UK dairy sector urged to ‘define’ global welfare standards

A new report has urged the UK dairy sector to accelerate its efforts to secure welfare improvements so it can “define” future international standards.

Ruminant Health and Welfare (RH&W) leaders said there was “much to celebrate” as a progress review of the industry’s welfare strategy was published this week.

But while the paper argued that developments since then vindicated the strategy’s ambition, it also warned against “complacency” as it called for increased co-operation and innovation.

The report said: “Technology is opening new frontiers in welfare monitoring, government support is driving on-farm improvements, and consumer expectations continue to evolve.

“The time for action is now. Every stakeholder – from farmers to processors, from retailers to researchers – must accelerate their efforts.”

Five-year strategy

The five-year strategy, which RH&W launched in 2023 with the support of more than 20 industry groups, set out six specific welfare goals – healthy feet; thriving cows; healthy udders; comfortable cows; appropriately nourished cows; and positive welfare.

Its chairman, Gwyn Jones, said the report showed “key milestones” had already been achieved and the collective efforts of stakeholders including vets to drive further progress.

He added: “There is much to celebrate. Yes, economic and environmental pressures on farmers remain and continue to impact welfare outcomes, but there is already evidence to show improvement and goals are achievable.”

The progress made under the strategy is thought to have been further underlined by the launch earlier this year of the GB Dairy Cow Lameness Manifesto, which set a target of 95% of British dairy herds having lameness prevalence of below 5% by 2044.

But the report also called for further knowledge sharing and investment in innovation, plus moves to develop “opportunities for cows to thrive” and a “data revolution” to support centralised monitoring protocols.

‘At a crossroads’

It earlier argued that assessing current levels of lameness prevalence “remains a challenge” because of the lack of a standard data collection system.

Mr Jones described the review’s recommendations as “a call to arms” as the paper warned the industry was at “a crossroads”.

It concluded: “If we want to lead the world in demonstrating that high welfare, productivity, and profitability are complementary strengths, rather than competing objectives, we must continue to make progress against our six welfare goals.

“Together, we will ensure that by 2028, the UK dairy sector doesn’t just meet international standards – we define them.”