Market and policy-oriented incentives to provide animal welfare: The case of tail biting

Jarkko K. Niemi, Alina Sinisalo, Anna Valros and Mari Heinonen

No 125957, 126th Seminar, June 27-29, 2012, Capri, Italy from European Association of Agricultural Economists

Abstract: Modern animal production has been criticised for the lack of animal-friendly production practices. The goal of this paper is to examine how animal welfare could be improved in pig fattening by providing producers with extra incentives. The focus is on three preventive and one mitigative measures, viz. proving the pigs with plenty of straw as enrichment, solid-floor housing (vs. partly slatted flooring), extra pen space per pig, and mitigation of tail biting once the first case has been observed. Each measure is modelled under two different situations and different support policies. The results suggest that producers have incentives to adjust prevention policy when new information about the risk of tail biting is obtained. Moreover, the resources would be used more efficiently by promoting enrichments use (as such or with type) than extra space, but this requires markets or public policy to provide producers with extra incentives.

Keywords: Agricultural and Food Policy; Risk and Uncertainty (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012-06
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:eaa126:125957

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.125957

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