Although pasture-raised animals are not kept in cages or crates, this term does not provide guidelines for other aspects of animal welfare.įree-range Animals are given access to the outdoors for at least 51% of the animals’ lives. Pasture-raised Animals have continuous free access to the outdoors throughout their usual “grow-out period.” The term does not define any standards for how much space each animal should be provided, nor the quality of the land accessible to the animals. This term does not provide guidelines for other aspects of animal welfare, such as confinement outside of the growing season. USDA Certified Grass Fed* Animals have continuous outdoor access during the growing season and can only be fed grass and forage, with the exception of milk before weaning. (If treated with antibiotics, they must be removed from the program.) This seal does not explicitly include animal welfare requirements and thus permits routine mutilations (such as tail docking of piglets) without pain relief, for example. USDA Organic* Animals are provided with some outdoor access, eat organic feed and are not given hormones or routine antibiotics. All levels have requirements around basic care and nutrition, and farms are inspected by third-party auditors in every season of the year. Level 4 requires production systems to be pasture-based, and levels 5 and 5+ have additional requirements such as the elimination or reduction of painful procedures including castration. To reach level 2, farms must provide environmental enrichment and at level 3, they must provide seasonal outdoor access. The baseline (level 1) prohibits cages, crates and crowding while levels 2-5 require further welfare improvements. Global Animal Partnership* This multiple-tier animal welfare program reflects stricter standards as the level rises from 1 to 5. Animals are never confined in cages or crates and are free to display natural behavior. Labels that convey information about animal welfare standardsĬertified Humane* The Certified Humane standards include minimum space allowances, bedding material and environmental enrichment (e.g., hay bales, pecking blocks and perches for chickens) among dozens of other basic requirements for animal health and nutrition.
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