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Background

The achievement of high standards of animal health and welfare is a basic principle of organic farming and integral to consumer perceptions of organic livestock production. A compendium of animal health and welfare information relevant to organic livestock production was produced as the main output from the DEFRA-funded project OF0162. This was completed in 2000 and has been in widespread use since then. Since the completion of this compendium, significant changes in organic farming practice, research and legislation now require the content to be updated and expanded.

The objectives

Conduct a literature review of research material relevant to the health and welfare of organic livestock and to develop this as information suitable for use by organic advisors, veterinarians and policy makers;
Incorporate the summarised material into the existing animal health and welfare compendium (Project OF0162) and to fully cross reference the new edition of the compendium with relevant material; and
Improve the presentation, accessibility and ease of use of the compendium.

Structure and Design

The material contained within this compendium has been drawn from the most recent research and advisory material. The content is fully referenced throughout, with links to full reference lists in each section. There are also many links to relevant website and comprehensive linkages between the various sections and pages. The main sections are Veterinary Management, Health and Welfare and Disease Management, with the latter two sub-divided into species specific parts.

Funding

This compendium was funded by Defra as part of Project OF0352 "An electronic compendium of existing knowledge on animal health and welfare relevant to organic livestock production" as part of a collaboration between Duchy College, The University of Reading and The University of Glasgow.

The Authors

The authors of the updated compendium are Stephen Roderick (Organic Studies Centre, Duchy College, Cornwall) and Kathryn Ellis (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow) with significant contributions from Anna Bassett, Peter Bown, Malla Hovi, Sabine Pflug and David Shingleton.

The original compendium was written by Malla Hovi, Stephen Roderick, Geert Wassink and Roger Oakeley (2000) at the Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics Research Unit, The University of Reading.

Copyright