The First Foundation for More Understanding of Animal Welfare in China

An interview with Senior Vice President of Asia Pacific Region of U.S. Meat Export Federation, Mr. Joel Haggard

“We are very happy to be at this conference. We want to understand more about the awareness of animal welfare issues in China and share our experiences in the United States. China is one of our big export markets for pork products, so we have an obligation to understand our customers in China. It’s just to lay the first foundation for understanding more in terms of animal welfare orient here, but also for us to understand more about how important this issue is to consumers in China.”

According to Mr. Joel Haggard, improving animal welfare means a happier animal, which will translate into higher product quality, greater production efficiency, safer product and safer workplace. In terms of the overall swine welfare in the United States, though there is no mandated regulation of animal welfare standards by the US government, a producers’ organization - National Pork Board has utilized funding to implement a voluntary and certifiable program to ensure on-farm pork safety, which includes animal welfare component, such as promoting animal well-being and proper handling of animals. This program has been in existence for 20 years, and has a high-subscription rate by large and small producers.