“Good Life” for Farmed Animals Challenge (United Kingdom)

The Welsh Government’s Animal Health and Welfare Framework sets out the ambition for all animals in Wales to have a good quality life and for consumers to have confidence in the way food is produced.

Currently, most assessment of animal welfare is typically still through measurement of ‘biological function’: if an animal is ‘producing well’ then the animal must ‘be well’, therefore providing little distinction between production and quality of life. Developments in understanding of an animal’s mental state, changing societal demands and the positive impact of high animal welfare standards on human wellbeing have driven new approaches to defining animal welfare. In 2009, the then Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC, now the Animal Welfare Committee, AWC) introduced a framework classifying welfare states of farm animals based on opportunities to promote positive welfare giving a quality of life above the regulatory baseline- ‘a good life’.

Innovation is required to both develop solutions that can support a “good life” for animals in Wales, and to demonstrate the effectiveness of those solutions, effectively measuring the impact on an animal’s wellbeing.

This challenge seeks to identify the most impactful and achievable measures on a range of farm types, sizes and in differing geographical locations within Wales to measurably improve the quality of life on livestock farms; also to address the growing demand for high welfare standards on farms-above the standards in the relevant legislation, led by consumers and supply chains.

Improved positive welfare opportunities on farms is an ethical imperative, and will provide a competitive point of difference for Welsh livestock products, and help meet the increasing welfare standards being requested by the supply chain and therefore support rural farming businesses and resilience. Systematic evaluation of systems, resources and procedures on livestock farms will support a refocusing of emphasis towards promotion of animal welfare, through targeted provision of specific resources and a re-evaluation of the previous standardised management practices.

Scope

• Innovative solutions could:
  • Establish the characteristics, unique features and welfare challenges of Sheep and Beef farms in a range of geographical locations in Wales.
  • Using the ‘Good Life Framework’ model, establish impactful, practical, evidence based, achievable and measurable methods of improving quality of life. Include implementation and design specifications of a suite of positive animal welfare opportunities above those specified in regulations. Relate suggestions particularly to housing, shelter procedures and keeper knowledge and skills.
  • Define and quantify the effect, over the regulatory baseline, that appropriate positive welfare solutions provide for stock classes on sheep upland, sheep hill, sheep lowland, beef suckler and beef fattening operations.
  • Define strategies for implementation of the options potentially including training resources, localised clusters and hubs of early adopters sharing ideas, methods of disseminating advice to relevant industry personnel including veterinarians.
  • Use technology to establish an interactive platform interface for recording, measuring and sharing welfare solutions and signposting to necessary farmer support.
• Out of Scope 
  • Do not clearly demonstrate engagement with the Welsh farming sector.
  • Cannot evidence engagement with potential future customers to understand needs.
  • Cannot evidence how a proposal will generate a positive impact on wellbeing.
  • Fails to consider affordability & practicality of widespread implementation.
  • Fails to consider potential side effects and their mitigations, for example, environmental impacts.

Funding Information

• The challenge fund of £250,000 looks to support feasibility projects that can begin to address the stated aims of the challenge:
  • Phase 1: Feasibility – They are looking to fund up to 5 projects up to a value of up to £50,000 each (inclusive of VAT).
    • Note: Projects successful at phase 1 will be eligible to apply to subsequent phases. Additional phases will be dependent upon the outcomes of Phase 1 and future funding allocation.

Eligible Projects

• The key focus will be on demonstrating the potential affordability and scalability of solutions that can be delivered at pace.
• If project applications are seeking to build upon previous trials/small-scale testing, applications must clearly articulate how this funding will help accelerate more wide-spread development, outlining any previous adoption barriers and demonstrating how these will be addressed.
  • All projects must demonstrate targeted engagement with the Welsh farming sector, ideally a named farm.
  • Any costs relating to this named farm(s) should be included as a subcontractor cost in the project applications.
  • Projects can include more than one subcontractor however, the involvement and role of each organisation should be clearly specified, and the commitment evidenced, ideally with named individuals stated in the application.
  • Academic partners are also welcomed, particularly if in relation to independent evaluation and meeting any required technical and/or scientific testing.

Who can apply?

• Any organisation can submit an application, although it is expected that opportunities presented by SBRI will be particularly attractive for SMEs. SBRI is aimed at organisations working on the development of an innovative process, material, device, product or service. Development contracts will be awarded only to individual organisations. However, organisations may also wish to demonstrate that successful collaboration will enhance their overall development. Work may be subcontracted but this is the responsibility of the main contractor.
• All projects must demonstrate targeted engagement with the Welsh farming sector, ideally a named farm.

For more information, visit Innovate UK.