Source: Lisa M. Keefe, MEATINGPLACE, 10/28/16


The UN Committee of World Food Security approved new policy recommendations related to animal welfare at a meeting held last week in Rome.
As summarized in Feedstuffs, the organization’s recommendations include
• Enabling access to veterinary services, vaccinations and medication, including antimicrobials;
• Improving animal health management through biosafety and biosecurity by following World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) standards;
• Promoting the prudent use of antibiotics but preventing unnecessary use and phasing out uses for animal growth promotion;
• Improving animal welfare by delivering on OIE's five freedoms;
• Promoting access to good-quality feed and sustainable feeding practices; and
• Promoting a physical environment and genetic section that ensure compliance with OIE welfare standards.

Kay Johnson Smith, CEO of the Animal Agriculture Alliance in Arlington, Va., told Feedstuffs that U.S. livestock operators support the OIE’s leadership role in animal welfare. “In that vein, we agree with the report's concluding statement that 'it is crucial that pathways chosen are based on scientific evidence and experience-based knowledge' and, therefore, would hope the U.N. will continue to accept and follow the OIE's guidelines,” she is quoted as saying.

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