
World Animal Protection (WAP) publishes international animal welfare ranking based on its assessment of animal welfare standards in 50 countries. Sweden and Austria came in first.
World Animal Protection, with headquarters in London, has been working to improve animal welfare for more than 30 years. The NGO has assessed the animal welfare policies and legislation of a total of 50 countries worldwide and ranked them from A (the highest score) to G in its Animal Protection Index (API). The indicators considered include general awareness of animal welfare, national legislation and political support for animal welfare standards concerning pets, animals used in farming and animals used in research. According to the API, Sweden, Great Britain and Austria achieved the highest scores. The ‘B’ grade they were awarded shows that animal welfare in these countries is at a very high level but there is still room for improvement in certain areas. However, countries such as Morocco, Iran, Algeria and Belarus are still missing an essential basic legal framework for animal welfare or at least formal recognition of animal welfare in their existing legislation.
Germany, which only obtained a mediocre ‘C’ grade overall and a ‘D’ for its efforts in protecting animals used in farming, is on a par with France, Poland, Spain and Italy. This shows that there is still much that Germany and the other European countries can do. Although the economic, ecological and ethical importance of animal welfare has received increasing recognition in recent years, many industry stakeholders still lack direction when it comes to applying concrete measures. A useful rule of thumb is to start early and use all the available resources. This is why Dr. Eckel has long been focusing on measures to improve animal welfare, starting with feeding. The right feed additives can be a significant contribution to this.
Read more about the API and the results obtained by other countries here: https://api.worldanimalprotection.org.
No less than the future of the industry featured in this year’s trade conference. Sustainable, profitable and animal-welfare oriented: these are the guiding principles for tomorrow’s food production. But which is the path that will lead to success? What are the challenges that need to be overcome? And how can growers, producers, processors and retailers be economically viable while fulfilling all the requirements for animal welfare, the climate, the environment and resources? Speakers and participants addressed these major issues in talks and panel discussions.
Prof. Johanna Fink-Gremmels, Chair of Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology at Utrecht University, made the role of nutrition in animal health and welfare particularly clear in her talk, stating that, besides contributing significantly to stable health, proper nutrition is also a key factor for better performance, lower medical costs and consequently better returns. Dutch company New Generation Nutrition is also all about nutrition. In her talk, CEO Marian Peters clearly demonstrated how important insects could be to nutrition, both animal and human, in the future.
Dr Gereon Schulze Althoff, Head of Quality Management and Veterinary Services at Tönnies, provided exciting insights into the role of producers, in particular the responsibility and potential of the various stakeholders in the value chain. A visionary presentation by Dr Francesca Blasco, Vice President Product & Innovation, outlined how to achieve profitable and animal-friendly production. The conference culminated in a panel discussion, including the speakers and audience, on how the industry can find a balance between animal welfare and profitability.
“It was a great mix of high-calibre expert talks, inspiring debates and plenty of opportunity for discussions with international industry peers,” said Bernhard große Austing from Austing Mischfutterwerk GmbH & Co. KG, adding: “Animal welfare is no trivial matter. Rather, as amply demonstrated at this conference, it is a necessity. Only healthy animals can provide healthy food. Because ultimately, this is what the consumer wants and what our world needs in order to ensure sufficient food supplies in the future.”