The role of animal welfare in improving the future of farming
Rebecca E. Doyle
A B * , Angus J. D. Campbell C , Michel Dione D , Madeleine Woodruff E , Carolina Munoz E , Gezahegn Alemayehu B , Tsega Berhe B and Theo Knight-Jones B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A The Jeanne Marchig International Centre for Animal Welfare Education, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Roslin, UK.
B International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
C Nossal Institute for Global Health, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic., Australia.
D ILRI, Dakar, Senegal.
E Animal Welfare Science Centre, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic., Australia.
Animal Production Science - https://doi.org/10.1071/AN21562
Submitted: 6 November 2021 Accepted: 7 March 2022 Published online: 26 May 2022
© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing
Abstract
Context: Animal production plays a critical role in many global challenges around sustainability, including climate change and resilience, One Health and food security. With this role comes pressures on livestock welfare.
Aims: This paper demonstrates key contributions animal welfare makes to global sustainability challenges.
Methods: This paper highlights ‘win–win’ improvements for both animal welfare and other aspects of sustainability by using the following four case studies: tail docking Australian sheep, agroforestry systems in Ethiopia, the Australian dairy-beef industry, and strategic feeding of goats in Pakistan.
Key results: These case studies show how animal welfare can be improved alongside livelihoods. However, even in these win–win situations, the adoption of improved practices is not guaranteed.
Conclusions: Long-term, sustained change in animal welfare can simultaneously make in roads to other challenges around sustainability. To do this, we must have a broader understanding of the system in which the animals are raised, so that barriers to change can be identified.
Implications: Lessons from these case studies can be applied to other production contexts and challenges, highlighting the universal value of understanding and addressing animal welfare.
Keywords: affective state, agroforestry, dairy, goat, sheep, silvopastoral systems, sustainable development goals, sustainable intensification.
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