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Payments to improve animal health and welfare

How we used co-design to create vet visits 

Farmers, vets, industry representatives, and colleagues in government are shaping the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway together. The first step of the pathway is the Annual Health and Welfare Review. In this post, we share how we used co-design to create the yearly vet visits. 

Farm animal health and welfare: help us test the yearly review

The Animal Health and Welfare Pathway supports improvements in farm animal health and welfare. The first step of the pathway is the Annual Health and Welfare Review. Starting this autumn, farmers who keep cattle, sheep and pigs can get funding to pay for a vet or vet-led team to visit their farm and carry out a yearly review. We’re now ready to put more of the pathway to the test and we need your help.  

Animal Health and Welfare Grants: your chance to suggest items

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Payments to improve animal health and welfare, Ways to get involved

Farmers will be able to apply for grants to buy equipment, technology and infrastructure to improve the health and welfare of their animals. To make sure we are funding the items that farmers need to make a difference, we want to get a better idea of what we should include. Let us know your thoughts by the end of the month.

The Animal Health and Welfare Pathway: towards a new welfare state for farm animals

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Guest post, Payments to improve animal health and welfare
Dyer's greenweed and resting cattle Genista tinctoria Hampshire

In this guest post, Dr. Julia Wrathall shares her views on the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway. Julia is an expert in farm welfare and served as the RSPCA's Chief Scientific Officer. She helped to shape species-specific priorities through co-design.

Our priorities for the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway

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Mix breed cattle

Today, we published our initial priorities for the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway. They represent some of the best opportunities for improving animal health and welfare we have across each livestock sector. In this post, I’ll share those priorities. 

Get ready for our 3 new environmental land management schemes

Today we published more information on Local Nature Recovery and Landscape Recovery – which, along with the Sustainable Farming Incentive, make up our 3 new and ambitious environmental land management schemes.

Introducing the Annual Health and Welfare Review

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A cow

In this guest post, Jonathan Statham introduces the Annual Health and Welfare Review, a fully-funded vet visit which farmers will receive each year of the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway. Jonathan is a cattle vet and chair-elect for England’s Animal Health and Welfare Board.

Introducing the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway

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Over the last couple of years, a group of farmers, supported by vets, specialists and Defra colleagues have worked together to design a way to help fellow farmers bolster the health and welfare of their stock, whilst at the same time improving their bottom line. We’re calling it the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway. In this post, I'll share more.