Technical specification for animal welfare

Project Overview

Ensuring appropriate care and well-being of food producing animals is a basic expectation of consumers across cultures and geographies.

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Yet different perspectives exist between markets on exact practices needed to ensure the humane treatment of animals.

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SSAFE supports and encourages the implementation of the official animal welfare standards established by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) across the food supply chain.

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In order to help achieve this SSAFE supported the development of an ISO technical specification for implementing the WOAH standards and create a globally accepted protocol to implement WOAH animal welfare standards at the production level in a manner that respects production differences while achieving the same welfare outcome.  

The goal of this work was to facilitate the implementation of the Animal Welfare principles of the existing WOAH code in the private sector, by means of a technical specification that sets out the requirements for managing animal welfare in the food chain.

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Compliance to WOAH standards will not only help to improve animal welfare globally but will also establish a framework for all scientific outcomes-based animal welfare schemes to fit under, thus eliminating duplication of efforts.

Project Partners

World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH)

International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

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ISO TS 34700 was published on December 1st 2016. For further information and to purchase a copy please visit:

http://www.iso.org/iso/home/news_index/news_archive/news.htm?refid=Ref2147

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SSAFE presentation on animal welfare

On December 6th 2016 SSAFE was invited to present its vision for Animal Welfare at the 4th WOAH Global Conference on Animal Welfare. A copy of the presentation can be downloaded below.