The WSPA's Farm Animal Welfare Program is opposed to industrial animal farming, which is a system of raising animals using intensive “production line” methods that maximize the amount of meat produced while minimizing costs.

WSPA believes that:

• Animals should be reared free-range or, if they are kept indoors, they should be treated in ways that allow them to perform their natural behaviors
• Animals should be given plenty of space to prevent overcrowding, bedding such as straw, good ventilation and preferably fresh air
• Cages, confining crates and tethering should not be used
• Herd/flock sizes should be kept reasonably small – they should be appropriate for the species
• Animals should not be selectively bred for increased productivity when this leads to ill-health or pain, as is the case with fast growing meat chickens and high milk-yielding dairy cows
• Painful mutilations such as tail-docking, beak-trimming and tooth-clipping should not be carried out.

For further information about the WSPA's Farm Animal Welfare Program around the world, please visit www.wspafarmwelfare.org.

Farm Animal Welfare Glossary of Terms >>
Back to Farm Animal Welfare main page >>