Resumen de "One animal is no animal"- consequences of measuring animal welfare at herd level
Frida Lundmark, C. Berg, B. Wahlberg, Helena Röcklinsberg
Animal welfare is by definition a characteristic of an individual animal. The aim of animal welfare legislation in Europe is usually to promote animal welfare and protect individual animals from suffering. However, several approaches have been made to create systems for measuring animal welfare at herd level. The aim of this study was to discuss how animals may be affected if a herd approach is used and how this relates to the current animal welfare legislation. Proportions of animals affected, sampling, thresholds and benchmarking are discussed. We conclude that systems based exclusively on group assessment would, if defined narrowly, not be in line with the intentions of a legislation that requires acceptable conditions and outcomes for every individual animal. However, the non-individual approach can be a valuable complement. As some standards use group measures it is important that both producers and consumers are aware of the limitations.
