sensible and
it works. The RSPCA standards are
achievable and credible.”
The RSPCA farm animals department
works to develop RSPCA welfare
standards for each of the major farm
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NEWS
from the UK
and EU
FOCUSING
on farm
animals
Fast growth rates
in meat chickens
Welfare outcome
assessment
THE RSPCA NEWSLETTER FOR ANIMAL WELFARE
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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
animal species. These are intended to
represent ‘best practice’ in the care
and welfare of farm animals. The
standards are set at the limit of what is
achievable in terms of animal husbandry
and commercial viability and aim to
deliver improved animal welfare above
and beyond ‘standard’ or typical UK
production. The standards are constantly
assessed and developed to ensure that
they remain at the forefront of farm
animal care and welfare, and are also
achievable on commercial farms.
The RSPCA’s welfare standards
cover every aspect of the animals’ lives,
including feed and water provision, the
environment they live in, how they are
managed, health care, transport, and
humane slaughter/killing. The standards
are designed to ensure that all animals
reared according to the requirements
have everything they need for a good
quality of life, whether they are kept
on large or small farms, or in indoor
or outdoor production systems. You
can download the standards at: http://
www.rspca.org.uk/sciencegroup/
farmanimals/standards
Of course, the scheme’s success is
also down to consumer choice and so as
well as encouraging industry to produce
higher welfare produce, consumers need
to be encouraged to buy it. Producer
Andrew Maunder observes: “It’s about
getting out there and letting people know
the choices and price ranges on offer.
We want well-informed consumers and
a range of products so that they can
choose accordingly.”
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?
Animal welfare
Operating to RSPCA welfare standards
can improve animal health and biosecurity,
reduce mortality, and increase operational
efficiency – all factors that help to lower
running costs and boost profits.
“RSPCA welfare standards have really
helped improve production performance.
I am also struck by the attitudes of
our stockmen and women – they are
much more enthusiastic and enjoy their
work more.”
Mark Gorton, Director,
Norfolk Traditional Turkey
Added value
Today the provenance of our food is an
important consumer issue. The Freedom
Food label helps to differentiate a farm’s
products from its competitors’ and
reassures consumers that they are buying
a trusted and recognised brand. Many
shoppers are prepared to pay more for
higher welfare, increasing the demand for
Freedom Food-labelled products, which
in turn increases producer profits.
“Consumers are increasingly aware of
food provenance and welfare. Freedom
Food farm assurance reassures consumers
on both accounts, giving our business a
competitive advantage.”
Tony Burgess, Birchgrove Eggs
Freedom Food timeline
1994Freedom Food launches with
standards for laying hens and pigs.
1995Standards for beef and dairy
cattle and sheep launched.
RSPCA PHOTOLIBRARY/ANDREW FORSYTH
1996Standards for chickens and
turkeys launched.
1999Standards for farmed duck and
hatcheries launched.
2002Standards for farmed Atlantic
salmon launched.
200915th anniversary of Freedom Food.
Freedom Food assessor Bob Waller at work.
2
Message
from the editor
This issue focuses on farm animal welfare,
which has formed a major part of RSPCA
International’s work over the last year in the
Western Balkans, Indonesia and southern
Africa, as you can discover in Training
and projects on page 6. Several overseas
organisations are working to improve farm
animal welfare in their respective countries,
such as Srikandi Animal Care in Indonesia,
which is profiled in News from you on
page 3. We thought it would be interesting,
therefore, to provide an overview of the
work of Freedom Food, the UK’s only food
labelling and farm assurance scheme,
which was set up by the RSPCA in 1994.
We receive fairly regular enquiries from
other countries asking about setting up
a similar scheme and so the story of how
Freedom Food started and developed might
prove useful. In 2010, for example, after
several years of research into the Freedom
Food scheme the Korean government
announced its intention to set up a similar
welfare labelling programme administered
by the agriculture ministry.
The cost of higher welfare and new
EU laws relating to broiler chickens are
discussed in News from the UK and the
EU on page 5, while our final article looks
at an ongoing project to develop ‘welfare
outcome assessment’. Most people know
about the five freedoms and the concept
of measuring welfare by providing the right
inputs but welfare outcome assessment is
a revolutionary new concept that looks at
measuring welfare by outputs. In the same
article, you can find out a little bit more
about the RSPCA farm animals department.
Please send any feedback to: kkilving@
rspca.org.uk. We would love to hear
your reactions to any of the stories in
this issue or your own experiences of
any of the issues.
IN
News from you
Association
PROFILE
Srikandi Animal Care (SAC-Indonesia) is based in Malang – East Java, Indonesia
– and works to promote animal welfare and prevent animal cruelty through
investigation, campaigning, lobbying, public education and awareness-raising.
The organisation was founded in March 2007 by Dr Luki K Wadhani who is
a qualified veterinarian with 15 years’ experience of wildlife conservation and
protection. She talks to us about its work.
The establishment of Srikandi Animal
Care (SAC) was inspired by Mahatma
Gandhi’s saying: “The greatness of
a nation and its moral progress can
be judged by the way its animals
are treated”.
We believe that every living creature
can feel pain, suffer, experience stress,
feel happy, and feel affection towards
others. Since animals cannot speak,
it is the human race’s responsibility
to provide better lives for them and to
prevent cruelty to them.
SAC would like to create a
harmonious life for humans, animals
and the environment by developing
compassion in humans who care for
and are responsible for the treatment
of animals and the environment.
It has been scientifically proven
that animal welfare, environmental
protection and human health are
closely related.
What does SAC do?
Since 2007 we have been promoting
animal welfare in the farming sector
in order to produce food that is healthy,
safe and halal, and to provide added
value financially. We do this via a
number of steps.
SRIKANDI ANIMAL CARE
What are the aims of
your organisation?
Dr Luki K. Whadani (far right) at the Poultry Welfare and Quality Conference funded by RSPCA
International earlier this year.
Step 1. Finding the truth
We collect data about the
mistreatment and suffering of poultry
and cattle, which are the main targets
of our campaign for humane food
production in accordance with the
ASUH principle (safe, healthy,
whole and halal).
The focus on animal welfare
starts on farm and includes handling,
transportation and slaughter.
Collected data is communicated to
the government as part of a call for
better food security for consumers.
Step 2. Conveying the truth
We disseminate information to the
Indonesian Veterinary Medical
Association (IVMA), livestock services,
religious leaders, and animal husbandry
and veterinary faculties about farm
animal welfare and its benefits for human
beings, animals and the environment.
We maintain a website in Bahasa as a
centre of information and education.
We also work with the IVMA to
promote animal welfare to veterinary
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THE RSPCA NEWSLETTER FOR ANIMAL WELFARE
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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3
faculties as an essential element of moral
and ethics education and to encourage
the government to better enforce
legislation (No.18/2009) concerned
with animal husbandry and health.
Step 3. Providing a better education
We work with government livestock
services in Blitar distric and IVMA
chapter East Java II, along with
some of the largest poultry farms in
Indonesia, to discuss and share poultry
farming concepts.
Collaborating with RSPCA
International, the Department of
Agriculture and the IVMA, we held
a workshop on poultry welfare and
quality in March this year, attended
by around 150 participants including
government officials, veterinarians,
academics and poultry producers.
This was the first major conference on
poultry welfare ever held in Indonesia
and brought all major stakeholders
together to consider the benefits of
humane slaughter.
What are the future aims and
ambitions of your organisation?
■
M
aking animal welfare a national
issue and engaging the attention
of government, scientists, religious
leaders, businessmen, farmers and
communities.
■
I mproving economic, health and
halal standards through better animal
welfare.
■
I ncorporating the humane treatment
of animals into people’s lifestyles.
oshan Dhunjibhoy, the founder
of Lanna Dog Rescue, passed
away on 24 April 2011 in Chiang
Mai, having recently celebrated
her 80th birthday. Following a long
career as an esteemed documentary
filmmaker and journalist for various
German broadcasting stations, she
retired to Chiang Mai in the north
of Thailand where she dedicated
her time to animal protection and
founded a new animal protection
organisation – Lanna Dog Rescue
(www.lannadog.net).
Lanna Dog Rescue works closely
with the temples, local government
and local communities. It neuters
approximately 1,500 cats and dogs
a year. It is currently running a
five-year project with two local
communities (Nong Pa Khrung
and Mae Hia) to solve the problem
of ownerless and roaming dogs,
attempting to turn them into
community dogs as part of the 2020
rabies agreement. Stray dogs are
sterilised, vaccinated against rabies
and then returned to the community.
RSPCA International had the
privilege of working with Roshan
4
LANNA DOG RESCUE
We remember Roshan Dhunjibhoy
R
Roshan Dhunjibhoy will be sadly missed by all who knew and worked with her.
and Lanna Dog Rescue in 2010 when
we ran a dog handling training course
for delegates from 14 municipalities
in the Chiang Mai region. Two of
the municipalities that participated in
the training went on to win first and
second prizes in the national Sanofi
Pasteur Rabies Awards, with Roshan
tirelessly monitoring and encouraging
improvements. She was an inspiring
character, full of energy, who will be
sadly missed by all those who knew
and worked with her.
IN
News from the UK and EU
he RSPCA has long been concerned
about the fast growth rates of
meat chickens (broilers). We address
this issue within our farm assurance
scheme – Freedom Food – but are now
also working with UK-based food and
farming industries to tackle this issue on
a broader level.
Approximately 55,000 million broilers
are produced worldwide each year.
Most of these birds have been genetically
selected to grow very quickly in order
to produce the maximum amount of
meat in the shortest amount of time.
The time from first hatching to reaching
typical slaughter weight can be only
a little over one month. Such rapid
growth rates can significantly contribute
to the development of severe welfare
problems such as leg disorders, foot and
leg diseases, and heart and circulatory
problems. Broilers can also be subjected
to overcrowded conditions and barren
environments and kept without access
to natural light. In addition, the growth
rate of the parents of the broilers (the
breeding birds) has to be managed to
prevent them growing as fast as the
broilers and hence succumbing to the
welfare problems described above.
As such, breeder birds can have their
food severely restricted, causing them
to be chronically hungry.
The RSPCA strongly believes that
good legislation is required to address the
welfare issues associated with selection
for fast growth in broilers and breeding
birds and is working with the UK food
and farming industries, including the
key global broiler breeder companies,
RSPCA PHOTOLIBRARY/ANDREW FORSYTH
Tackling fast growth rates
in meat chickens
T
Broiler chickens in outdoor
production system.
to tackle this issue. The RSPCA’s farm
assurance scheme, Freedom Food, is the
only farm assurance scheme to require
that all meat chickens reared under its
scheme are of slower growing breeds.
In 2009, just under 60 million chickens
were raised under the scheme.
RSPCA PHOTOLIBRARY/ANDREW FORSYTH
Good welfare doesn’t cost
as much as people think
Piglets in a Freedom Food accredited
breeding unit.
A
recent survey has found that
70 percent of adults do not buy
higher welfare food such as Freedom
Food-labelled products, free range or
organic meat because of the cost.
However, according to the Freedom
Food scheme, the actual cost of a basket
of higher welfare food can be as little
as just over £5 more than a basket of
non-higher welfare food – less than the
price of a bottle of wine. The majority
of people surveyed thought that the price
difference would be significantly higher.
Indeed, just over one-quarter of that
majority thought that the price would
be as much as £15 more – three times
Freedom Food’s estimate.
The survey revealed that 38 percent of
adults would be prepared to give up
one of their regular treats – such as a
bottle of wine – to spend the money on
higher welfare food instead. In response,
Freedom Food urged people during Farm
Animal Week 2011 (www.freedomfood.
co.uk/farmanimalweek) to swap just one
item in their basket for a higher welfare
alternative in a bid to demonstrate in
practice that the cost of higher welfare
food does not have to be prohibitive.
5
THE RSPCA NEWSLETTER FOR ANIMAL WELFARE
Training and projects
POULTRY WELFARE AND
QUALITY CONFERENCE
IN INDONESIA
POULTRY WELFARE OFFICER
TRAINING IN TURKEY
RSPCA INTERNATIONAL
AWTraining consultancy and the RSPCA
delivered a four-day poultry welfare officer
RSPCA International funded a twoworkshop in cooperation with the Turkish
day workshop in Surabaya in March,
Poultry Association in April this year. The
which was delivered by the consultancy
Animal Welfare Training (AWTraining) and course, which covered both the production
and primary processing of broiler chickens,
supported by the Indonesian agriculture
was attended by 80 participants from
ministry, Indonesian Veterinary Medical
Association and local NGO Srikandi Animal industry, veterinary organisations and
Care. More than 100 participants attended services, and universities.
As a candidate country for EU accession,
including industry representatives. The
conference discussed links between better Turkey would need to comply with Council
Regulation (EC) No. 1099/2009, which
animal welfare and higher quality meat
provides for the protection of animals during
products and explored the possibility of
humane slaughter within halal processes. slaughter and requires professional animal
welfare officers in the production process.
Participants produced a comprehensive
The course received exceptionally positive
set of action points at the end of the
feedback from the participants and their
two days and delegated people to take
them forward. The Indonesian authorities institutions and the RSPCA hopes to build a
long-term programme of work in Turkey that
remain committed to improving poultry
welfare on farm and during transport and would be closely linked to national priorities
slaughter and we will continue to support and the negotiations under the EU Acquis
Chapter 12.
and advise as required.
LSPCA vet Richard Ssuna treats chickens brought in by local children.
6
A second workshop was held
in September 2011, with a focus on
welfare outcome assessment in broiler
production on farm and at the abattoir.
POULTRY PRODUCTION
WELFARE IN THE WESTERN
BALKANS
Members of the Western Balkans
Veterinary Network were brought
together for a four-day workshop in Ohrid,
Macedonia in May to focus on welfare in
poultry production. Dr Andy Butterworth
of AWTraining looked at welfare issues
on farm, from hatcheries to the weight
of slaughter birds, while Paul Whittington
focused on primary processing.
CHICKEN HUSBANDRY
AND WELFARE TRAINING
IN MALAWI AND ZAMBIA
Over the last two years RSPCA
International has been working with
the Lilongwe Society for the Protection
and Care of Animals (LSPCA) in Malawi
and with partners in Zambia to train
local people to implement vaccination
programmes against Newcastle disease
– a highly contagious virus that can
decimate flocks and ruin livelihoods.
Improved health and husbandry should
also increase the production of eggs and
meat, both for sale and for consumption.
The Malawi police have been
actively involved in ensuring correct
transportation of chickens following
LSPCA advice; as a result, the previously
common sight of chickens being carried
upside down on bicycle handles is now
an unusual occurence.
IN
Focusing on farm animals:
Welfare outcome assessment
How do we really know we are providing what is best for farm animals? How do we
know if the welfare standards we set are effective in achieving good welfare? These
are difficult questions to answer, but we can begin to address them by looking at the
animals themselves. This approach has been termed ‘welfare outcome assessment’.
The challenge is to make the assessment in a scientific, practical and standardised
way so that we can get sound, objective information to help make these judgements.
RSPCA PHOTOLIBRARY/ANDREW FORSYTH
Welfare outcome assessment is a
scientifically informed method of
assessing animals using a number of
measures relating to their health, physical
condition, behaviour and psychological
well-being. Examples include assessment
of body condition, injuries and response
to human interaction. Generally, most
requirements concerning the care of
farm animals focus on specifying what
the animals are to be provided with, such
as the amount of space, the number of
feeders and drinkers, and the depth of
bedding. However, we can only make
assumptions about the level of welfare
being achieved by providing these inputs.
Pigs in outdoor breeding unit.
By using welfare outcome assessment
and focusing on the animals themselves,
we can get a more accurate, objective
and direct assessment of welfare and
therefore a better understanding of the
actual impact of these resources on the
animals. The results can also be used to
make comparisons between individuals
or groups of animals, different farms,
different housing and management
systems, and to monitor welfare over
time. Welfare outcome assessment,
therefore, allows us to evaluate how
different conditions and resources affect
animal welfare, as well as helping us to
detect, monitor and improve welfare.
There is widespread interest in and
enthusiasm for using animal-based
measures for assessing farm animal
welfare. Consumers in many countries
have growing concerns about farm
animal welfare. Food companies,
especially supermarkets, are keen
to demonstrate that they are taking
welfare seriously and that good welfare
is being achieved on their suppliers’
farms. To do this, most rely on farm
assurance schemes, which have regular
inspections to check whether the
standards they require are being met.
As these standards generally focus on
‘inputs’, there is growing recognition
that the incorporation of animal-based
measures will help to both assess and
improve animal welfare. Much research
has been carried out to help develop
welfare outcome assessment measures
and measurement methods for farm
animals, e.g. the European Welfare
Quality® project. But we now need
to 'translate' and adapt this research
so that it can be implemented in a
practical way on farm and used within
farm assurance schemes to improve
welfare on a larger scale.
The RSPCA farm animals
department (FAD) has been working on
welfare outcome assessment since 1999.
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THE RSPCA NEWSLETTER FOR ANIMAL WELFARE
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7
Today, we are involved in AssureWel:
a five-year collaborative project with
the University of Bristol and the Soil
Association (the UK’s leading organic
organisation). The project aims to
develop practical, field-tested, animalbased measures for the major farm
animal species and to lead the way by
incorporating these into the RSPCA’s
and Soil Association’s respective
certification schemes. Freedom Food,
the RSPCA’s farm assurance and food
labelling scheme, will use these outcome
measures to help assess animals against
the standards.
The project is now in its second
year and has so far developed and
introduced welfare outcome measures
for laying hens, including the assessment
of feather loss and aggression, both of
which are signs of stress in the flock
and can lead to pain, injuries and
even cannibalism. We are currently
developing and trialling measures
for dairy cattle, including lameness,
body condition and housing comfort.
We plan to follow this with outcome
measures for pigs, meat chickens, sheep
and beef cattle.
FAD will use the results from the
welfare outcome assessments carried out
by Freedom Food to help evaluate and
further develop its farm animal welfare
standards. Freedom Food assessors will
also feedback the outcome results to
the producers, and advice and support
will be provided by the project to help
producers further improve welfare on
their farms. The project will also look
at how self-assessment – providing
comparisons with the results of other
farmers ­– and ‘farmer learning’
networks can be used to encourage
improvement. A further aim of the
project is to promote and encourage
uptake of the developed welfare
outcomes approach by other European
farm assurance schemes.
RSPCA PHOTOLIBRARY/ANDREW FORSYTH
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Free-range chicken.
Welfare outcome assessment can
also be used to assess the welfare of
other animals and the RSPCA is
involved in work to develop measures
and guidance on welfare outcome
assessment of wildlife and laboratory
and companion animals.
For further information visit: rspca.
org.uk/sciencegroup/farmanimals/
outcomeassessment
The RSPCA farm animals department
We work to improve the lives of
as many farm animals as possible,
using our experience of farm animal
welfare and farming to translate the
latest scientific research and practical
experience into RSPCA policies and
higher-welfare practices and systems.
Having a strong evidence base to
our arguments gives our position
and advice more weight, which is
vital when lobbying and working at
a national and international level.
We lobby and work with UK and
EU governments and policymakers
for improvements in legislation, as
well as seeking change at a voluntary
level by working with retailers, the
farming industry, animal organisations,
veterinarians and scientists.
The RSPCA welfare standards
for farm animals aim to represent
best practice in every aspect of the
animals’ lives. The standards are
constantly reviewed and developed by
the department and are informed by
both the latest scientific research and
practical experience, as well as taking
account of information and advice
RSPCA, Wilberforce Way, Southwater
Horsham, West Sussex RH13 9RS
Tel : (44) 300 123 0373
Fax: (44) 303 123 0059
www.rspca.org.uk
[email protected]
The RSPCA only exists because of public donations.
A charity registered in England and Wales, no. 219099.
from a wide range of stakeholders.
Research projects help us to continue
to develop the standards.
In addition to being implemented
through the RSPCA’s farm assurance
scheme, Freedom Food, the
standards are used on a wider scale,
for example, to develop farm and food
assurance schemes, and company
policies within and beyond the UK.
They also serve to influence legislation
and codes of recommendations at a
UK and EU level.
Editor: Kasia Kilvington
Production
manager: Debra Austin
Designer:
Fineline
Production: RSPCA publications and brand