Sheep, goat and beef farmers in Spain and Hungary are well aware of animal welfare. Beyond the fact that the European production system is the most demanding in the world in terms of animal welfare, the sheep and goat farmers of Spain and Hungary and the beef cattle farmers of Spain have wanted to go a step further in their commitment to welfare through their Animal Welfare Commitment Decalogue and the accreditable certification scheme W+, Animal Welfare Commitment.
According to Javier López, general director of Provacuno, the Decalogue Animal Welfare Commitment reflects «the philosophy and commitment that European livestock farmers have to the welfare of our animals. Beyond the ethical issues that we as committed people assume, welfare on our farms is something unquestionable. It is only through genuine animal welfare that we can guarantee profitability. Farmers know it: a well-cared-for animal is healthier and more productive».
This Decalogue was published on the occasion of the start of the promotion plan co-financed with European funds to promote animal welfare European Animal Welfare Commitment that the Hungarian (JTT) and Spanish (INTEROVIC) and Spanish (PROVACUNO) interprofessional sheep and goat meat associations have been carrying out for two years, with the aim of highlighting the value of animal welfare in European livestock production and publicising the accreditable animal welfare certification schemes specifically developed for sheep, goat and beef farms.
W+ Animal Welfare Commitment, a tool at the service of livestock farmers.
This accreditable certification scheme has been developed in collaboration with the Spanish Society for Animal Welfare (SEPROBA) and technicians specialised in both livestock production and quality certification schemes with the aim of developing «an accreditable certification scheme, based on measurable scientific parameters, reproducible over time and technically feasible on a farm, which not only allows us to reliably guarantee the animal welfare that our farmers maintain on their farms, but also provides them with an important tool for continuous improvement that helps them to make their production systems more efficient and can even help them to reduce costs,» explains Tomás Rodríguez, Interovic’s general manager.
In this sense, Dr. Sándor Kukovics, general manager of JTT, points out that «the European production system is already the most demanding in the world in terms of animal welfare, so with this certification scheme what we are doing is going one step further in production by offering farmers who require it, a tool for continuous improvement and a reliable certification scheme thanks to being an accreditable system, where a national accreditation entity such as ENAC, accredits for this purpose the entities that certify the process, which guarantees additional supervision and certification by an independent entity».
In the opinion of these three interprofessionals, W+ Compromiso Bienestar Animal becomes a tool at the service of all those farmers who want to certify the animal welfare they already practise on their farms. Those wishing to become certified under this scheme can find all the information on the website www.bienestaranimaleuropeo.com and at https://www.bienestaranimaleuropeo.com/b/.
