Livestock

Animal health and welfare is a subject of great public concern.  It is a Scottish Government policy to maintain and improve farm animal welfare standards and, as a result, animal health and welfare is the subject of a considerable body of legislation. This is supported by a number of Codes of Recommendations for the Welfare of Livestock and an element of cross-compliance requirements applied to certain support payments.

It is important to ensure that the Legislation and Welfare Codes are regularly revised to take into account the changes and developments in the Scottish farm livestock industry and relevant research findings as they become available.  The livestock industry must stay informed of changes to the Legislation and the Welfare Codes.

The Farm Advisory Service proposes to address animal health and welfare issues through a programme of awareness raising events, seminars and articles, to improve animal health and overall welfare standards throughout Scotland.