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ARCHIVE: Animal welfare: ADAS advisory campaigns for 2008/2009

Promotion of welfare advice

A list of all the campaigns for 2008-2009 in the poultry, cattle, pig and sheep sectors is listed below:

Poultry Preparing for 2012 - Options for Cage Egg Producers
Cattle Lameness(PDF 362 KB) and Herd Mobility Scoring(PDF 50)
Pigs Health and Welfare of Finished Pigs
Sheep The Welfare of Sheep in Low Input Systems

If you would like any further information about any of these campaigns or want to express an interest in attending a particular meeting, please contact:

For any other information on Animal Welfare, please see our contacts page.

As in previous years, the cost of providing meetings for all these campaigns will be met by Defra.

Preparing for 2012 – Options for Cage Egg Producers

Conventional cages for laying hens will be banned throughout the EU on 1 January 2012.  A series of meetings for producers will be held across England during September and October to discuss options available after 2012. The meeting will cover a broad range of topics including:

  1. What the legislation requires
  2. Options available for egg production after 2012, with reference to both ‘enriched’ and non cage systems
  3. A summary of cost implications of various egg production options, based on the use of either converted or new buildings
  4. Issues associated with moving from conventional cages, including planning considerations.

The meetings will be presented by ADAS specialists.  They will be technical and practical in nature and will be designed to help producers to plan for the future.  This series of meetings is being supported by industry bodies, including the British Egg Industry Council (BEIC), the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) and the UK Egg Producers Association (UKEP)

Note: These meetings have now finished.

Cattle Lameness and Herd Mobility Scoring

Lameness in cattle continues to be a significant welfare issue. Lameness has been the focus of previous Defra campaigns for farmers, however, recent developments in measuring lameness  have the potential to improve health and welfare of animals on-farm and the profitability of the enterprise.

A series of fourteen practical workshops will be run for cattle farmers across England in the Autumn. These meetings will highlight the substantial benefits of lameness scoring and the herd mobility index, provide potential solutions to lameness before a “hands-on” interactive demonstration of lameness scoring.  Those attending will then be provided with the tools to start benchmarking lameness in their own herds. 

Note: These meetings have now finished.

Health and Welfare of Finished Pigs

Achieving high standards of care during housing, handling, loading and transportation is fundamental to the welfare of all finished pigs.

A series of ten meetings for both outdoor and indoor pig producers will be held across England early in 2009. These meetings will look at the different systems of housing, environmental enrichment, stocking density, handling. Key transportation issues, such as fitness to travel, mixing pigs from different groups will also be covered.. There will also be a contribution from a specialist pig veterinarian who will discuss problems seen in the slaughterhouse both ante and post mortem and how such feedback can be used to improve health and welfare on the unit.

Note: These meetings have now finished.

The Welfare of Sheep in Low Input Systems

The current economic performance of the sheep sector is encouraging producers to look at cheaper and less laborious ways of keeping sheep which will still maintain high welfare standards.   The high price of cereals and proprietary concentrates is making traditional systems with relatively high concentrate inputs less economic and there is an increasing interest in lower input systems of sheep production where there is more reliance on grazed grass and other forages.   Likewise the increasing cost of fertiliser will have a knock on effect on the amount of grass and winter forage produced and unless farmers take on new technologies and improve grassland quality and management, sheep nutrition and animal welfare will be undermined and output will decline. 

Selection of more ‘robust’ sheep that are capable of good performance on a forage only diet, and are less susceptible to common ailments like foot rot and worms, will help to reduce the work load of keeping sheep and ensure that welfare of the flock is maintained in the face of lower labour input.

A series of twenty meetings will be held across England for sheep producers early in 2009. The meetings will consist of talks from both an ADAS husbandry specialist and a specialist sheep veterinarian. Topics will include: grassland and forage management, ewe behaviour, flock health planning, preventative medicine and worm control.

Note: These meetings have now finished.

Page modified: 20 March, 2009
Page published: 5 August, 2008