EIP-AGRI actions on animal health and welfare

Livestock farmers are facing a number of challenges today. Demands for more animal health and and welfare need to be balanced with a stable production and a good income. The EIP-AGRI network has organised a series of activities that have dealt with this topic: the EIP-AGRI Focus Group on reducing antibiotics in the pig sector, on bee health and beekeeping, permanent grassland and the EIP-AGRI workshop on biosecurity to name a few.

A social media campaign on Twitter and LinkedIn highlights important EIP-AGRI activities on animal health and welfare. Follow #EIPagriAnimal from 30 June onwards. 

The EIP-AGRI Newsletter from July 2020 was dedicated to animal health and welfare.

Check out the EIP-AGRI Youtube channel playlist on animal health and welfare. If you would like to add your video to the playlist, please get in touch supportfacility@eip-agri.eu.

For all relevant EIP-AGRI network activities, see below.

EIP-AGRI Focus Groups

EIP-AGRI Focus Groups are temporary groups of selected experts focusing on a specific subject, sharing knowledge and experience. Several of them have worked on issues related to animal health and welfare, click on each link below to find reports, factsheets and more:

• Animal husbandry - Reduction of antibiotic use in the pig sector
• Genetic resources - cooperation models
• High Nature Value (HNV) - Farming profitability
• Mainstreaming precision farming
• Profitability of permanent grassland
• Reducing emissions from cattle farming 
• Nutrient recycling
• Robust and resilient dairy production systems
• Bee health and sustainable beekeeping
• Reducing antimicrobial use in poultry farming
• Wildlife and agricultural production
• Sustainable beef production systems     

EIP-AGRI events

The EIP-AGRI holds workshops and seminars on specific topics. Click on each link to find reports, presentations and more from events related to animal health and welfare:

• EIP-AGRI seminar 'Data revolution: emerging new business models in the agri-food sector'
• EIP-AGRI workshop on biosecurity in the EU
• EIP-AGRI workshop 'Organic is Operational'
• EIP-AGRI workshop 'Innovative solutions for small farms and forest holdings and access of small farms and forest holdings to new technologies '

EIP-AGRI publications

As well as the Focus Group reports, the EIP-AGRI Service Point has produced the following publications which are relevant to animal health and welfare:

• EIP-AGRI Brochure Reducing antibiotics in pig farming 
• EIP-AGRI Brochure Organic is operational
• EIP-AGRI Brochure Sustainable livestock farming
• EIP-AGRI Brochure Sustainable and resilient farming: Inspiration from agro-ecology

EIP-AGRI Videos

Watch these videos on examples of animal health and welfare related initiatives from the EIP-AGRI network:

• AGRI challenge: crop diversification in grassland
• AGRI challenge: monitoring bee health through beehive sensors
• AGRI challenge: reducing antimicrobials in poultry (to be published)

Inspirational ideas from the network

Articles on examples of animal health and welfare related initiatives from the EIP-AGRI network:

• Improving welfare for cows…and farmers (Denmark)
• Concrete solutions for sustainability and animal welfare (the Netherlands)
• Working on resilient dairy farming (Germany)
• Alternatives for expensive protein feed for laying hens (Germany)
• Goats in good company (Italy)
• Sustainable egg production (EU, the Netherlands)
• Automatic cleaning for pigs (Sweden)
• Improving chicken value chains- an Operational Group in Germany (Germany)
• A network to improve health management in pigs (Germany)
• Cutting antibiotic use in pig farming (the netherlands)
• Decision support tool for dairy farm management (Slovakia)
• Adding a touch of spice to improve animal health (Greece)

Horizon 2020 projects

• Multi-actor: There are many Horizon 2020 multi-actor projects on animal health and welfare, click here and scroll down to  "Plant and animal health > animals and health"
• Thematic networks:
  • DISARM - Disseminating Innovative Solutions for Antibiotic Resistance Management: website - CORDIS (01/2019-12/2021)
  • EuroSheep - European Network for interactive and innovative knowledge exchange on animal health and nutrition between the sheep industry actors and stakeholders: CORDIS (01/2020-12/2022)
  • EU PiG - EU Pig Innovation Group: website - CORDIS - videos on pig health & welfare (11/2016-10/2020)

EIP-AGRI Operational Groups

More than 300 Operational Group projects focus on finding innovative solutions for animal health and welfare. Check EIP-AGRI database through this link.