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Animal welfare initiatives

Bien-être des animaux d’élevage : l’étudier pour le favoriser

By September 10th 2021September 28th, 2021No Comments

Preview: Document type : Online dossier on theINRAE website

Author : INRAE

Preview: The study of the welfare of farmed animals calls for an interest in how these animals behave but also, more globally, in livestock systems and the associated sectors as a whole, both upstream and downstream of farms themselves, right through to the behaviour of consumers. For this reason, research on animal welfare brings in numerous scientific disciplines, including ethology, physiology, genetics, neurobiology, economics, sociology, history and philosophy.

Animals are now recognised as sentient beings. This is a scientific achievement, but it has also been included in the legislative framework in response to strong public demand. Animal welfare is high on the political agenda in France and Europe. France, for example, has created a permanent ethics committee for abattoirs, while the European Commission has set up a working group on animal welfare labelling as a way of improving the information provided to consumers. In this context, the aim of research is to furnish all stakeholders in society with the knowledge they need to understand how to improve the living conditions of farm animals and to support iniatives to progress welfare in line with societal expectations.

INRAE has been involved in animal welfare research for over thirty years. The Institute is drawing on its research and expertise capacities and entering into innovative partnerships to implement improvements in animal welfare on farms in a collaborative way. Meanwhile, it is important to ensure that other criteria for the sustainability of livestock farming (farmers' working conditions and remuneration, employment, the environment, regional development) continue to be met.

From the INRAE website