Assessment - Stakeholder Consultation
A process that is being used to increasingly good effect in systems to improve and safeguard farm animal welfare is the use of stakeholder consultation. Focus groups are one of the techniques often applied in such consultations. Focus groups are a form of group interviewing that incorporates the interaction within the group. Relevant groups of individuals are selected and assembled by researchers to discuss and comment on, from personal experience, the subject of the research (see Powell & Single, 1996; Morgan, 1997). Focus groups are a recognised qualitative research tool and this form of stakeholder interaction has been proposed as a valid and practical means on which to develop sustainable monitoring systems for farm animal welfare (Brake et al. 2005).
Under a current UK initiative funded by Defra, a series of focus groups were conducted with stakeholders in the UK trout and salmon farming sector aimed at exploring the various criteria that could be used to evaluate fish welfare, and to identify stakeholders’ concerns regarding the welfare of farmed trout. Stakeholders were drawn from fish farmers, fish veterinarians, animal welfare organisations, retailers, academics, and representatives from governmental and non-governmental organisations.
It was envisaged that by taking such an approach, a wide-ranging list of welfare indicators would be identified and they would be more universally acceptable. Although the main focus of the exercise related specifically to identifying indicators for trout welfare, in many respects the work was more far-reaching with both discussions and stakeholder’s expertise extending into other areas of commercial aquaculture and other livestock industries.
There was generally a high level of agreement between the various stakeholders groups regarding the most important factors for assessing fish welfare. It was recognised that the selection of the most appropriate indicators will be largely dependent on the context and purpose of the assessment. The main generic areas of welfare indicators and their potential uses/outputs are shown below.
Schematic diagram of the main groupings of welfare indicators and potential uses for a system of on-farm welfare assessment.
A full report of these activities is due to be published in the Proceedings of the 1st Symposium on Fish Welfare, which was held in Edinburgh and organised by the Fish Veterinarian Society.