Institute of

BW Farm Economics

Animal-friendly Livestock Farming and Animal Welfare

Diagram showing the four areas of work for Animal Protection and Animal Welfare.

Whether our farm animals are kept according to their needs, in a “welfare-friendly" manner, has been an important question in the social and scientific debate for some time. Examples for impaired animal welfare range from painful procedures such as dehorning, castration and beak trimming to high disease and mortality rates and the severely restricted animal behaviour.

The framework for animal husbandry is defined by animal welfare legislation. How the legislation is controlled and how courts punish violations plays an important role in the effectiveness of the laws. We have investigated the cooperation between official veterinarians (control) and public prosecutors (enforcement) and carry out impact assessments of legal changes for the Federal Ministry of Agriculture.

Changes in existing husbandry procedures and management are often associated with higher costs for the farms. Political action is needed here. With financial support for welfare-friendly husbandry practices, farmers can be compensated for higher costs or rewarded for their animal welfare performance.

In order to support policy-makers in designing effective support instruments, we evaluate the impact of existing measures, but also develop concepts for new approaches such as the results-oriented animal welfare premium. In addition, we calculate the costs associated with the introduction of various procedures at the individual farm level (alternatives to castration without anaesthesia, husbandry procedures with outdoor access, etc.) and determine the funds required for corresponding support measures on the basis of these costs.

The basic prerequisite for political action, for consumer decisions but also for the evaluation of policy measures is the availability of suitable information and data. We are therefore actively involved in the discussion on the selection of suitable animal welfare indicators and are working on the establishment of regular, indicator-based animal welfare monitoring.

Ongoing Projects Finished Projects

Ongoing Projects

5-State-Evaluation: Effects of farm investment support

Investments in machinery and buildings are crucial for farmers to stay competitive. The state supports such investments through grants. We investigate the effectiveness of these support measures.

Digi4Live

The livestock sector faces substantial sustainability challenges across social, economic and environmental realms. Digi4Live´s goal is to help the European Livestock sector leverage digital technologies and data to benefit farmers and food and technology businesses and smoothen public administration.

Economic evaluation of husbandry systems with different animal welfare levels

Germany wants to be a pioneer in animal welfare and has stricter requirements for this than most other countries in the world. An important milestone was the abolition of cage systems for laying hens. But is everything all right now? All the farming systems currently in use have their weaknesses and there is still no way in sight to overcome them.

Housing and husbandry systems of the future

None of today's widespread systems in use are convincing in all parameters. There are major differences between the systems in terms of animal welfare, re-source efficiency, production costs and profitability. Digitalisation can help to improve existing processes or to develop completely new systems. The project "Stable and housing systems of the future" is an in-house project for the development of innovative, automated and sustainable stable systems in livestock farming.

InnoChick - Innovative housing systems for the free-range management of laying hens

InnoChick is an in-house project to develop an innovative, automated and sustainable housing system for free-range laying hens.

InnoRind

Wie sieht die zukunftsfähige Rinderhaltung in Deutschland unter Berücksichtigung von Tierwohl, Umweltwirkungen und gesellschaftlicher Akzeptanz aus? Welche Änderungen lassen sich in der Aufzucht von Kälbern und auch in der Haltung von Mast- und Milchrindern umsetzen? Antworten auf diese Fragen sollen neun Beispielbetriebe im Rahmen des Projektes InnoRind liefern.

On-going evaluation of five RDP in Germany from 2014 to 2020: Effects on animal welfare

In cooperation with the Thünen-Institute of Rural Studies, the Thünen-Institue of International Forestry and Forest Economics and entera, the Thünen-Institute of Farm Economics evaluates the Rural Development Programs (RDP) of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse, Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony / Bremen.

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Finished Projects

Environmental and animal protection - too expensive for producers?

To which extent are EU and non-EU producers affected by legal regulations and how does this impact on their competitiveness?

How can the proposals of the Livestock Competence Network be transferred into practical farming?

The Livestock Competence Network (KNW), headed by former Federal Minister of Agriculture Jochen Borchert, has presented comprehensive proposals for the conversion of livestock production in Germany to animal welfare-friendly production methods.

International competitiveness of pig production in the context of animal welfare aspects

Selected measures for more animal welfare and their economic consequences on animal performance, productivity and profitability of the sow and finishing enterprises in Germany are investigated. On the basis of this, it will be analysed to what extent these measures will change the international competitiveness of pig production.

Laying hens in small group systems - is it profitable?

Economic efficiency of small group systems for laying hens in Germany

National Animal Welfare Monitoring

The interdisciplinary project "National Animal Welfare Monitoring" aims to develop the basis for reporting on the status quo and the development of animal welfare in livestock farming.

Nationwide comparison of animal welfare measures (premia)

From the society's point of view, most current livestock husbandry and management methods are non-animal-friendly and should be adapted. However, the improvement of animal welfare often entails higher investment- and current costs. These can be compensated by higher product prices (animal welfare labels) or by support measures. Since only a subset of consumers (~ 30%) are willing to pay higher product prices for improved animal welfare, a label (as a unique measure) is not likely to bring about substantial change in a majority of farms. This possibility may exist by promoting ...

On-going evaluation of seven RDP in Germany from 2007 to 2013: Effects on animal welfare

In cooperation with the Thünen-Institute of Rural Studies, we evaluate the Rural Development Programs (RDP) of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony / Bremen and Hamburg.

Pig husbandry of the future

How should pigs be kept in the future? We compare different housing systems in piglet production and pig fattening from different perspectives and aim at identifying housing systems for the future.

Turkeys with untrimmed beaks - A practice-based project with media knowledge transfer

The aim of the practice-oriented project with media knowledge transfer is to test an overall package of animal welfare measures on farms with turkey hens in order to achieve optimal husbandry conditions. The misbehaviour of the animals should thus be reduced to a minimum, so that in the medium term the shortening of the upper beak will become redundant.

Welfare friendly dairy farming – towards a result-oriented measurement and support

According to Eurobarometer surveys, most consumers desire adequate housing and living circumstances for farm animals. But which indicators are most suitable for the measurement of animal welfare and how can animal welfare policies be implemented in a result-oriented way? This research question is adressed by the Thünen-Insitut of Organic Farming and the Thünen-Institut of Farm Economics.