Animal welfare: a shared
value, a shared responsibility.
The FAO programme
FAO
5 regional offices, 10 subregional - 5 liaison offices
80 country offices
4000 staff - 196 Members
2014-15 budget:US$ 2.4 billion
FAO’s audience
 Governmental institutions
(Ministries of Agriculture and Livestock)
 Private sector representatives
 Professional associations
 Civil society organizations
 Academia and research centres
 Regional economic development and
intergovernmental organizations
Outline

a growing livestock sector

increasing challenges

why animal welfare?

what does it take?

support from FAO
5
400
300
200
100
1960
1970
1980
Roots and tubers
Meat
Eggs
1990
2000
Cereals
Milk
20
Meat production moves south
metric tons
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
1970
1975 1980
1985 1990
Developing
1995 2000
Developed
2015 2030
2050
The escalation of
livestock production
raises a number of
ethical issues,
including
environmental and
social sustainability
and secure access
to food, alongside
the growing
concern about
animal welfare.
Proliferation of standards and
bilateral trade agreements
Proliferation of standards and
bilateral trade agreements
Proliferation of media attention,
publications and food movements
Why animal welfare?

for the animal, as sentient being

for higher productivity and product quality

to decrease pre-slaughter losses

to reduce animal and public heath risks

to increase workers’ safety

to access market opportunities

to respond to a societal concern

to improve the image of the livestock sector
and of the products of animal origin
Animal welfare







improve animal growth & reproduction
maintain animal health and productivity
reduce incidence of abnormal & injurious
behaviour
prevent injuries, crowding-related deaths &
related losses of production
reduce bruises and injuries during transport that
result in carcass downgrading
minimise pain, fear and distress & therefore
improve the quality of the meat
improve potential for early diagnosis of
diseases, production decreases and behavioural
problems
Animal welfare benefits can
lead to greater opportunities
for all operators in the
livestock sectors, citizens and
animals at the same time
What does it take?

Awareness raising, education, information
sharing, dialogue, communication

Multi-disciplinary approach

AW (risk) assessment

Benchmarking, measuring, monitoring


Balancing multiple constituencies’ interests
and concerns
Access to technical and scientific information

Adequate policies and legislation

Compliance (good practices), verification

Training, training, training
FAO support: capacity
development

awareness raising, education, information
sharing, dialogue among all stakeholders,
communication

development of policies, institutional building
and assistance for upgrading of legislation

technical and scientific information,
guidelines and good practices

training of all operators
 a forum, a platform for multi-stakeholder
dialogue and collaboration
Capacity building to implement
good animal welfare practices
FAO Expert Meeting
FAO Headquarters (Rome)
30 September – 3 October 2008
FAO capacity development
activities

implemented in a large number of countries

include all of some of the various components

address all operators
 multi-disciplinary, inclusive and collaborative

focus on positive association of AW with
human welfare, food safety & security,
environmental impact, productivity, labour
efficiency & safety, animal & human health

variable source of funding (FAO, Member
Countries, financial institutions, etc. )
FAO gives priority
to an approach to
animal welfare that
lead to benefits for
both producers and
their animals
Animal welfare should not
be treated as a standalone issue but as one
among many socially
important goals including
food safety and security,
human and animal
health, economic and
environmental
sustainability, protection
of biodiversity,
occupational health and
safety, gender equity and
social justice.
 Guidelines for animals
welfare practices: define
HOW to achieve higher
animal welfare through
selected recommended
practices - rely on broad
consultation and
collaboration with all
stakeholders
Global Multi-stakeholder Platform
for Animal Welfare
FAO is launching a platform for multi-stakeholder
collaboration to develop jointly a global road-map
for animal welfare: the
"Global Multi-stakeholder Platform for Animal
Welfare".
The platform will identify priorities, needs and
activities, measures and indicators, benchmarking
and assessing mechanisms.
More information

farm-animal-welfare@fao.org

www.fao.org/Ag/AGAInfo/resources/en/
pubs_awelf.html

Gateway to Farm Animal Welfare:
www.fao.org/ag/animalwelfare.html