Provision of knowledge
EURCAW-Pigs provides scientific and technical knowledge to Competent Authorities of EU member states and their support bodies, for the official controls on pig welfare requirements laid down in the European pig welfare legislation.
EURCAW-Pigs has 5 main areas of activity, described in detail in its Work Programme 2019-2020: 1. Coordinated assistance, 2. Animal welfare indicators, 3. Scientific and technical studies, 4. Training courses, and 5. Disseminating research and innovations.
For detailed understanding of pig welfare issues on-farm, during transport and at slaughter, practical and scientific knowledge is provided:
- EURCAW-Pigs offers easy access to knowledge for Competent Authorities and their support bodies via the email address info.pigs@eurcaw.eu. This service is provided from the launch of the EURCAW-Pigs website;
- EURCAW-Pigs will compile review documents, thematic factsheets, and dossiers summarising the latest scientific and practical knowledge for several priority areas;
- EURCAW-Pigs will facilitate access and dialogue with farms, transport companies and abattoirs willing to demonstrate good practices regarding welfare legislation, from January 2020 onwards;
- EURCAW-Pigs provides a knowledge base (library) with a search engine for finding scientific, legal and technical documents on pig welfare issues.
For verification of compliance with the European pig welfare legislation:
- EURCAW-Pigs present lists of pig welfare indicators, predominantly including animal based indicators, but also management- and resource based indicators;
- EURCAW-Pigs suggests iceberg indicators that can be used by official inspectors to obtain a quick overview on possible welfare problems on farm, during transport, and at abattoirs.
For further professional training and education:
- EURCAW-Pigs lists training activities and materials used in the Member States;
- EURCAW-Pigs presents minimum (quality) standards for training activities on pig welfare in husbandry, transport and slaughter;
- EURCAW-Pigs recommends communication methods for inspectors to handle ambivalence and make changes happen on farm, during transport, and at abattoirs. An overview of knowledge is available.