The benefits and challenges of participative and co-design approaches to improving farm animal welfare

Abstract

Improving the welfare of farm animals, which is essential for the sustainability of livestock farming, raises questions and sometimes heated debates, in particular among livestock farming professionals, researchers, public authorities and citizens. Participatory and co-design approaches, which aim to bring together a wide range of stakeholders with sometimes divergent positions, to develop knowledge and innovative solutions, are particularly relevant in the field of animal welfare. The emergence of a consensus around a problem, defined and understood by all the stakeholders, and a solution can only be achieved within a framework of trust and mutual listening, for which the facilitator of the process will be the guarantor, and which requires time. Through six illustrative projects, significant benefits have been identified, whether in terms of awareness and open-mindedness or in terms of proposing operational solutions. The challenges lie in assessing the impact of the solutions developed, in terms of real improvements in animal welfare, and in disseminating these solutions in the field, considering the economic and social dimensions in which they are embedded.