Better Choices for animal welfare accreditation

Argyle Food General Manager, Naomi Leahy.

A program designed to enable livestock producers to be accredited for good animal welfare practice is gaining momentum, with a major Australian beef business adopting it and developing an app for enhanced training and extension.

Better Choices grew out of a 2008 project with the focus on creating a way to educate sheep producers on the need for pain relief for mulesing. It has since grown to encompass all livestock and procedures.

Ambassador and animal welfare advocate, Dr Michael Patching, said rather than creating another scheme that set minimum standards, Better Choices was an extension program looking for continual improvement and behaviour change.

“This means that all stakeholders, no matter where they are on their animal welfare journey, are encouraged to join – for free,” Dr Patching said.

“We want to simply provide education on pain mitigation, so that producers can be self-certified and not audited with minimum standards.”

Argyle Foods says program ‘tailor-made’ for Australia

Over the coming months Argyle Foods Group, a vertically integrated, grass-fed red meat business processing approximately 30,000 cattle annually from 40 properties and suppliers in the eastern states and the Northern Territory, will roll out the Better Choices program along its supply chain.

General Manager, Naomi Leahy, said the program offered an alternative to other animal welfare accreditations and being Australian-based, was tailor-made for the country’s wide range of production systems, allowing both northern and southern systems to demonstrate their commitment to animal welfare.

“For us, Better Choices is another tool to demonstrate to our export customers that Argyle Foods is committed to pain management and the welfare of our animals,” Ms Leahy said.

“We’re already doing a lot of what the program focuses on, but it gives us a way to explain that.

“We’re not shying away from highlighting that within livestock production practices, pain management needs to be considered. We think it’s key to be up front with that and to demonstrate how well we’re managing our livestock.”

Better Choices aligns with ABSF messaging

With the beef industry aiming for 100% use of pain relief for routine and invasive procedures by 2030, Dr Patching said Better Choices also aligned with the goals and values of the Australian Beef Sustainability Framework.

“The ABSF specifically seeks ‘progress before perfection’, and Better Choices is not prescriptive about the type of pain mitigation used,” he said.

“It strives to support every farmer to take the first step in recognising that livestock experience pain and it is our responsibility to find ways to mitigate that. Then we can evolve that to make sure we are using the right product at the right time in the right way.

“The beef industry has been generally supportive, but there are still challenges in how to have the greatest impact and how to remain viable. Better Choices aims to align with current extension programs to provide education on pain mitigation and the options available.”

App being developed to support education

Work is proceeding on an app to provide Better Choices members with training videos on animal welfare, how to perform procedures correctly, troubleshooting, and new innovations in the space, as well as creating a compliance and competence record.

Argyle Food Group’s Naomi Leahy sees that as an exciting development.

“Acknowledging that there are practices that animals need to go through, that have net benefit to their welfare, but having the training behind them so that people know how to do it well is key to making sure that the principles of animal welfare are upheld,” she said.

“When we explain it to our suppliers, they realise they’re already doing it. It takes 10 minutes to sign up to Better Choices and there hasn’t been any pushback from them.

“When we asked some of our US customers what they actually cared about, they said ‘We want an assurance that the animals that we’re buying are cared for’. And when we say we’ve got this program, they say that’s fine.”

Building a supporter base for beef sustainability

Dr Patching said the focus for the next 12 months was to increase membership numbers and build a community of influencers among industry groups and commercial companies, and to activate the knowledge base at universities.

Better Choices is a major sponsor of Beef 2024 in Rockhampton from May 5-11.

“We’ve been able to support the claims that Argyle Food Group have been making in terms of their sustainability,” he said.

“We’re also starting work with Australian Organic Ltd to find ways to commercialise, register, or get approval for specific local pain relief products that can meet organic certification in Australia and the US.

“Animal welfare is a challenging space in the livestock sector. For many years the loudest voice has come from groups that ultimately desire to see the end of farmed animals.

“The Better Choices Program is aligned with industry priorities and its goal is to assist producers to support the wellbeing of livestock that will continue to be farmed.”

To find out more and join the Better Choices Program go to www.betterchoices.com.au or see the team at Beef 24 in Rockhampton, from 5-11 May.