References
The Animal Health and Welfare Pathway for England: an update
Abstract
The Animal Health and Welfare Pathway was introduced in 2023 as a consequence of changes to the model for state support for farming following the decision to leave the European Union. Vets have been at the heart of the design of the pathway and will remain core in the delivery, particularly in relation to the Annual Health and Welfare Review. The review provides an opportunity for the farmer and vet to discuss health and welfare issues specific to the farm and agree the most relevant actions. A fundamental principle of the pathway is that it should be for everybody, and should move the level of understanding, standard of biosecurity and health and welfare aspirations forward a step on every farm, regardless of the starting point.
It has without doubt been a convoluted journey which has brought us to where we are today with the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway (Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), 2023). Equally certain is that there will be much work to do now to roll them out across the farming sectors.
The vision for the pathway has evolved since the UK decision to leave the European Union made it inevitable that the model of state support for farming would need to change. Quite quickly, Michael Gove, the then Defra Secretary of State, coined the phrase ‘public money for public good’, indicating a move away from the existing land-based payments for farmers.
How to achieve this move while supporting the farming industry, enhancing traceability, animal health and welfare, as well as protecting the environment and maximising the trade potential of the food we produce was the challenge given to the group of people who have worked on developing the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway over the past 5 years.
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