Animal welfare in the red meat industry
30 January 2019
In the wake of the Aussie Farms online interactive map’s launch last week, it’s important to recognise the red meat industry’s commitment to maintaining high standards of animal welfare, as well as the entire supply chain’s attitude to honesty and openness.
Australian livestock producers are champions for their industry and are proud of the standards they set and operate according to. They’re more than happy to share and explain the systems in place to ensure high quality animal welfare outcomes are met.
As a research, development and marketing service provider, one of MLA’s key priorities is continuous improvement of animal welfare through adoption of new research.
In partnership with red meat producers, we’re dedicated to enhancing the industry’s animal welfare, disease control and environmental practices, and will continue to engage with consumers to build their knowledge and support for our industry.
MLA is currently investing in improved animal health and welfare through programs including:
- partnering with many organisations to improve the welfare of livestock
- MLA currently has $34m invested in at least 28 separate welfare-related projects, performed by researchers at universities, jurisdictions and other service providers, such as the CSIRO. This research is funded by producer levies, as well as via the MDC funding mechanism, with co-funding by various partners
- MLA is a signatory to and a member of the Steering Committee of the National Animal Welfare RD&E Strategy, which aims to exploit synergies and possibilities for collaboration between livestock industry sectors, whilst avoiding wasteful duplication of effort
- partnering with technology and research providers to launch Numnuts, a pain relief tool proven to reduce pain during lamb marking
- new research to help boost lamb survival in sheep flocks
- the development of Tri-Solfen®pain relief management for use in animal husbandry
- producing best practice tips and tools on how to manage livestock in dry times, as well as training modules for herd and flock health and welfare
- delivering events and workshops to upskill producers to improve welfare outcomes
- offering support to producers to improve their biosecurity safeguards
- an updated Fit to Load guide to support best outcomes when transporting animals (due to be released later this year).
The community expects nothing but the best when it comes to livestock treatment and welfare.
MLA helps to communicate improvements to animal health and welfare through:
- our Good Meat platform, a website providing consumers with an open and trusted source of information about the production of Australian beef, sheep and goat meat
- the launch of the beef and lamb Paddock-to-Plate Stories, 360⁰ virtual reality experiences which tell the story of red meat production all the way from farm to fork
- supporting the Australian Beef Sustainability Framework, which helps to define sustainable beef production and promote the industry to the wider community.
For more background information on the Aussie Farms website, what actions producers should consider taking now and what to do if they encounter trespassers on their property, go to:
