Transparency around animal welfare
Voluntary transparency
One of TAWC’s first undertakings as a collaborative network was the Daylight Project, the goal of which is to provide information that is of value to society in raising awareness of and improving the welfare of animals. With extensive input from stakeholders from animal industries and animal protection organisations, TAWC developed the process of the Daylight Project such that those with animals under their care have an independent mechanism for voluntary transparency and a safe environment for constructive, evidence-based dialogue with the public around best practices in animal welfare. Being transparent can lead to improvements in animal welfare, because those with animals under their care can more readily identify where the welfare of the animals can be improved, and members of society can make more informed decisions about welfare standards. Using the Daylight Project’s process of voluntary transparency, participating companies and organisations invite members of the public to explore the evidence and decisions around:
1. What happens to animals under their care
2. Why it happens, and
3. What is being done to improve the welfare of the animals.
1. What happens to animals under their care
2. Why it happens, and
3. What is being done to improve the welfare of the animals.
BETTER UNDERSTANDING
for
BETTER WELFARE
BETTER WELFARE
Transparency is not about
advertising or promotion.
Transparency is about ensuring that factual information on all aspects of animal care is freely available, comprehensive, and trustworthy so that people can make up their own minds.
Why transparency matters
Animal welfare
We all care about animals and want to ensure that their welfare is good and is continuously improving.
We all care about animals and want to ensure that their welfare is good and is continuously improving.
Societal trust
We entrust those with animals under their care with the job of looking after their welfare.
We entrust those with animals under their care with the job of looking after their welfare.
Reputation
We are judged as a nation by how the animals in our nation are treated.
We are judged as a nation by how the animals in our nation are treated.
2. Background
History
The Daylight Project arose from expressions of
interest by several industry stakeholders to
increase their level of transparency around how
their animals are cared for. The Animal Welfare
Collaborative ran the concept by other
stakeholders and then held a Daylight Project
workshop on 12 November 2019 with all
interested stakeholders, including companies,
industry bodies, animal protection
organisations, research organisations, and
government departments. Common principles
for transparency and a general way forward
were discussed.
Expressions of interest from
stakeholders wanting to pursue transparency collaboratively
Daylight Project Workshop
in Melbourne with stakeholders to define common principles for
transparency
Process for participation in the Daylight Project drafted
Expressions of interest from
stakeholders wanting to pursue transparency collaboratively
Daylight Project Workshop
in Melbourne with stakeholders to define common principles for
transparency
Process for participation in the Daylight Project drafted
3. What is transparency?
Transparency:
Providing information that is of value to society in raising awareness of and improving the welfare of animals
Transparency:
Providing information that is of value to society in raising awareness of and improving the welfare of animals
What does it mean to be transparent about animal welfare?
Each Daylight Project is different. Each Participant has unique information about the animals under their care to provide and preferred methods of communicating it, but here are some general principles of transparency to follow:
Freely available
-
Easy to find and navigate
-
Easy to understand
-
Free to access
Trustworthy
-
Independently verifiable
-
Collected by agreed upon, standardised methods
-
Presented in as close to its original form as possible (or if not, its journey can be traced)
Relevant
-
Recorded automatically or by animal carers
-
About the transient states within the animal that relate to what the animal experiences
-
Relating to animal welfare throughout the life stages of an animal
-
Linked to animal welfare outcomes
Comprehensive
-
Up to date
-
Not aggregated or filtered
-
Sufficient, as defined by multiple stakeholders
-
Qualitative and quantitative
-
Exclusions are explained
For example...
How animals are cared for, including routine practices
How practices are chosen based on scientific evidence
How the welfare of animals is routinely assessed
How management decisions are made based on animal data
How improvements to practices are being made
4.
Process
Scoping transparency and making a plan:
- Determine the goal of transparency for the organisation
- Hold a workshop with relevant staff from the organisation to scope what transparency might look like for the organisation and choose an initial Focal Point
- Consider all aspects of the chosen Focal Point and identify possible transparency
- Methods that would be most effective in communicating those aspects of the Focal Point to the public
- Develop a Transparency Plan, which is a living document that guides the actions of the Participant. After the Daylight Project Council provides independent feedback, the Participant finalises the Transparency Plan and makes it publicly available.
Establishing the best approach to advance transparency:
- Develop the information or content to be shared with the public, with the input of staff and the support of TAWC facilitators as needed
- Trial transparency on the Focal Point only in a time-limited Trial
- Reflect on the outcomes of the Trial, incorporating public feedback
Establishing the best approach to advance transparency:
-
- Refine Methods of transparency and plan to scale up beyond the Focal Point
- Embed transparency Methods throughout other aspects of the organisation
- Monitor the approach, including public feedback, and improve as needed
Inspiring others to become transparent:
- Propagate the principles of transparency to stakeholders
- Share own experience with transparency
- Support other organisations in achieving transparency
6. Roles
Members of the public ask questions and provide feedback to Participants through the Daylight Project platform, which is moderated by TAWC. This public feedback informs Participants about whether the communication methods are effective and where new areas for transparency are needed.