Document type : news item from The Pig Site
Author : Global Ag Media
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Preview: Waitrose is rolling out a new mobile application today that will help the retailer assess and begin to understand the emotional well-being of its farm animals. [...]
Although the app itself is designed to be practical and easy to use on farm, it is underpinned by rigorous scientific research, which its creator, Professor Francoise Wemelsfelder, calls "Qualitative Behavioural Assessment" (QBA).
The method allows animal welfare inspectors to record different expressive qualities of behaviour through the app, such as being relaxed, tense, playful or anxious - behaviours that are indicative of an animal's emotional body language and possible signs of their general well-being.
This will help field teams assessing Waitrose farms develop their skills and help them describe and quantify the different expressions they observe when looking at their animals. In turn, this will help them better understand the mood the animals are experiencing while interacting with each other and their environment.
Professor Wemelsfelder comments: "Good physical health is vital for good welfare but there is clear consensus among the scientific animal welfare community that factors such as enjoyment, contentment and positive excitement play an equally vital role in ensuring that an animal has a good life.
"QBA not only provides a way to assess these factors, it also opens up the conversation about what positive emotional well-being for an animal truly looks like. Because we believe fundamentally that animals are not simply production systems to be managed. They are sentient creatures that must be cared for."
"While this remains very much in development, the fact that the app will be trialled and developed at scale with a leading supermarket chain is an incredibly significant and positive step for the industry."
James Bailey, executive director at Waitrose, comments: "This is a huge development for the industry as it is the first time any retailer has explored welfare measures based on the concept of an animal's freedom to express positive emotions.
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