Ecological transition: improving animal welfare conditions in the sheep and goat sector.
Sardinia is one of the first European regions to have introduced a measure in its rural development programme dedicated to the traditional livestock production system - mainly extensive - which, in many areas of the region, represents the main form of employment and livelihood for families and is also of strategic value for the protection of the land, maintaining rough grazing and wooded pastures. Originally dedicated to sheep and goat breeders only, this programme has now been extended to the main regional livestock sectors (dairy cattle, beef cattle, pigs), with the aim of building an 'animal welfare system' that not only allows the intrinsic quality of the produce (hygienic, chemical-organoleptic, technological) to be raised, but also allows consumers to be informed about the breeding methods adopted and the care given to the animals throughout the production process.
The intervention has affected almost all the farms in the sheep and goat sector, with a significant impact also on the other regional livestock sectors such as beef cattle, dairy cattle and pigs. Funding has promoted a system of training, control and assistance that has played a decisive role in raising awareness of animal welfare issues and boosted the adoption of innovative and improved management practices. In addition to this, the raising of zootechnical standards has improved the health conditions of farmed animals, raising the hygienic and sanitary parameters of milk and its properties and increasing the quality of products for processing.
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