Is bigger better?: Farm size and animal welfare

• Autores: J.A. Robbins, Marina A. G. von Keyserlingk, D. Fraser, D. M. Weary
• Localización: Know your food: food ethics and innovation : EurSafe 2015 Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 28-30 May 2015 / coord. por Diana Elena Dumitras, Ionel Mugurel Jitea, Stef Aerts, 2015, ISBN 978-90-8686-264-1, págs. 123-126
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The intensification of agriculture is well underway and one prominent feature of intensification has been the shift to fewer and larger farms. Critics suggest that increasing farm size is inimical to animal welfare because it erodes animal care values and makes it impossible to provide individual care and attention. We evaluated the empirical evidence for these claims using data from more than 100 studies, in a variety of farmed species. Research from the human organizational literature looking at relationships between organization size and various outcomes was also reviewed. Our analysis suggests that the relationship between farm size and animal welfare is far from straightforward. Although smaller farms are more likely to rear animals in more naturalistic conditions, larger farms are more likely to implement science-based, standard operating procedures, train their employees, utilize technology to track and monitor animals and implement costly changes to improve welfare. We found no evidence that farmers on large farms view animals differently, but we did find that cases of animal neglect and mistreatment are more likely to occur on smaller farms. We argue policy efforts focused on farm size are misguided; instead policy makers should try to generalize beneficial animal welfare practices independent of farm size.