Sheep

The ‘Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for Sheep’ are part of a series of projects to develop livestock welfare standards and guidelines.

The standards and guidelines for sheep will be refined from the Model Code of Practice for the welfare of animals (MCOP) and will apply to all people responsible for the care and management of sheep.

‘The Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for Sheep’ will follow the principles described in the revised Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines Development Business Plan.

The sheep writing group, responsible for drafting the standards and guidelines for sheep, is comprised of representatives from: Animal Welfare Committee (AWC), Sheepmeat Council, WoolProducers, CSIRO science and DAFF. The group is led by an independent Chair and supported by Animal Health Australia (AHA).

The sheep reference group is comprised of representatives from all aspects of sheep care and management. Reference group meetings are held to review the standards and guidelines draft and to provide further guidance; a 90 day public consultation period is part of the process.

Progress report

Following significant delays, the development process for the Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for sheep has recommenced with a successful meeting of the writing group last week.  Further consultations and revision will now take place, leading to a reference group meeting planned for April 2012, just prior to the public consultation phase.