Farm Animal Welfare

Pig Welfare Benchmarking Between Farms

Benchmarking pig welfare indicators between farms enables identification of best practice and systematically poor performers.

Key Facts

Welfare Outcome Assessment tools for pigs measure indicators including tail lesions and lameness
Bristol University Welfare Quality protocol provides a validated multi-indicator assessment tool
Benchmarking allows farms to see their performance relative to peers, creating improvement incentives
Supply chain integration of welfare data gives retailers and processors leverage to drive improvement
Public reporting of welfare benchmarking data increases accountability for poor performers

Welfare Considerations

Welfare benchmarking creates transparent accountability for farm welfare performance and identifies both leaders and laggards in the industry. Supply chain integration of benchmarking data connects economic incentives to welfare improvement in ways individual farm audits cannot.

What You Can Do

Support supply chain transparency initiatives sharing farm welfare benchmarking data
Advocate for mandatory welfare outcome assessment and benchmarking in farm assurance schemes
Ask retailers and food businesses about their welfare benchmarking requirements for suppliers