Development of animal health and welfare planning in organic dairy farming in Europe

Kurzfassung

Good animal health and welfare is an explicit goal of organic livestock farming, and
will need continuous development and adjustment on the farms. Furthermore, the very
different conditions in different regions of Europe calls for models that can be
integrated into local practice and be relevant for each type of farming context. A
European project with participants from seven countries have been established with
the aim of developing principles for animal health and welfare planning in organic dairy
farming, based on a process where knowledge about the status within a given herd
will be included as background for taking decisions and planning future improvements.
An important part of the planning process is communication with other farmers as well
as animal health and welfare professionals (veterinarians and advisors). Other
principles such as systematic evaluation of how the improvements work in the farm
ensure the continuity of the planning process. This presentation gives an overview
over the current animal health and welfare planning initiatives in the participating
countries and lines up the principles which are being gradually implemented in partner
countries in collaboration with groups of organic farmers and organisations.