EFSA has launched an open consultation on the draft guidance methodology it will use for a series of scientific opinions on the welfare of farmed animals.

The opinions, which will be published between June 2022 and March 2023, were requested by the European Commission as a key component of its Farm to Fork strategy. They will cover the welfare of animals during transport, as well as on-farm welfare of specific species – calves, laying hens, broilers, pigs, ducks, geese and quail, and dairy cows.

The methodological guidance will define harmonised methods and strategies to be applied consistently across the opinions. Among other things, it lists and describes the welfare consequences of husbandry conditions that are known to affect animals.

The document also includes a new methodology for assessing welfare by comparing the conditions that animals experience on farms to “natural” conditions (e.g. if they were given unlimited space).

The consultation runs until 28 March 2022. More details here.