The Concept of Animal Welfare at the Interface between Producers and Scientists: The Example of Organic Pig Farming
Acta Biotheoretica 59 (2):173-183 (2011)
| Abstract | In organic farming animal welfare is one important aspect included in the internationally agreed organic principles of health, ecology, fairness and care (IFOAM 2006), reflecting expectation of consumers and farmers. The definition of organic animal welfare includes—besides traditional terms of animal welfare—‘regeneration’ and ‘naturalness’. Organic animal welfare assessment needs to reflect this and use complex parameters, include natural behaviour and a systemic view. Furthermore, various parties with seemingly conflicting interests are involved, causing ethical dilemmas, such as the use of nose rings for outdoor sows (impaired animal welfare vs. destruction of humus). Solutions can only be found when foundational concepts are translated and applied to practical situations. On-farm animal welfare assessment and implementation of improvement strategies are increasingly relevant scientific areas. They combine on-farm welfare assessment, identification of key problem areas and connected risk factors. Constant communication between all parties is crucial for success. Animal health and welfare planning is one application of this approach, which was carried out on Austrian organic pig farms as well as organic dairy farms in seven European countries. The projects included welfare assessment, feedback and benchmarking as a tool for communication between farmers, advisors and scientists. Finally goals were set by the farmer and improvement strategies applicable to organic farming were implemented. This included prevention of disease by management strategies instead of routine treatment with pharmaceutical products. It appeared that next to problem structuring, multidisciplinary problem solving demands good communications skills to relate animal welfare science to value reflections | |||||||||
| Keywords | No keywords specified (fix it) | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,631 |
| External links |
 |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesMette Vaarst & Hugo Alrøe (2012). Concepts of Animal Health and Welfare in Organic Livestock Systems. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 25 (3):333-347.
Vonne Lund & Helena Röcklinsberg (2001). Outlining a Conception of Animal Welfare for Organic Farming Systems. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 14 (4):391-424.
Theofano Vetouli, Vonne Lund & Brigitte Kaufmann (2012). Farmers' Attitude Towards Animal Welfare Aspects and Their Practice in Organic Dairy Calf Rearing: A Case Study in Selected Nordic Farms. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 25 (3):349-364.
Hugo Fjelsted Alrøe, Mette Vaarst & Erik Steen Kristensen (2001). Does Organic Farming Face Distinctive Livestock Welfare Issues? – A Conceptual Analysis. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 14 (3):275-299.
M. R. N. Bruijnis, F. L. B. Meijboom & E. N. Stassen (2013). Longevity as an Animal Welfare Issue Applied to the Case of Foot Disorders in Dairy Cattle. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 26 (1):191-205.
David J. Mellor (2009). The Sciences of Animal Welfare. Wiley-Blackwell.
Rodrigue El Balaa & Michel Marie (2006). Animal Welfare Considerations in Small Ruminant Breeding Specifications. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 19 (1).
M. B. M. Bracke, K. H. De Greef & H. Hopster (2005). Qualitative Stakeholder Analysis for the Development of Sustainable Monitoring Systems for Farm Animal Welfare. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 18 (1).
Vonne Lund, Sven Hemlin & James White (2004). Natural Behavior, Animal Rights, or Making Money – a Study of Swedish Organic Farmers' View of Animal Issues. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 17 (2):157-179.
Kirsten Schmidt (2011). Concepts of Animal Welfare in Relation to Positions in Animal Ethics. Acta Biotheoretica 59 (2):153-171.
James Yeates (2013). Animal Welfare in Veterinary Practice. Wiley-Blackwell.
Mette Vaarst, Lis Alban, Lisbeth Mogensen, Stig Milan, Thamsborg & Erik Steen Kristensen (2001). Health and Welfare in Danish Dairy Cattle in the Transition to Organic Production: Problems, Priorities and Perspectives. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 14 (4):367-390.
Stefan Aerts, Dirk Lips, Stuart Spencer, Eddy Decuypere & Johan De Tavernier (2006). A New Framework for the Assessment of Animal Welfare: Integrating Existing Knowledge From a Practical Ethics Perspective. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 19 (1).
C. R. W. Spedding (2000). Animal Welfare. Earthscan Publications.
Stephanie Yue Cottee & Paul Petersan (2009). Animal Welfare and Organic Aquaculture in Open Systems. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 22 (5).
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2011-05-14Total downloads10 ( #106,150 of 548,976 )Recent downloads (6 months)1 ( #63,511 of 548,976 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
