Mr. Paul Littlefair, Head of International of RSPCA: China has contributed to animal welfare
On September 19-20th 2019, “3rd World Conference on Farm Animal Welfare” was held in Qingdao. The conference was jointly co-hosted by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and China Association for the Promotion of International Agricultural Cooperation (CAPIAC). The conference featured “Consumer-driven Quality Improvement: Assuring Animal and Human Health”. Paul Littlefair, Head of International of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, shared about the specific actions of RSPCA in implementing "Beijing Consensus" in the next five years.
During 2nd World Conference on Farm Animal Welfare, Beijing Consensus had been jointly advocated and signed by 16 organizations. It embodied the wisdom and strength of authoritative animal welfare organizations, aiming to improve global animal welfare and human health and to promote environment-friendly development. After one year of work, "Beijing Consensus" had gradually shifted from frameworks to specific actions. Paul Littlefair pointed out that “the consensus is to link animal welfare scientists, relevant livestock producers, food retailers and consumers. The goal is simple. It’s to improve the welfare of farm animals. The first two points in the consensus involve science and applications. One is to build knowledge systems based on reliable scientific evidence; the second is to apply the results of scientific research. We should remember that animal welfare science is a relatively new field of study, with only a few decades of history, but it is definitely an important aspect of animal husbandry and sustainable agricultural development. The research work has been done globally to better understand the needs of different species of farm animals and the impact of different environments, genes, farming systems and practices on individual animals."
Paul Littlefair had long been concerned about the process of farm animal welfare in China. He pointed out that China had undergone many changes in the field of animal welfare, and many leading agricultural universities had carried out outstanding work in welfare science. More and more Chinese experts were studying or working abroad. They were increasingly integrated into the global network of animal welfare science, contributing to both academic and practical areas.
In recent years, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals had carried out a series of project cooperation with China, Paul Littlefair said. “In the past year, we have cooperated with China Association for the Promotion of International Agricultural Cooperation and selected farms in Inner Mongolia. We will carry out a series of welfare improvement and a two-line assessment of the impact of animal welfare on productivity and economic benefits. It’s planned that the project will be launched and implemented in the fall and next spring. It is hoped that effective results will be achieved within two years, bringing benefits to the animals, farmers and consumers."
Farm animal welfare was closely related to human health. Paul Littlefair called for scientific production to bring better benefits to animals, reduce antibiotics use, improve food safety and quality, and achieve multi-win.
