Animal welfare and sustainability: the European Animal Breeders' Vision for 2030
The voice of European animal breeding and reproduction organisations, EFFAB, has launched the European Animal Breeders’ Vision for 2030. The document outlines the strategic vision for 2030 with key achievements, priorities and objectives for the sector, setting the direction for the future of European livestock and aquaculture breeding.
EFFAB has developed a roadmap to achieve these goals while supporting food security and safety across Europe by working closely with policymakers, stakeholders, and breeders to ensure a sustainable, competitive, and resilient future for European animal farming. It highlights the critical role of genetic selection in animal breeding to improve the sustainability of farming systems.
Responsible breeding strategies can improve sustainability, animal welfare and health
Recognising the need to move towards more responsible and balanced breeding strategies that improve animal welfare and health, reduce resource use and climate impact, and preserve genetic diversity, EFFAB has developed the EFABAR Code, which aims to show how breeders today incorporate all these elements into their breeding programmes, with the sole aim of contributing to improving the sustainability of all livestock systems.
Ensuring access to safe and nutritious food is a key issue, as animal breeders are the starting blocks of European food systems. By developing balanced and responsible breeding strategies, breeders strive to ensure that farmers in all farming systems have reliable access to appropriate genetic advances for various local and commercial breeds to improve food safety and quality. Genetic progress and animal breeding are essential tools for improving the welfare and health of farm animals and are at the forefront of the strategies.
Between 2008 and 2018, many welfare improvements have been achieved, significantly reducing mortality and the need to use antimicrobials. For example, 40% of poultry breeding programmes are dedicated to improving bird welfare, driving leg strength, heart and lung function improvements, and ensuring stable, healthier flocks over time. Similarly, between 2015 and 2020, pre-weaning piglet survival will continue to increase through balanced breeding programmes and mortality in salmon farming has been reduced by more than 90% over the years.
Innovation and technologies can improve animal breeding and welfare
The vision promotes a balanced approach integrating animal health, welfare, and environmental and economic sustainability. The environmental benefits of breeding include a 1% reduction in methane emissions per year and a 3.5% reduction in nitrogen excretion every five years. Using 30% less feed than 30 years ago has a positive environmental and economic impact on farms.
Ongoing advances in animal genetics, genomics, precision livestock tools, artificial intelligence and machine learning enable EU animal breeders to analyse vast amounts of data, leading to a better understanding of animals and increasingly responsible breeding strategies for all farmers and farming systems. Innovation and advanced technologies can improve animal breeding and welfare and keep the EU globally competitive through continuous research and development.
Responsible breeding should be the basis for policy initiatives
A science-based, flexible, proportionate and coherent regulatory framework is needed to improve the sustainability of all livestock systems and maintain competitiveness. Regulations should be designed to be rapidly analysed and adapted to the latest scientific advances to ensure a safe operating space and the competitiveness of EU animal breeders in the EU and globally.
Europe needs to invest in an ambitious EU research and innovation framework for pre-farm activities, including animal breeding, as the vision states that the answer to competitive and sustainable growth, improved circularity and resilience of all livestock systems lies in animal genetics.
To learn more about the strategies, download the European Animal Breeders’ Vision for 2030.