Animal Welfare – Cerebrus Associates

We are Animal Welfare...

Society is concerned about how we treat the animals that provide us with food, fibre, companionship or that are used in research. Awareness of welfare issues and behavioural change is not only important for citizens, but also for businesses.

LATEST: Investigating risk factors behind piglet facial and sow teat lesions through a literature review and a survey on teeth reduction

Teeth resection is a painful procedure performed on piglets, where their needle teeth are clipped or ground to resect the pointed tip. The practice raises welfare concerns. In contrast to other procedures, such as tail docking, we know little about the risk factors for these two types of lesions.

PAPER: Providing effective environmental Enrichment to pigs: How far have we come?

The poor implementation of scientific knowledge on farms suggests that the industry has not fully embraced the benefits of effective enrichment.

PAPER: Environmental enrichment for broiler breeders: an undeveloped field

A review of the effect of the different types of environmental enrichment for broiler breeders, which have been described in the scientific literature, on behavior and welfare.

BOOK: The business of farm animal welfare

Including a chapter authored by Heleen van de Weerd and Jon Day on 'The legal journey to farm animal welfare'.

REPORT: Evaluation of the EU policy on animal welfare

Report on the findings of an evaluation of the EU Policy on animal welfare (EUPAW) and possible options for the future.

PAPER: Review of environmental enrichment for broiler chickens

A review of the effect on behavior and welfare of the different kinds of environmental enrichments in the production of broilers that have been described in the scientific literature

PAPER: Corporate Reporting on Farm Animal Welfare

An evaluation of Global food companies’ discourse and disclosures on farm animal welfare.

REPORT: Best practices on the protection of animals at the time of killing

A collaborative project with colleagues from ICF for the European Commission.

BOOK: The Domestic Cat - The biology of its behaviour

Including a chapter co-authored by Jon Day on 'Human and cat personalities: building the bond from both sides'.

Policy evaluation

Working in partnership with ICF International, Cerebrus Associates evaluates EU policy and develops best-practice reports for the European Commission. Working together we have delivered an evaluation of EU policy on animal welfare, a best-practice report on the protection of animals at the time of slaughter and on the castration of pigs.

Business Benchmark for Farm Animal Welfare

Animal welfare is becoming an increasingly important topic for consumers, alongside issues related to food provenance, traceability and quality. Farm animal welfare is a systematic risk that many companies in the food industry are either not effectively managing or not properly reporting. The business benchmark provides a robust assessment of company practice and reporting on farm animal welfare and is designed to help investors to integrate farm animal welfare into their investment research and decision-making.

On-farm consultancy

Working in partnership in World Animal Protection in China, Cerebrus Associates is partnering with large pig producers to enhance the welfare of pigs on-farm.

Technical consultancy

Cerebrus Associates have assisted Compassion in World Farming to produce briefings and reports that summarise the current state of knowledge on the welfare of many farmed species.

Industry working-groups

Heleen is Chair of the RSPCA Assured Standards Technical Advisory Group (STAG) for laying hens, the STAG for pullets and the STAG for turkeys.