Policy paper

Animal Health and Welfare Pathway

Updated 24 April 2024

Applies to England

The Animal Health and Welfare Pathway (the Pathway) was launched in 2023.

The Pathway supports continual improvement in farm animal health and welfare. The Pathway is a partnership – the government is working together on each step with farmers, vets, the wider industry and the supply chain.

The Pathway is a critical part of the farming reforms set out in the Agricultural Transition Plan, delivering benefits for animal health and welfare, farm productivity, food security, public health, UK trade and the environment.

This paper provides an outline of the Pathway and an update on how it is being implemented.

What we want to achieve

The Pathway is central to the government’s manifesto commitment to protect and enhance farm animal health and welfare, and to maintain and build on our existing world-leading standards. It supports several government strategies by:

• supporting farmers to transition to higher welfare practices and systems and encouraging sustainable food production founded upon high-welfare farming – Action Plan for Animal Welfare
• improving biosecurity, which will help manage endemic disease risk and further support our goal to eradicate bovine tuberculosis by 2038
• tackling anti-microbial resistance, as set out in the UK 5-year action plan for antimicrobial resistance
• reducing greenhouse gas emissions from livestock through tackling diseases and improving productivity, supporting the Net Zero Strategy and the 25 Year Environment Plan

Health and welfare priorities

The primary goal of the Pathway is to improve farm animal health and welfare across our national herds and flocks. To deliver gradual yet continual improvement, we have determined animal health and welfare priorities for each livestock sector on the Pathway through co-design with industry, vets, non-government organisations and welfare scientists.

We reached collective agreement on most priorities; some represent compromises between differing stakeholder views. Included in these are the priority endemic diseases and conditions published in the Agricultural Transition Plan in November 2020.

Supporting better stockmanship, particularly through training, is an overarching priority across all sectors, as a critical enabler for good health and welfare.

These priorities are guiding development of the Pathway, shaping the advice given, information collected and incentives offered. We will review priorities as we progress along the Pathway, working collaboratively with industry to adapt and learn as we go.

Meat chickens

For meat chickens, our priorities are to:

• support implementation of the Better Chicken Commitment which requires slower-growing breeds, lower stocking densities and restrictions on thinning birds – these all contribute to improved health and welfare outcomes such as fewer leg disorders
• adopt welfare-improving technology to support environmental and behavioural monitoring and better stockmanship

Laying hens

For laying hens, our priorities are to:

• transition out of cages – we are exploring potential reforms around the use of enriched cages for laying hens, which can restrict hens’ normal behaviours such as dustbathing (the Pathway will support producers shifting away from their use)
• improve feather cover management – we want to support farmers to address the underlying root causes of feather pecking, reducing the need for infra-red beak trimming
• improve keel bone health to reduce laying hens’ susceptibly to painful fractures which can occur in all production systems

Pigs

For pigs, our priorities are to:

• improve biosecurity to control endemic pig diseases and help prevent the introduction of exotic disease threats
• tackle porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) virus which costs the industry an estimated £52 million per year and increases antibiotic use
• reduce sow confinement during farrowing by supporting producers in shifting to less confined alternatives for the sow, whilst ensuring the welfare of her piglets and the safety of workers (we are also exploring potential reforms around the use of farrowing crates, which can restrict sows’ normal behaviours such as nesting)
• reduce stressors to keep tails intact – we want to support farmers in addressing the underlying causes of high stress levels in pigs which trigger tail biting, such as poor environmental enrichment, so that farmers feel confident to not dock tails

Cattle (beef and dairy)

For beef and dairy cattle, our priorities are to:

• tackle bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) which costs the industry between £14 to 36 million per year and raises greenhouse gas emissions from cattle
• reduce lameness and mastitis to improve health and welfare, increase productivity and decrease the environmental impacts of farming
• upgrade housing – many farm buildings are not optimally designed for cattle, especially calves (we will encourage improvements in ventilation, cow comfort, loafing areas and enrichments such as scratching brushes)
• improve pain management during disbudding, dehorning and castration through greater adoption of prolonged analgesia to improve the welfare and performance of calves
• improve the welfare of cattle at pastures through improvements in shelter, drainage, gateways and tracks that support the normal behaviours associated with grazing and being outdoors

Sheep

For sheep, our priorities are to:

• provide tailored health screening to address a range of endemic diseases,  estimated to cost the sector around £85 million per year – initially this will focus on internal and external parasites (and associated anthelmintic efficacy), mastitis, ‘iceberg’ diseases and those inducing abortion
• reduce lameness as it is one of the most common signs of ill health and discomfort among sheep, affecting animals’ mobility, productivity and longevity
• improve ewe sustainability, optimising body condition so that ewes are less susceptible to disease, produce better quality milk and can rear a greater number of healthier lambs
• improve pain management during castration and tail docking – we want to support the licensing and uptake of pain relief to reduce the impact of these procedures

How we are delivering these priorities

The Pathway consists of three mutually reinforcing strands which will:  

• support livestock farmers financially by using public funds to pay for health and welfare enhancements that are valued by the public and not currently delivered sufficiently by the market or through existing regulatory standards
• stimulate market demand for higher welfare products by making it easier for consumers to purchase food that aligns with their values, improving transparency, and providing the industry with a level playing field to promote such products
• strengthen the regulatory baseline making sure we maintain our current high standards and continue to raise them where necessary, with details subject to consultation with all relevant sectors and provide sufficient notice of changes so that farmers can plan properly

Financially rewarding farmers who deliver public goods

The Pathway’s first strand (financially rewarding farmers who deliver public goods) involves 4 funding programmes.

These all work together to deliver our health and welfare priorities, providing funding for high-quality veterinary advice, capital investment and ongoing costs.

1. Annual Health and Welfare Review (the Review launched in February 2023)

The Review:

• offers farmers funding for an annual visit from a vet of their choice to consider the health and welfare of their animals (this includes carrying out diagnostic testing, reviewing biosecurity and the use of medicines, and provide bespoke advice on actions and available support to improve the health and welfare of their animals)
• adds value to existing practices and assurance scheme requirements and builds upon the strong relationships that already exist between farmers and vets

The Review is for farmers who have:

• 11 or more beef cattle
• 11 or more dairy cattle
• 21 or more sheep
• 51 or more pigs

Our intent is that this is a time limited offer for 3 years. We will evaluate the effectiveness of the Review and consult on the need for further regulation beyond this timeframe.

Update April 2024

It is now easier to apply for the Review. Farmers no longer need to register or be invited to apply. On average, applying now takes less than 2 minutes and it only takes a little over 3 minutes to claim funding once the Review is complete. There are now more than 5,000 agreements and more than 2,500 farmers have completed their Review, and been paid.

The Review is now open to non-BPS claimants who meet the other eligibility criteria. In addition the Annual Health and Welfare Review now also satisfies the veterinary attestation requirements for exporting produce to the EU.

We are also providing added flexibility, offering agreement holders who have not made and will not make a claim under their agreement, the ability to apply again as soon as their agreement expires (waiving the 10-month wait requirement). This will be subject to completion of a request and declaration. We will be writing to agreement holders with expired agreements, setting out their options.

Read the annual health and welfare review of livestock guidance for farmers.

Read the guidance for vets on how to carry out an annual health and welfare review of livestock.

What’s next

We plan to introduce the option for keepers to have more than one Review each year if they keep:

• more than one species
• multiple herds and flocks of the same species

2. Animal health and welfare capital grants (launched in March 2023)

Farmers can apply for grants to co-fund capital investments to support the delivery of the published health and welfare priorities.

This includes:

• smaller grants, where farmers can select from a list of equipment and technology items
• larger infrastructure grants, for bespoke projects such as new housing, building upgrades and pasture improvements

The competitive grants will initially be open to livestock farmers with cattle, pigs, sheep, meat chickens and laying hens. In future years of the programme, we hope to expand to other livestock farmers such as those with goats, ducks or turkeys.

Update April 2024

Since the first round of the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund closed on 15 June 2023, more than £19 million of grants has been offered to over 3,300 farmers.

With input from farmers, vets and academics, we conducted an evaluation of the first round. This resulted in an updated list of 130 items for the second round, 29 of which are new.

Applications for this grant are open until midday on 1 May 2024. Our intention is to offer further opportunities to apply for this grant in 2024.

Apply for the Farming Equipment and Technology Fund (FETF) 2024.

What’s next

Through co-design with industry partners, we are expanding infrastructure grants to other livestock sectors. This year we will launch capital grants to upgrade laying hen housing.

This will be followed by extending the cattle infrastructure offer to fund upgrades to housing for cattle aged six months and above.

3. Disease eradication and control programmes (from early 2024)

Farmers will be able to apply for financial support to prevent and reduce endemic diseases and conditions, building on the initial advice given in the Review.

The programmes will:

• focus initially on cattle, pig and sheep farmers, aiming to maximise the delivery of public goods, including climate change mitigation, slowing the rise of anti-microbial resistance and improving biosecurity
• target our initial priority endemic diseases – BVD in cattle and PRRS virus in pigs
• tailor health investigations for sheep

Update April 2024

We are preparing to launch our endemic disease control and eradication programmes in summer 2024.

These programmes will be launched alongside the Annual Health and Welfare Review to make it as simple as possible for farmers to apply.

What’s next

Ahead of the launch in summer 2024, we will provide further details, including payment rates and guidance.

The programmes may involve:

• diagnostic testing
• biosecurity assessments
• veterinary advice on topics such as vaccination, improvements to on-farm management or active management planning

For both the Review and the programmes, financial support may be timebound and work in line with a rising regulatory baseline, where appropriate.

Farmers may be expected to cover some of the cost associated with taking effective action, recognising the benefit to their businesses from improved livestock health.

4. Payment by results (trialling in 2024 to 2025, possibly transitioning to full-scale offer from 2025)

Payment by results is a new and innovative approach which could reward farmers who achieve higher animal health and welfare outcomes by contributing to the ongoing costs associated with higher welfare practices.

Update April 2024

To help support progress on the priorities, our plan is to trial 2 initial offers in 2024 to 2025 for:

• pigs – a 2-year trial incorporating both action-based payments and results-based bonuses to support farmers to take actions to improve the welfare of finishing pigs by reducing the stressors that pigs face, thereby reducing the incidence of tail biting

• cattle – support to enable vet led training for farmers on pain management best practice during disbudding and castration with potential follow-up payments to reward farmers who put this into practice

These voluntary offers have been co-designed with industry and vets to make sure that they are as effective as possible and attractive to farmers.

What’s next

Following the launch of the initial offers we expect to roll out additional offers to other sectors in following years.

Subscribe to the Farming blog to keep up to date on future announcements about these funding programmes.

Stimulating market demand for higher welfare products

The majority of consumers value high animal welfare, but this is not fully reflected in what they purchase. We want to make it easier for consumers to purchase food that aligns with their values, by:

• improving transparency
• providing the industry with a level playing field to promote higher welfare products.

We are looking at potential market interventions that could improve the accessibility, availability and affordability of higher welfare products for consumers, while driving positive procurement choices by retailers.

This can ensure that farmers receive a fair price for higher welfare products, reflecting the true market value and demand for these products. Improving how the market functions in this way allows public money to be more effectively directed to other animal welfare interventions.

Update (April 2024)

A public consultation on fairer food labelling is open for responses between 12 March and 7 May 2024. You can read the consultation on fairer food labelling on the government’s Citizen Space website. We welcome responses from all interested parties and will carefully consider all views submitted before deciding on next steps.

The consultation explores options to improve transparency for consumers and ensure fairness for producers, so that people have better information about the food they eat. It builds on our 2021 call for evidence on labelling reforms for animal welfare, and seeks views on proposals to improve and extend current mandatory method of production labelling.

This includes:

• options for the production standards behind the label
• how we can better highlight imports that do not meet UK welfare standards

The consultation also seeks views on:

• whether new rules should be introduced on country-of-origin labelling, such as mandatory labelling for minimally processed meats
• how origin information is presented
• whether origin information should be mandatory for certain food in the out of home sector

Strengthening the regulatory baseline

We plan to strengthen delivery of the regulatory baseline by improving compliance with our current high standards. Where it is appropriate to raise the bar we will do this in consultation with all relevant sectors and provide sufficient notice of changes so that farmers can plan properly.

We will provide capital grants, partnering with farmers, to transition to a new standard in cases where this delivers good value for money.

We want to ensure our future standards are:

• outcomes-focused, wherever possible
• subject to less burdensome checks as part of a trust-based relationship between farmers and government

Update (April 2024)

We will continue to work with retailers and producers to ensure we maintain and enhance the high standards of animal health and welfare we have in this country, including on our farms.

The government’s animal welfare priorities for its Animal Health and Welfare Pathway include supporting producers to transition away from confinement systems.

We are legislating to ban live exports for fattening and slaughter, through the Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Bill, stopping the stress, exhaustion and injury caused by this unnecessary trade. The ban will apply to exports of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats and horses on journeys from, and transit journeys through, Great Britain to destinations outside the UK, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. We intend to create a system which will enforce the ban effectively whilst not adding unnecessary burdens for transporters wishing to export animals for permitted purposes, such as breeding.

The Animals (Penalty Notices) Act 2022 sets out a legal framework to issue penalties to those not complying with animal health and welfare regulations. The Animals (Penalty Notices) (England) Regulation 2023 came into force on 1 January 2024, setting out which offences are currently available for use in our animal health and welfare enforcement activities.

Read statutory guidance for enforcers.

While advice and guidance is our most important tool in supporting farmers back to the legal baseline, sometimes this is not effective, and while prosecution could be seen as disproportionate it would not be right to take no action. Our new penalty notices have been designed to fill the gap and help support robust but proportionate enforcement. For serious welfare offences prosecution would always be the most appropriate outcome and for that reason we have not switched on penalty notices for section 4 to 8 offences in the Animal Welfare Act 2006.