Opinion paper: What needs to be changed for successful future livestock farming in Europe?

Abstract

The future success of the European livestock farming sector is at a critical stage, at least if success includes besides positive economic output, non-market values such as public acceptance of practices and sustainability issues, as we will do in this opinion paper. Discussions about the sustainability of livestock farming in Europe and other developed countries increasingly take ethics and the welfare of farmed animals into account. Especially in Northwestern-European countries such as the Netherlands, Germany or Denmark it looks as if the gap between public opinion about acceptable livestock farming and the state-of-the-art on farms is becoming wider despite the many efforts made by the sector to improve farm conditions for animals and communicate with the broader public. We argue that if livestock farming in Europe aims at keeping its license to produce in the long-run, the sector should adjust its strategy and strive an open dialogue with all stakeholders, including the public leading to fundamental changes in breeding, husbandry and management. The current criticisms may provide a chance for the European livestock sector to position itself as the moving force in animal welfare in order to lead the sector into a more animalfriendly and more sustainable future. However, badly managed, there is also the risk that the European livestock industry will decrease its importance instead of gaining a competitive advantage as a global animal welfare leader.