AGRIBUSINESS SPECIAL: AN INDUSTRY COMMITTED TO ANIMAL WELFARE

The newspaper Agribusiness includes in its latest issue a special issue dedicated to Animal Welfare, in which our interprofessional has participated with an opinion article in which our main actions in this important commitment of the entire poultry industry are included. You can access the full content of the special on its website. We reproduce here the full article by Jordi Montfort, Secretary General of Avianza.

A responsible, innovative and committed to animal welfare poultry industry

The Spanish poultry industry is an international benchmark for its capacity for innovation, transformation and adaptation to the new challenges posed by consumers and the agri-food value chain itself. Occupying this position has been possible thanks to a constant commitment to investment in all production processes, from genetics, poultry rearing on our farms, logistics and transport, processing and preparation of products, and final marketing. And all of this also generates an important contribution to our economy, as well as boosting business activity in rural areas.

Our farms, production centres and the entire ecosystem of companies in general are becoming increasingly professionalised, more technified, and even more prepared to tackle the process of internationalisation to even more demanding markets, if that is possible. And in this evolution, having an "Animal Welfare Commitment" seal is a priority for everyone. Because a large part of the homework has already been done. We are talking about the ability to transparently show consumers that, for years, our companies and professionals have been complying with the principles laid down by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) in terms of animal welfare, as well as with European Union regulations, such as the European Convention for the Protection of Animals kept for Farming Purposes. These are facts.

Having an "Animal Welfare Commitment" seal is a priority for all of us.

Avianza

For this reason, our interprofessional actively participates in different working committees, both in our sector and with other interprofessionals, to create a common framework that allows us to promote a seal that represents to our consumers the guarantee of a poultry production that is governed by the highest standards of animal welfare, as well as ethical criteria. These standards are applied in the areas of biosecurity, feeding, housing and facilities, and animal handling.

It is a common responsibility, which is nourished by the improvements proposed by the entire ecosystem of the meat industry, expert committees involving universities and technology centres, certification bodies, operators and animal protection and defence organisations themselves. Dialogue and respect must be the basis for improvement.

Because in the European Union we have one of the most demanding and advanced regulations in the field of animal welfare, and our companies are guarantors of its compliance. When our poultry products compete in international markets, and also nationally, this should be an important competitive advantage, especially in the face of the threat of low-cost poultry meat from markets that are more lax in their production policies. And this is something we want to emphasise in a positive way: Spanish poultry meat is a healthy, safe and quality product.

Our companies and professionals have spent years transforming their facilities into highly advanced complexes, where innovation and digitalisation help to control and improve every part of the production process, with significant investment in traceability. Technologies such as blockchain, or the governance and adoption of data for better decision-making, are part of this transformation process, and their practical application can contribute to making initiatives such as our seal of quality and animal welfare more solid and transparent.

We have the opportunity to harmonise certification processes so that the consumer can recognise in a single seal the reality of which we are so proud.

Avianza

At Avianza, we want consumers to have the guarantee that when they go to your shelves, they can be sure that buying a poultry product produced in Spain is synonymous with all the values mentioned above. And also the effort of thousands of anonymous professionals and families who work every day to ensure that Spanish poultry meat is part of the gastronomic heritage of our country.

In 2021 we face important challenges in the internationalisation of our products, with a focus on markets such as Japan, Hong Kong, the Middle East and the EU itself, especially with a Premium product, and it is up to us to communicate more widely, efficiently and transparently the good animal welfare practices that we have applied in all links of the meat industry value chain.