Chinese animal welfare centre set up by Queensland researchers

The International Animal Welfare Standards Project, led by Clive Phillips and Michelle Sinclair from the University of Queensland's Centre for Animal Welfare and Ethics, has been working to improve animal welfare during farming, slaughter and transport in Asia. The project will move to a new phase when the The Sino-Australian Animal Welfare Centre opens in Beijing mid year. 

Project manager Ms Sinclair said they have recruited a team of renowned Chinese scientists and academic leaders from  Beijing, Zhengzhou, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Foshan and Hohhot in Inner Mongolia.

"In this phase of the project we want to support Chinese scientific leaders to become animal welfare specialists, so they can offer support to local Chinese industry," she said. 

"Our program so far has priorities creating training packages in Chinese for poultry and pig farmers, and on improving animal welfare at slaughter and during transportation."

The team will continue developing resources and will host intensive workshops with groups of future animal welfare leaders in China over the next few years. 

Among the issues targeted by the centre will be the lack of stunning prior to slaughter, the transport of animals from farms and livestock workers' attitudes. 

"We will be addressing the concept of 'animal welfare' more broadly, and conducting more research around the attitudes of livestock stakeholders in China, but also focusing on research with the species most frequently farmed in China; pigs, poultry and fish," Ms Sinclair said.  

"China produces more pigs and fish that any other country on Earth, and in total, China is responsible for 39pc of all animal agriculture. So, we think focusing our efforts in supporting the Chinese livestock industry to improve the welfare of these target species will have the largest impact."