210 A
. Sundrum Livestock Production Science 67 2001 207 –215
between the two production methods cannot be In summary, comparative studies investigating the
concluded from the present data. However, it can be health situation of organic and conventional dairy
supposed that the management-related strategies farms show that there seems to be no fundamental
mentioned above are more often used and farmers difference between the production methods with
are more aware of the benefits of management- reference to the animal health status of dairy cows.
related factors on highly specialised farms than on Management is the most important factor in both
mixed farms. Due to their reliance on efficient production methods. However, organic livestock
nutrient circulation, mixed farms follow, in most farming creates stronger demands on the qualifica-
cases, the basic concept of organic farming, although tion of the farm management. The risk for inappro-
the degree of mixture can be widely different priate handling increases when capacities are over-
Hermansen and Kristensen, 1998. Feeding, hand- taxed due to requirements of multiple demands.
ling and taking care of the farm animals are in competition with various other farm activities, being
different on organic mixed farms compared to highly
5. Animal welfare
specialised conventional farms. Because time capaci- ty and competence of the farmers are limited,
Direct measurements of animal welfare at herd excessive demands provoke conflicts within the farm
level are not described in the literature. Sandoe et al. management and, in consequence, lead to deficits on
1996 argue, that there is no consensus on opera- one or more of the various agricultural fields Table
tional definitions of animal welfare which indicate 1. There are reasons to support the assumption that
how scientists should measure welfare in practise. those fields most relevant to the farmer’s income are
Despite the missing consensus, indirect approaches of the highest management priority.
have been developed in order to assess the appro- In contrast to conventional production, the basic
priateness of housing conditions in terms of animal standards of organic livestock production include
welfare and to distinguish between poor and good regulations concerning housing conditions, which are
living conditions for farm animals Bartussek, 1988; suited to serve as preventive measures. For example,
Sundrum et al., 1994; Bracke et al., 1997. In increasing the space of the floor and providing litter
Austria, an assessment concept was developed as a for bedding can provide a reduction in conflict
means of certifying the level of welfare on organic behaviour and the incidence of injuries and claw
farms, which must obtain a specific level before ¨
disorders Muller et al., 1989; Bergsten, 1994; being recognised as organic Bartussek, 1999. Ac-
Hindhede et al., 1996. On the other hand, litter cording to Sundrum 1997b and Bartussek 1999,
includes hygienic risks for the incidence of mastitis these assessment concepts have proven suitable for
Fehling, 1998. Additionally, being limited to detecting weak points within housing conditions and
home-grown feed stuffs can cause imbalances in the allow comparison of welfare preconditions on differ-
diets with possibly negative effects on animal health ent farms to be made. However, there are still a lot
Sundrum, 1997a. of questions concerning the assessment concepts
which are not yet answered satisfactorily. Especially the weighing of different aspects is still an unsolved
problem.
¨ By using an assessment concept, Horning 1998
Table 1 Examples for conflicts between providing benefits for animal
found housing conditions on organic dairy farms to
husbandry and other farm activities within organic farming
be more appropriate for the requirements of dairy
Agricultural fields Conflicts of aims
cows compared to conventional farms. Organic farms were characterised by higher dimensions of the
Crop rotation Energy-rich basic ration
⇔ cash crops
feeding and locomotion area in loose housing sta-
Manure Grassland
⇔ cash crops
Investments Farm machinery
⇔ housing conditions
bles. In an investigation including 268 organic dairy
Working time Animal care
⇔ marketing, harvesting or
farms in Germany, Krutzinna et al. 1996 found the
other emergencies
proportion of loose housing stables to be higher in
A . Sundrum Livestock Production Science 67 2001 207 –215
211
organic compared to the average in conventional area and providing litter bedding have been found to
livestock production. be of substantial benefit for animal health and
The legal preconditions of housing conditions for welfare of cows Hindhede et al., 1996, calves
organic livestock are provided by the EEC-Regula- Groth, 1984, pigs Ernst, 1995 and laying hens
tion 1804 1999. The most relevant standards, in Horne and Niekerk, 1998. The ban of stanchion
comparison to the current Council Directives for the barns means a fundamental advance for the living
protection of calves, pig and laying hens, are pre- conditions of cattle. Locomotion, social behaviour
sented in Table 2. The minimal standards of the and the decrease of several diseases is clearly
EEC-Regulation reach a level that is clearly higher improved in loose housing systems as compared to
than the minimal standards of the Council Directives stanchion barns Herlin, 1994. Furthermore, stanch-
and, concerning dairy cattle, higher than private ion barns often are of an inappropriate size and
branded programmes Sundrum, 1999. Additionally, display poor technical execution because they have
the EEC-Regulation on organic livestock farming been in use for a long time Sundrum and Daase,
includes regular checks by independent and qualified 1997.
inspectors at least once a year. Because the check- Although raising the level of minimal standards is
system ensures a high degree of realisation of the intended to improve the housing conditions, a higher
minimal standards, the EEC-Regulation is an essen- level of minimal standards cannot be treated as
tial advance in comparison to the Council Directives. equivalent to appropriate livestock housing condi-
Experimental studies have revealed the suitability tions and high animal welfare status out of different
of minimal standards to improve animal welfare at reasons.
herd level. For example, enlarging the locomotion In the first place, minimal standards represent only
Table 2 Comparison between the EEC-Council Directives and the EEC-Regulation on organic livestock farming in relation to selected minimal
standards Farm animals
EEC-Council Directives on EEC-Regulation on
protection of farm animals organic livestock farming
Dairy cows No Council Directives
a 2
2
Locomotion area 6.0 m indoors 1 4.5 m outdoors
Floor characteristics Lying space with litter bedding
Husbandry practices Keeping tethered is forbidden
Calves
a 2
2 2
Locomotion area 1.3 m
1.5 m indoors 1 1.1 m outdoors
c
Floor characteristics Dry litter bedding
Dry litter bedding Husbandry practices
Group penning after 8th week Generally group penning
Sow with piglets
a 2
2
Locomotion area 7.5 m indoors 1 5.0 m outdoors
Floor characteristics Isolated, non-perforated floor
Dry litter bedding Fattening pigs
a 2 b
2 b
2
Locomotion area 0.65 m
1.3 m indoors 1 1.0 m outdoors Floor characteristics
Safe floors Dry litter bedding
Husbandry practices Tools for occupation . 1 h
No tail-docking and tooth-clipping Laying hens
2 2
2
Locomotion area 450 cm
1660 cm indoors 1 4 m outdoors
a
Area per animal.
b
Up to 110 kg live-weight.
c
For calves up to 2 weeks of age.
212 A
. Sundrum Livestock Production Science 67 2001 207 –215
a small section of the interrelationship between farm 6. Product quality
animals and their living conditions. Beside the housing conditions, the quality of stockmanship and
A clear comparison between organic and conven- management, the patterns of feeding, climatic factors
tional produced products is difficult to establish due and the hygienic situation all have significant in-
to the great variation within the production methods, fluences on animal health and welfare Rushen and
concerning among other things, intensification, feed- ´
De Passille, 1992; Bergsten, 1994. These factors are ing ration or breeds used. Honikel 1998 gave an
not part of the Council Directives or the EEC- overview of the limited number of published studies
Regulation due among others to the difficulties in dealing with milk, beef, pork and eggs. The author
quantification and to the frequency of changes within concluded that the characteristics of product quality,
short periods of time. the nutritional, hygienic, sensorial and technological
Secondly, minimal standards are primarily based factors are not very different between the production
on political decisions and are often a compromise methods. In some factors organic food gets better
between different interests that are not, in all cases, marks, in others conventionally produced food scores
related directly to the animal welfare issue. higher.
Thirdly, the meaningfulness of on-farm assess- Branscheid 1996 argued that organic production
ment by design criteria is limited. Design criteria could lead to a lower quality of carcass and meat due
lack validation when the responses of the animals are to a reduced energy supply and growth rate as the
not assessed directly in the specific situation. Due to consequence of the extensive production method,
differences in genetic origin, age, sex or in the while intensification has positive implications on
experiences during ontogenesis, farm animals can carcass characteristics. On the other hand, implica-
vary widely in their requirements in relation to the tions of a reduced nutrient supply on carcass qual-
housing condition. Furthermore, specific housing ities can be compensated for by choosing breeds
conditions can have contrary effects on animal more adapted to the basic fodder on the farm. The
behaviour and animal health. For example, outdoor renunciation of high live-weight gains provides the
area and litter bedding provide benefits for the use of crossing with breeds famous for providing
execution of different behaviour patterns but include relish when eaten, due to higher intramuscular fat
relevant hygienic risk factors for animal health, content Kreuzer, 1994; Claus, 1996. Furthermore,
especially concerning parasites. Sandoe et al. 1996 the renunciation of amino acid supplementation in
pointed out that there is a considerable lack of the diet of fattening pigs results in a reduction in pig
knowledge about the interactions among the various performance but in an increase of intramuscular fat
factors, stressing the need for a strategy that focuses content Sundrum et al., 2000.
directly on the response from the animals on the According to hygienic aspects, Honikel 1998
farm. Certification of animal welfare should always suspected that there might be a higher risk for the
be supplemented with some kind of records of how contamination of products with parasites due to a
well the animals actual fare in the system Johnson higher rate of outdoor-systems in organic compared
and Sandoe, 1999. to conventional farming. Concerning milk quality,
In summary, the higher level of the minimal Hauert 1990 found no differences between the
standards in organic livestock farming and their microbial count of organic and conventional milk.
regular check provide several preconditions for good According to the residues of drugs, organic products
living conditions of farm animals. This reflects a are expected to be far less contaminated than con-
clear improvement compared to the conventional ventional products due to the restricted use of
situation. However, those minimal standards are not chemotherapeutic agents. However, comprehensive
necessarily a guarantee for appropriate housing investigations are also missing in this case.
conditions. On-farm assessment can improve the In summary, there is little evidence for a system-
meaningfulness of statements concerning the appro- related effect on product quality due to the pro-
priateness of housing conditions in relation to animal duction method. Product quality is primarily a func-
welfare. tion of farm management, showing a high variability
A . Sundrum Livestock Production Science 67 2001 207 –215
213
• Developing the assessment of process qualities
in both organic and conventional livestock product- •
Epidemiological studies to evaluate risk factors ion.
• Farmer decision support systems to improve the
quality production process •
Socio-economical investigations concerning the
7. Conclusions
