Animal Health and Welfare Strategy indicators: livestock indicators
Indicators are available in downloadable Adobe Acrobat 
format on request - if you would like to receive a copy of the indicators in downloadable/printable format please contact the team at ahw.stats@defra.gsi.gov.uk
Overview: the Animal Health and Welfare Strategy
Animal Health and Welfare Strategy for Great Britain
Indicators to measure progress in England
Introduction
The EIG and Defra have introduced a set of indicators to help monitor and evaluate progress on delivering the Animal Health and Welfare Strategy in England. This is work in progress. So far we have introduced a framework of indicators for livestock (see below) though more work is needed to develop specific measures for some of the indicators. In time, we intend to introduce a similar framework for companion animals.
Your comments on the overarching approach and on new or alternative indicators and measures are very welcome. Please send any thoughts to Defra’s Animal Health and Welfare Statistics Team at: ahw.stats@defra.gsi.gov.uk.
Indicators are available in downloadable Adobe Acrobat PDF format on request - if you would like to receive a copy of the indicators in downloadable/printable format please contact the team a: ahw.stats@defra.gsi.gov.uk.
Why we have indicatorsThe EIG believes that a framework of indicators is a transparent way to assess the extent to which England is progressing towards the world described by the Animal Health and Welfare Strategy.
What the indicators can and cannot tell usThe indicators will record both the current position and trends in a range of key areas and in doing so will measure change and progress towards the vision described by the Strategy.
These indicators are not intended as targets for action but rather to give a snapshot of the “state of the nation” of animal health and welfare in England such that people can see if the country is on track towards the world described by the Strategy. These indicators do not take the place of detailed evaluation of policies nor provide “cause-and-effect” explanations for changes in the state of animal health and welfare.
How we will use the indicatorsThe EIG will use the indicators to assess progress towards the Strategy in England, reviewing trends in its public meetings every six months. Others are very welcome to use the indicators to inform their own thinking and assessments of progress with animal health and welfare in England.
Defra will update the indicators every six months with new data and evidence. It will also continue to develop and refine the indicators, ensuring they use the best available data and reflect current issues, such as disease pressures. You are very welcome to suggest your own ideas for refinements and new data sources to improve the framework (contact ahw.stats@defra.gsi.gov.uk with your ideas).
Why we have chosen these particular indicatorsWe have tried to choose indicators that are relevant, easy to understand and transparent. Although each indicator relates to an individual aspect of animal health and welfare, they need be considered as a whole to give a measure of progress. We have chosen specific measures for each indicator to ensure they are fit-for-purpose, using established sources based on published figures, where possible.
Most of the indicators measure trends in areas that the Strategy is aiming to influence directly. In some cases, however, the indicators measure areas where the Strategy has no direct influence and it may be unclear what change is expected, helping to provide early warning of unforeseen impacts. Of course, changes in indicator measures may be due to factors outside of the influence of the Strategy and its policies.
Introducing the framework of livestock indicatorsThe framework of livestock indicators, below, has seven headline indicators to provide broad and high-level measures of overall progress towards each of the elements of the Strategy’s vision. These indicators reflect the key real-world outcomes the Strategy is seeking to influence and tend to be slow to change in response to policies.
The framework also provides 18 core indicators to support the headliners. The core indicators add breadth and depth to the measurement of change. Some of them are high-level measures, which aim to cover key issues that the headline indicators cannot. Other core indicators provide an additional level of detail, which will provide further evidence of the impact of the Strategy.
In many cases there will be a considerable time lag for the indicators to respond to policies and other drivers of change. Some of these core indicators are, therefore, more approximate measures that link to the outputs and processes of individual policy measures.
For those indicators that are ready, you can access from the index below a datasheet which presents details of the measure. In each datasheet, a chart or graph shows the latest available figures and historic trends, where available. Accompanying text highlights the key facts and trends, and notes when the next update is due. It also provides additional supporting information with metadata on the background and relevance to the Strategy and statistical and technical details on methodology and data sources. In line with National Statistics principles, the focus is on factual information which is reported objectively and independently.
| Strategy vision 1 - animals in Great Britain kept for food, farming, sport, companionship, entertainment and in zoos are healthy and treated humanely | |
| Headline 1 | On-farm index of health and welfare [under development] |
| Core 1.1 | Farm Health Planning [under development] |
| Core 1.2 | Results of animal inspections [under development] |
| Core 1.3 | On-farm mortality |
| Core 1.4 | Expenditure on vet services [under development] |
| Core 1.5 | Farmer qualifications/competence |
| Strategy vision 2 - our disease status is amongst the highest in the world, and we are able to trade our animals and animal products internationally | |
| Headline 2 | Animal health and welfare trade restrictions against Britain |
| Core 2.1 | Incidence and prevalence of disease:
|
| Core 2.2 | Prevention of disease spread |
| Core 2.3 | Trade in breeding animals |
| Strategy vision 3 - the costs of livestock health and welfare are appropriately balanced between industry, and the taxpayer | |
| Headline 3 | Measure of the sharing of costs [under development] |
| Core 3.1 | Total costs of delivering the strategy [under development] |
| Strategy vision 4 - all disease emergencies are dealt with swiftly and effectively using an agreed approach | |
| Headline 4A | Risk assessment for types of disease [under development] |
| Headline 4B | International comparison of effectiveness of contingency planning [under development] |
| Core 4.1 | Components of the risk assessment [under development] |
| Strategy vision 5 - consumers value the confidence they have in food produced safely from healthy animals that are well cared for. Consumers and retailers accept that higher standards of animal health and welfare are not cost free | |
| Headline 5 | Consumer attitudes and purchase behaviour |
| Core 5.1 | Consumer response to different products |
| Core 5.2 | Farm assurance schemes |
| Core 5.3 | Veterinary medicines residues |
| Core 5.4 | Zoonotic disease in livestock |
| Core 5.5 | Public attitudes |
| Strategy vision 6 - livestock keeping is part of a competitive British farming industry which succeeds by meeting the needs of consumers at home and abroad, producing food safely and to high standards of health and welfare | |
| Headline 6 | Profitability of UK farmers versus key competitors |
| Core 6.1 | Changes in the pattern of trade |
| Core 6.2 | Impact of animal health and welfare regulations [under development] |
| Core 6.3 | Food indicator |
| Overarching indicators | |
| Headline 7 | Partnership working [under development] |
Page last
modified:
20 May, 2008
Page published: 24 November, 2006