Dr Miguel Angel Higuera joined GCAW’s Pig Welfare Working Group meeting in October. Dr Higuera is Chairman of the Animal Health and Welfare Working Group of COPA-COGECA, the European meat producers’ association, and Director of ANPROGAPOR, the Spanish pig producer’s association. Dr Higuera outlined findings from a number of European research projects which assessed consumer...Read More
The Global Coalition for Animal Welfare (GCAW) has appointed Brian Lindsay as its Independent Chair,following his selection by the Coalition’s Steering Committee. Mr Lindsay has extensive experience of leading collaborative, multi-stakeholder work programmes aimed at addressing sustainability challenges in livestock supply chains. In this new role, he will be instrumental in shaping the work of...Read More
GCAW has published a new report which summarises the Coalitions’ activities aimed at accelerating progress on raising farm animal welfare standards in global food supply chains. The Global Coalition for Animal Welfare: The First Five Years demonstrates the wide range of welfare issues that its members have engaged on since it was formed in 2018,...Read More
Members of GCAW’s Broiler Chicken Welfare Working Group were pleased to welcome guest speaker Máire Burnett, Technical Director at the British Poultry Council to their September meeting. Ms Burnett presented an overview of the UK poultry market covering consumer preferences, production methods and welfare standards. The UK market is in the midst of considerable change,...Read More
Members of the Global Coalition on Animal Welfare are making continued progress on transitioning their egg purchasing to cage-free supplies. Members have indicated that they will achieve their stated targets in the majority of the 190 global markets in which they operate. These achievements will have a significant impact on the welfare outcomes for the...Read More
Guest speaker Dr Annie Rayner joined GCAW’s quarterly all members meeting on 31 July 2024. A food systems and animal welfare specialist, Dr Rayner presented her assessment of current approaches to regenerative agriculture and their potential implications for the welfare of livestock. She noted that several multinational food companies have made public commitments to regenerative...Read More
The GCAW Pig Welfare Working Group is currently reviewing the proposed Pig Minimum Standards (PMS), developed and published by a collective of non-governmental organisations across Europe. The GCAW Secretariat has conducted an initial assessment of these proposed standards and is providing members with guidance on the practicality of their adoption. This guidance considers the PMS...Read More
A quarterly meeting for all members of the Global Coalition for Animal Welfare took place on 8 May 2024. We are most grateful to our guest speaker at this meeting, Dr Harriet Bartlett, Research Fellow in Sustainable Food Solutions, Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford. She briefed members on...Read More
The GCAW Pig Welfare Working Group was pleased to welcome Dr Abbie Viscardi, Assistant Professor at Kansas State University to its meeting on 3 April 2024. Dr Viscardi provided a comprehensive overview of the use of and options for pain relief during routine mutilations in piglets, including castration, tail docking, teeth clipping and ear notching....Read More
Company commitments can be powerful drivers for transitioning livestock production to higher welfare systems. Implementing these commitments, however, requires an adaptive approach to overcome myriad challenges. These challenges are both external, including access to supply, regulatory conditions, traceability, and limited purchasing influence, and internal, such as poor integration of animal welfare into internal management systems...Read More
