OneKind and fellow animal welfare organisation Compassion in World Farming have partnered to investigate the true "higher welfare" credentials of the UK's various farm assurance schemes.
OneKind encourages people who eat meat to choose higher welfare systems and to consider eating less meat products. By harnessing the tremendous power they wield via their shopping baskets, consumers can not only benefit their own health, but help improve the welfare of farmed animals as well. The majority of animals in this country are reared in accordance with the standards of a range of farm assurance schemes, all of which claim to ensure high standards of animal welfare, but which vary a great deal in their requirements of how animals are kept and cared for.
The reality is that many people will be shopping for salmon and turkey as part of their traditional Christmas dinners. As part of a forthcoming report into the quality of animal welfare systems employed by meat producers OneKind and Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) have jointly developed a grading system to help shoppers find which labels set the highest welfare standards in regards to the treatment of animals.
The full analysis will cover the welfare standards of farm assured products across a wide range of meat, poultry, eggs and dairy products and will be published in the New Year.
The guide ranks the various food assurance schemes from Bronze (acceptable) to Gold (highest standard of welfare) based on a number of animal welfare criteria ranging from husbandry to genetics and breeding.
For turkeys, the systems performing best in the research are the ORGANIC standards of the SOIL ASSOCIATION and the SCOTTISH ORGANIC PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION, and the RSPCA FREEDOM FOOD INDOOR and FREE RANGE labels. These systems offer significant welfare benefits compared to standard industry practice including use of slower growing breeds, prohibition of beak trimming and access to free-range in the case of organic and RSPCA FREEDOM FOOD free-range turkeys.
The label that scored most poorly was the RED TRACTOR QUALITY BRITISH TURKEY. The low score means that the standard offers little more than compliance with minimum legislative requirements, and means that turkeys are likely to be reared in barren , overcrowded environments with no access to the outdoors. RED TRACTOR QUALITY BRITISH TURKEY does offer a free-range option, yet while environmental enrichment - perches and strawbales for example - in indoor systems is recommended it is not stipulated.
For farmed salmon, the systems performing best are the ORGANIC SOIL ASSOCIATION standards and the RSPCA FREEDOM FOOD labels. These schemes offer significant welfare benefits compared to standard industry practice, including lower stocking densities, prohibition of mutilations and more humane slaughter methods.
Consumers are advised to avoid farmed salmon that carries no farm assurance scheme label as these salmon are unlikely to have been reared to higher welfare standards.
If you want to find out more about how these different standards compare then please click here.