Food quality not includes the environmental impact, local economy, health, safety along with nutritional value, so animal welfare is increasingly becoming and important attribute to food quality. Various standards for welfare have been developed and a third party is needed to make sure that they are being followed. Animal-based, resource-based and management-based measures are looked at in these assessments. Animal-based measures such as health, body condition, behaviour and injuries is the best indicator for animal welfare, though the other measures are often easier to assess. The European Welfare Quality® Program measures all of these aspects, but it is a very time-consuming process so it has high costs. The American PQA Plus® Program focuses more on resource and management-based measures and less on the animal aspect. The Canadian Animal Care Assessment Program is a voluntary program that demonstrates if they are following the Code of Practice standards. It is now a part of the Canadian Quality Assurance program and uses very few animal-based measures with the main focus on management-based measures. Different programs have different forms of assessment aimed at the farm level demonstrating good practices.
Welfare Assessment Systems – What are the Differences (full article)
