Farm Animal Welfare

Cattle Welfare Metrics Standardisation

Standardising cattle welfare metrics across regions and certification schemes is essential for meaningful comparison and progressive improvement.

Key Facts

Multiple different welfare assessment tools exist for cattle with limited comparability between them
Welfare Quality, RSPCA Assured, Red Tractor and Soil Association use different indicator sets
Standardisation would enable comparison of welfare outcomes across supply chains and regions
Scientific consensus on core welfare indicators for cattle is growing through collaborative research
Industry, certification bodies and scientists need to coordinate on metric standardisation

Welfare Considerations

Fragmented welfare metrics prevent meaningful comparison and systematic improvement tracking. Developing agreed core indicator sets that certification schemes adopt enables progress measurement, comparison and accountability across the industry.

What You Can Do

Support scientific and industry initiatives working on cattle welfare metric standardisation
Engage with consultation processes on welfare certification standards revision
Advocate for certification scheme harmonisation enabling genuine welfare comparison