Validated, practical welfare metrics for broiler and laying hen production enable monitoring, benchmarking, and continuous improvement — making measurement central to welfare progress.
What gets measured gets managed. Welfare metrics create accountability — farms with high footpad dermatitis rates or excessive mortality face questions from certification bodies, retailers, and regulators. Systematic measurement across supply chains allows identification of outlier farms needing improvement, benchmarking against achievable standards, and tracking of improvement over time. The challenge is ensuring that metrics chosen actually capture welfare outcomes rather than acting as proxies that can be gamed. Well-validated, hard-to-fake outcome measures — directly assessing the animals — are the most reliable welfare management tools.