Farmed Animals

Farm Welfare Audits and Compliance

Regular welfare audits provide a framework for identifying and addressing welfare problems in livestock farming systems.

Key Facts

Farm assurance schemes conduct welfare audits of member farms annually or bi-annually
Outcome-based measures provide more objective welfare data than resource-based checks
Unannounced audits are more effective at detecting chronic welfare problems
Auditor training and calibration are essential for consistent results
Farmer self-assessment between audits supports continuous improvement

Welfare Considerations

Welfare audits are a critical tool for identifying and addressing welfare problems in farming systems. However, audit quality varies significantly. Announced audits, resource-based checklists, and inadequate auditor training limit effectiveness. Best practice welfare auditing combines unannounced visits, outcome-based measures, and trained auditors to provide meaningful welfare assurance and drive improvement.

What You Can Do

Support welfare assurance schemes that use unannounced welfare audits
Advocate for outcome-based welfare assessment in audit protocols
Raise awareness about the limitations of low-quality welfare assurance
Support auditor training and calibration standards
Choose products from schemes with robust and transparent audit processes