The purpose of the RSPCA welfare standard is to ensure that farm animals are treated humanely throughout the duration of their lives. Basic legal requirements exist across the UK to give farmed animals a baseline set of standards in terms of their wellbeing, and the RSPCA standard offers a more comprehensive set of criteria to ensure the animals are kept and treated well.
RSPCA Assured farms must generally provide more enrichment and space for animals, when compared to conventional farms operating to minimum legal standards. The transport and handling of animals must be deemed to be humane and painful mutilations must be strictly avoided unless absolutely necessary. When the animal is slaughtered RSPCA assured brands must also meet welfare standards.
RSPCA Assured farms are not required to feed their animals on organic or grass fed diets and the standard is mainly concerned purely with the ethical treatment of animals rather than their diet and medication interventions.
Rspca Assured Logo
The RSPCA Assured Logo is the charity’s stamp of approval and can be found on meat packaging within the UK. The label is not just a loose marketing term like the generic and non regulated terms pasture raised or grass fed. Instead, the RSPCA Assured standards are based on robust scientific insights into the needs of animals. For example, peer reviewed research into animal welfare, needs and behaviour has been utilised to create the brand’s criteria. The criteria surrounding an animals space requirements, social needs and enrichment have all been researched at great lenghts to help determine this unique standard.
The RSPCA works alongside, academic researchers, vets and animal welfare experts with the addition of a Science Advisory Committee to frequently review their standards in line with the most current research.
This frequent review of best practices ensures that requirements are both practical and achieveable for farms and ethical for farmed animals.
