Project description
Innovative tools for better animal welfare for broiler chickens and fattening pigs
Health and welfare of food-producing animals is very important. The EU-funded aWISH project aims to introduce a cost-efficient system for welfare assessment and improvement of broiler chickens and fattening pigs on a large scale in Europe. The project focuses on developing an automated solution for monitoring welfare on-farm, during (un)loading, transport and slaughter. The results will be tested and validated in six slaughterhouses and their supply chains across Europe. Moreover, an Animal Welfare Indicator Catalogue and nine Best Practice Guides will be developed to improve key welfare issues. Also the socio-economic and environmental impact of the animal welfare improvement strategies will be investigated, with the inclusion of the needs, perceptions and barriers of all actors from farm to fork.
Objective
The objective of aWISH is to develop and offer a cost-efficient solution to evaluate and improve the welfare of meat-producing livestock at a large scale, across Europe. This approach will be developed and evaluated in close collaboration with all actors involved, from primary producers up to policy makers and citizens. At the heart of the aWISH solution is the automated monitoring at the slaughterhouse of complementary animal-based indicators for monitoring welfare on-farm, during (un)loading, transport and slaughter. Besides that, existing or routinely collected data (slaughterhouse data, antibiotics usage, farm data, etc.) and needed technologies on-farm or on-transport to complement the measurements at slaughter will be exploited. Piloting and development activities will be done in 6 broiler chicken and fattening pig production chains across Europe (FR, PL, ES, NL, AT, RS), using a lean multi-actor approach, in order to test and validate the project results. Novel sensor technologies and AI algorithms will be developed, and a feedback tool and interface will allow each actor in the chain to get direct feedback of each batch, visualize trends and benchmark animal welfare outcomes. An Animal Welfare Indicator Catalogue will disseminate all validated indicators and standardized data collection methods. From the pilot data, animal welfare initiatives taken at operator, chain, regional or national level will be assessed alongside their environmental and socio-economic impact at operator and sector level. Next to that, 9 Best Practice Guides will be developed to improve key welfare issues in pigs and broilers, and to help external actors deploy the aWISH technologies and feedback tool. How the feedback loop guides and motivates each party to take actions to improve animal welfare will be tested in a longitudinal study, and the needs, perceptions and barriers of all actors from farm to fork incl. the consumer will be researched to maximize impact of the aWISH results.
Fields of science
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacypharmaceutical drugsantibiotics
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringsensors
- agricultural sciencesanimal and dairy sciencedomestic animalsanimal husbandry
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-RIA - HORIZON Research and Innovation ActionsCoordinator
9820 Merelbeke
Belgium
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Participants (28)
7800-502 Beja
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
3584 CS Utrecht
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38116 Braunschweig
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11632 Athina
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
Participation ended
1027 Budapest
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
21000 Novi Sad
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35740 Pace
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
75009 Paris
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
18196 Dummerstorf
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1060 SAINT GILLES
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
48341 Altenberge
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
1165 Kobenhavn
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5281 RMA Boxtel
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30559 Hannover
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05-552 MAGDALENKA
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08193 Cerdanyola Del Valles
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1210 Wien
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1000 Bruxelles / Brussel
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4972 Utzenaich
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Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
4311 SCHWERTBERG
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8091 AZ Wezep
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Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
89770 CHAILLEY
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Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
98-235 BLASZKI
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Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
8091AZ WEZEP
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21460 Vrbas
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17800 Olot
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17421 Riudarenes
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8830 TJELE
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.