Economics of Livestock Health and Welfare Enhancements

Animal welfare is integral to having a high value livestock sector with high standards and high levels of consumer confidence and trust. Farms with high welfare tend to be well run businesses which are also more resilient and more productive. Animal health is a critical component of animal welfare, with a number of animal health issues having significant welfare impacts, such as mastitis, lameness and red mite, and providing welfare enhancements on farms could help to prevent or mitigate the impacts of certain endemic diseases. Therefore, understanding the interface between animal health and welfare is critical to identifying any enhancements to welfare on farms. Responses to the recent "Health and Harmony: the future for food, farming and the environment in a Green Brexit" consultation questions on animal welfare showed that 68% of respondents thought there is a strong case for government funding pilots and other schemes which incentivise and deliver improved welfare. As part of the 'Health and Harmony - policy statement', the Authority has committed to "develop publicly-funded schemes for farmers to deliver animal welfare enhancements beyond the regulatory baseline that are valued by the public but not sufficiently provided by the market". To support the development of these schemes, the customer wants to commission research that explores how welfare enhancements can be defined and measured, the impact on farmers' net costs of providing these enhancements and the economic implications of providing public funding to support farmers in this way.