What is animal welfare?
Previously, many people thought that animals are things, without feeling or ability to experience pain. In this view, there is little or no difference between an animal and, for example, a clock. Nowadays, however, there is a lot of evidence that animals do have feelings. Like people, they are able to experience pain and emotions, learn and feel good or bad. Whether there is good or bad animal welfare can be measured by the animal. At the end of 2009, a scientific European project ('Welfare Quality') was completed, in which more than 100 scientists established measurable welfare criteria for the most important animal species in livestock farming.When can you speak of animal welfare?In the 1960s, the British Farm Animal Welfare Council established the five freedoms that must be respected in order to speak of good animal welfare. This can be done if the animals are free:
• from thirst, hunger and improper nutrition;
• physical and physiological discomfort;
• from pain, injuries and diseases;
• from anxiety and chronic stress;
• to show their natural (species) behaviour.
These five freedoms are widely accepted. Among other things, they are the starting point of the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Food Quality Note (2007).What about animal welfare in livestock farming?Most animals kept for their meat, milk or eggs live in intensive livestock farming, which is also called bio-industry or livestock industry. In intensive livestock farming, many animals are always kept indoors, in bare stables, pens or cages. They can hardly behave naturally, which often causes stress and abnormal behavior. Also, many animals are mutilated to adapt them to the tight housing. In intensive livestock farming is not the animal central but the high yield. Animal welfare leaves much to be desired.
On the other hand, organic livestock farming takes much more account of animal welfare. They can go out, have more space in the stable, and by far most mutilations are prohibited. In the Netherlands, less than 2% of farm animals live in this animal friendly farm. #dierenwelzijn
What are the main welfare problems in intensive livestock farming and what animals are they?
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Hetzelfde werd 160 jaar geleden gedacht over sommige mensen: slaven. Die werden, evenals tot in onze dagen met dieren gebeurt, gebrandmerkt ter eigendomsregistratie. Ook fysieke verminkingen: vaak aan de voet, om weglopen te voorkomen.
Ik ben geen vegetarier, wel mordicus tegen bio-industrie, wat wij hier niet hebben. De kip die ik een paar keer per week eet (wij eten meer vis) komt van een pluimveefarm, waar de kippen vrij in het veld rondscharrelen. Geiten lopen hier ook vrij rond; buiten de stad in kleine kuddes (met een bok voorop) ook over de openbare weg. 's Avonds weten ze de weg naar huis altijd weer te vinden.