Barriers and levers of enhancing animal welfare in organic and low-input outdoor production: Insights from a supply chain survey

Animal welfare is an essential part of the sustainability of animal production. While low-input farming, such as organic animal production, is often considered animal-friendly, several ways to enhance animal welfare in low-input animal production exist. However, currently there is little information on how farmers and other supply chain actors view different innovations and tools which may influence animal welfare in low-input outdoor and organic production systems. The aim of this study was to examine farmers’ and experts’ reactions to new approaches to pig and poultry production, with special attention to their animal welfare-related measures. The reactions were tested formally in by using a quantitative survey instrument in nine European countries (Finland, UK, France, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Romania). In the survey, respondents’ views on production practices and novel measures were asked. These included aspects such as applicability and advantages and disadvantages of various measures such as avoiding mutilations, using dual-purpose or local breeds, or in-ovo sexing. The data included altogether 218 responses from nine countries. Differences between countries were tested and groups of respondents were identified. The results suggest that supply side stakeholders foresee the welfare benefits and some disadvantages of welfare improving measures proposed to them. However, they also indicate that several measures were considered inapplicable despite their benefits. Inadequate financial provisions to adopt a measure was considered as one of the most important reasons for inapplicability of a measure. This may imply either high costs of implementing measures of low market incentives or perceived low demand for animal-friendly products. Other barriers for adopting welfare-friendly measures included farm-specific factors such as limitations imposed by housing. The respondents indicated a high relative preference for feeding, breeding, shelter from predators and the use of vaccines and anti-parasitic treatments to the provision of enrichments and nesting material to pigs, and to mutilations. Farmers agreed that environmental enrichments are important welfare-improving levers and preferred their use in low-input pig and poultry production. Animal breeding-related measures in pig production were perceived quite favorably by supply side stakeholders. Despite their welfare benefits, farmers in some countries had quite high preference towards maintaining castration and tail docking in pig and beak trimming in broiler production as part of their production method

Welfare issues and potential solutions for laying hens in free range and organic production systems: A review based on literature and interviews

In free-range and organic production systems, hens can make choices according to their needs and desires, which is in accordance with welfare definitions. Nonetheless, health and behavioral problems are also encountered in these systems. The aim of this article was to identify welfare challenges observed in these production systems in the EU and the most promising solutions to overcome these challenges. It is based on a review of published literature and research projects complemented by interviews with experts. We selected EU specific information for welfare problems, however, the selected literature regarding solutions is global. Free range use may increase the risk of infection by some bacteria, viruses and parasites. Preventive methods include avoiding contamination thanks to biosecurity measures and strengthening animals' natural defenses against these diseases which can be based on nutritional means with new diet components such as insect-derived products, probiotics and prebiotics. Phytotherapy and aromatherapy can be used as preventive and curative medicine and vaccines as alternatives to antibiotics and pesticides. Bone quality in pullets and hens prevents keel deviations and is favored by exercise in the outdoor range. Free range use also lead to higher exposure to variable weather conditions and predators, therefore shadow, fences and guard animals can be used to prevent heat stress and predation respectively. Granting a free range provides opportunities for the expression of many behaviors and yet many hens usually stay close to the house. Providing the birds with trees, shelters or attractive plants can increase range use. Small flock sizes, early experiences of enrichment and personality traits have also been found to enhance range use. Severe feather pecking can occur in free range production systems, although flocks using the outdoor area have better plumage than indoors. While many prevention strategies are facilitated in free range systems, the influence of genetics, prenatal and nutritional factors in free range hens still need to be investigated. This review provides information about practices that have been tested or still need to be explored and this information can be used by stakeholders and researchers to help them evaluate the applicability of these solutions for welfare improvement

Bien-être animal en production biologique ou à bas intrants de volailles et de porcs : problèmes identifiés par des informateurs clés de ces productions

Fact-sheet-PPilow-W1-1-Practice-Abstract-1-English-FrenchIn four countries (Italy, Finland, France, United Kingdom), interviews were carried out with eleven key-informants working within the supply chain of low-input or organic production of poultry meat, eggs and pork meat (farmers, vets, companies producing progeny, feed producers, health inspectors in slaughter houses or egg packing company's experts, NGOs). The objective was to understand the major issues in welfare in such productions according to on-field people.Dans 4 pays (Italie, Finlande, France, Royaume uni), des interviews ont été menés auprès d'experts clés travaillant dans des productions à bas-intrants ou en agriculture biologique dans les domaines de production de porcs, de poulets et d'oeufs (fermiers, vétérinaires, entreprises de sélection, producteurs d'aliment, inspecteurs d'abattoir ou firmes de production d'oeufs, ONG). L'objectif de ces interview était de comprendre les principaux problèmes de bien-être animal dans ces productions à partir de personnes de terrain

Welfare barriers and levers for improvement in organic and low-input outdoor pig and poultry farmsinvited

Session 62, Theatre 1International audienceThe PPILOW project aims to co-construct innovations to improve Poultry and Pig Welfare in Low-input outdoorand Organic farming systems through a multi-actor approach. Its first step was to sum up animal welfare challengesobserved in these systems and levers of improvement, from a review of literature data and research projects. Data werecompleted with information from key informants of the supply chains of poultry meat, eggs and pork in Italy, France,the United Kingdom and Finland. The interviews indicated that the main issues in poultry were: feeding, biosecurity,lack of range use and range management, feather pecking, weather, regulation, flock size or density, predation, bonefractures, lack of robustness, parasitism, pododermatitis, arthrosis, nervousness, water quality, catching and time spentby farmers. The main issues in pig were: feeding, tail biting, mortality, weather, predation, lack of robustness, lackof range use, castration, animal aggressiveness and competition, water quality, range management, human welfare,biosecurity issues, flock size or density, parasitism, insolation burns, joint abnormalities, parturition in freedom andpollution. This information has implemented a participatory approach for proposing welfare-improvement levers. Someissues and potential solutions were included in PPILOW experiments (phytotherapy against parasitism, involvementof animal personality in range use, rearing of entire pig males, genetic selection for reduced piglet mortality, improvedfarrowing huts for sows and piglets reared on range, avoiding feather pecking in laying hens with intact beaks, avoidingthe killing of day-old male chicks, etc.), and solution costs evaluated. The results will provide a combination of practicalsolutions for welfare improvement in Europe. The PPILOW project has received funding from the European Union’sHorizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement N°816172

Leviers d’amélioration du bien-être animal en élevage avicole biologique

National audienc

Leviers d’amélioration du bien-être animal en élevage avicole biologique

National audienc

Leviers d’amélioration du bien-être animal en élevage avicole biologique

National audienc

PPILOW: innovations for improving the welfare of pigs and poultry in low-input and organic farming systems

International audienceINTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVEPPILOW is a multiactor project aiming to co-create with end-users innovations for improving the welfare of pigs and poultry in low-input outdoor and organic farming systems. The PPILOW participatory approach involves National Practitioner Groups (NPG) in co-building innovative breeding and rearing strategies and techniques on this purpose. Firstly, the project gathers a comprehensive inventory of the ethical, socio-economic and technical factors that are essential to improve poultry and pig welfare in organic and low-input outdoor production systems, providing a shortlist of potential levers of improvement that are experimentally- and on-farm-tested within the project. The NPGs also co-build and test with PPILOW partners mobile applications for assessing and benchmarking animal welfare status on-farm, and tools for evaluating the sustainability of the tested lever based on the One Welfare concept. METHODS AND RESULTSPPILOW partners organized the participatory approach by setting-up nine NPG dedicated to pig or poultry in six countries. The NPG identified barriers to welfare and levers for improvement, and co-created with partners shared tools and strategies for improving animal welfare to be tested experimentally and on-field. Standardized mobile apps for farmers to self-assess and benchmark on-farm the welfare status of the animals were co-developed (PIGLOW® for pigs) or refined (EBENE® for poultry) with NPG, and made EU-freely available in 9 and 7 European languages, respectively. They are currently being evaluated in longitudinal on-farm studies. Meanwhile, the creation of a data collection framework based on the One Welfare approach centred on both human and animal welfare has been co-created with NPGs. The first experimental strategy focuses on enrichments allowing keeping laying hens and fattening pigs in organic and low-input systems without beak trimming and castration, currently applied to prevent feather pecking and boar taint in meat in laying hens and in pigs, respectively. Studies on alternatives, on the one hand to beak trimming using innovative incubation and insect larvae enrichment in laying hens, and on the other hand to piglet castration through the rearing of entire male pigs with enrichments, have been completed and are currently analyzed. The second strategy explores two strategies for avoiding killing day-old layer male chicks: raising dual-purpose breeds for both egg and meat productions and developing a new in ovo sexing method. Three experimental trials are comparing dual-purpose genotypes in three countries. The ones completed on both males and females showed a high variability of technical performance between genotypes, due to different strategy for crosses, exhibiting less or high layer or meat potentials, and the egg quality results for the different crosses were assessed. On-farm trials have started for enabling the multicriteria evaluation of the use of male genotypes, and the field studies on females have been engaged with voluntary NPG participants. Concerning in-ovo sexing, refinements on methodologies for electrophysical sensing are currently running. The PPILOW project also aims to propose innovative solutions for favouring positive behaviours, health and robustness through an increased adaptation to organic and outdoor systems for laying hens, slow-growing broilers and pigs. Studies with different broiler genotypes have allowed a better understanding of the determinants of exploratory behaviour, showing that ranging behaviour is stable over time and that high-ranging broilers are more prone to work for food than low-rangers. Early management levers for improving resilience are also currently tested, including the experimental use of temperature variations during incubation, and the set-up of on-farm hatching trials with NPG members. Partners working with layers and pigs are developing strategies to limit intestinal parasitic and bacterial infections through different feed supplements, based both on in vitro and in vivo studies. In infected layers, the effect of a feed based on fermented products has been tested. Microbiological, immunological and parasitic profiles were obtained in pigs, and in vitro methods for the screening of plant extracts have been established, showing the high potential of some plants to limit worm infections. Joint protocols are developed and implemented to improve sow welfare and piglet survival through selective breeding and an innovative farrowing house design for outdoor rearing of sows and piglets. These innovative devices are currently tested in pig NPG members’ farms, with a close follow-up by NPG facilitator partners. The most promising PPILOW strategies are evaluated through multicriteria analyses according to the One Welfare concept, and business models are developed.CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONSPromising results of the project on the limitation of feather pecking in laying hens and aggressive behaviour in non-castrated pigs, of parasite development from pigs reared in low-input farms by the use of plant extracts, and for favouring piglet survival are currently obtained, which could help limiting the use of veterinary products, not only in low-input and organic farms, but also in conventional farms. Ultimately, the PPILOW project will also bring data on the feasibility of using such levers of improvement of pig and poultry health and welfare, and human well-being within the scope of the One Welfare concept. The project PPILOW has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement N°816172