60 Section 3
3.4 One Welfare within Production Systems in Practice
Putting aspects of One Welfare into practice within food production sys-
tems requires collaborative networks to be set up.
For example, using sustainability as the basis, a fully comprehensive ap-
proach could include eight different areas to assess sustainability in livestock
production systems: animal welfare, animal health, breeding programmes,
environment, meat safety, market conformity, economy and working condi-
tions (Bonneau et al., 2014).
Collaborative approaches around this section can focus on at least at
three different levels:
- Farmer support networks: these can focus on farmer well-being with
links to animal welfare organizations or government inspectorates.
- Farm welfare enforcement networks: these are mainly focused on farm
welfare inspections, but with links to community support organizations,
to ensure that the well-being of farmers can be identified, supported and
addressed if necessary.
- Multi-agency groups: these are linked to animal welfare data surveil-
lance during farm visits, transport and at slaughter. These groups will
comprise organizations related to on-farm inspections, livestock trans-
port and slaughter facilities, to ensure animal welfare issues are system-
atically monitored, reported and linked through the production chain in
an efficient and effective manner.
In relation to enforcement networks, these can link closely with animal
health service provision for maximum efficiency and a fully comprehensive
One Health, One Welfare approach. The list below includes areas suggested
as core functions of animal health services (FAO, 2002). Animal and human
welfare elements can also be integrated within these functions, and so some
of the bullet points have been modified to reflect this:
- ministerial briefing and support;
- planning, coordination and implementation of animal welfare and na-
tional disease-control programmes;
- animal welfare and disease surveillance and other early warning meas-
ures, epidemiological analysis and disease reporting at national and
international levels;
- risk analysis as an input to quarantine, health and welfare surveillance,
contingency planning and priority setting;
- quarantine and animal-movement controls;
- veterinary public health and food safety, with regard to the animal wel-
fare aspects in these areas;
- preparedness for high-threat epidemic diseases including humane con-