Systematic welfare assessment frameworks for pigs — like Welfare Quality — provide standardized measurement of welfare outcomes on farms, enabling evidence-based improvement and meaningful certification.
Welfare assessment frameworks represent a fundamental shift in how farm animal welfare is managed — from input rules (minimum space requirements) to outcome measurement (are these animals actually experiencing good welfare?). A farm that meets minimum space standards but has high rates of lameness, injuries, and stereotypic behavior is failing its animals. Outcome-based assessment identifies what is actually happening to animals and creates accountability for improvement. The gap between farms that score well and those that score poorly represents the welfare improvement potential of systematic assessment.