Guest post by Manuel Navarreta, ESG & Sustainability Specialist at Uyolo SRL
Introduction
Over the past twenty years, animal welfare has shifted from being a purely ethical issue to becoming a pillar of European policies and agri-food strategies. Since the Lisbon Treaty of 2009, which recognized animals as “sentient beings,” up to the European Farm to Fork strategy, the demand for more sustainable and respectful production systems has been steadily growing.
At the same time, consumers have also changed perspective: more and more people are willing to pay a premium for products that carry an animal welfare-related label. In Spain, for example, over 60% of citizens say they prefer certified food.
It is within this context that Welfair™ was born—a certification scheme that brings to supermarket shelves the practical translation of two EU-funded scientific projects: Welfare Quality® and AWIN®. An innovative system that combines methodological rigor, transparency, and public governance.
In this article we will analyze in detail:
- the structure of Welfair™,
- the assessment criteria,
- the benefits for companies and consumers,
- the future challenges for European and international expansion.
What is Welfair™ and how it started
Welfair™ is a public animal welfare certification label developed in Spain in 2017 through the collaboration of two research institutes:
- IRTA (Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology), based in Catalonia, responsible for methodology and owner of the brand,
- NEIKER (Basque Institute for Agricultural Research and Development), which manages statistical processes and verification systems.
The system was born out of two major European projects:
- Welfare Quality® (2004–2009), which defined four universal criteria for animal welfare:
- good feeding,
- good housing,
- good health,
- appropriate behavior.
- AWIN® (2011–2015), which extended the model to previously overlooked species such as sheep, goats, and turkeys, introducing new direct observation methodologies.
The goal of Welfair™ is to assess and certify animal welfare on farms and in slaughterhouses through scientific, transparent, and constantly updated indicators.
Today, the label is present in over 25,000 farms and more than 4,000 retail outlets in Spain and Portugal, and it is expanding towards Latin America.
How the Welfair™ system works
The strength of Welfair™ lies in its dual scientific governance.
The role of IRTA
IRTA leads protocol development and is responsible for:
- drafting and updating technical manuals,
- defining assessment functions, converting collected data into a score from 0 to 100,
- training and accrediting certification bodies.
The institute relies on a multidisciplinary team of veterinarians, ethologists, and biostatisticians engaged in international research networks and regularly publishing scientific studies.
The role of NEIKER
Building on its experience with AWIN protocols, NEIKER manages:
- the centralized database of data collected during audits,
- statistical consistency analyses,
- biennial reviews of scoring algorithms in light of new scientific evidence.
Training and accreditation
Auditors wishing to work with Welfair™ must complete a rigorous three-day training program with theoretical and practical exams on animals. Only those who demonstrate high-level competence are admitted to the official register.
Certification bodies themselves must be accredited under ISO/IEC 17065 and comply with strict quality procedures.
Welfair™ scoring structure
One of Welfair™’s distinctive features is its animal-based measures, rather than purely structural criteria.
How data is collected
Auditors assess indicators such as:
- body condition,
- presence of lameness or injuries,
- social interactions,
- animals’ response to human contact.
Each measure is converted into a score (0–100) and weighted according to ethological importance demonstrated in scientific literature.
The classification system
The final result is expressed in four classes:
- Not acceptable (<20),
- Acceptable (20–55),
- Good (55–80),
- Excellent (>80).
Certification, however, is denied if even one fundamental criterion falls below the minimum threshold: severe suffering cannot be offset by good performance in other areas.
A “living” algorithm
Every two years the evaluation algorithm is updated:
- if an indicator proves to be poorly predictive, it is downgraded,
- if new research (e.g., correlation between lameness and cognitive decline in cattle) shows stronger links, the score is recalibrated.
This dynamic approach makes Welfair™ a continuously evolving system that integrates the latest scientific advances.
Impacts of Welfair™ on the market and farms
Diffusion and recognition
From the first logo on a Catalan milk carton in 2014, today Welfair™ has become a widely recognized label in thousands of supermarkets. Its expansion now extends to Argentina and Chile, marking the beginning of an international journey.
Consumer trust
A 2024 survey found that 82% of Spanish consumers are willing to pay more for animal welfare-certified products, with even higher percentages among millennials.
Improvements in farming practices
Data collected show tangible results:
- 24% reduction in the use of critical antibiotics in certified fattening pigs,
- 15% reduction in clinical mastitis in dairy cows.
These improvements not only enhance animal welfare but also result in greater production efficiency and reduced environmental impact.
Access to sustainable finance
Some Spanish banks have introduced Welfair™ among the criteria for green loans, granting more favorable conditions to companies that maintain a “Good” or “Excellent” score for at least three consecutive years.
Challenges and future outlook
Despite positive results, the model still faces some critical issues.
Access costs
The system requires a fixed fee of €215 + €16 per farm code, in addition to audit costs. A significant expense for small farms, potentially limiting large-scale adoption.
Frequency of audits
Audits are carried out once a year: this limits the ability to detect critical events, such as heatwaves or sudden episodes of animal stress. The proposed solution is integration with IoT sensors (microphones, cameras, environmental sensors) for continuous monitoring.
Risk of regulatory fragmentation
With the European Commission working on harmonized indicators, there is a risk that each country will maintain its own scheme (e.g., ClassyFarm in Italy, Initiative Tierwohl in Germany). Without convergence, consumers may be confused, and the European market fragmented.
Conclusions
Welfair™ is an emblematic case of how scientific research can be translated into value across the supply chain, generating measurable benefits for animals, companies, and consumers.
Its strengths are:
- continuity with the Welfare Quality® and AWIN® protocols,
- transparent public governance (IRTA and NEIKER),
- the ability to constantly update itself.
Its main challenges are:
- economic accessibility for small farms,
- the need to shift from periodic inspections to real-time monitoring,
- the urgency of converging towards a common European model to avoid fragmentation.
If these obstacles are overcome, Welfair™ could consolidate itself as an international benchmark standard, strengthening consumer trust and pushing the entire agri-food sector towards a more ethical and sustainable transition.
Take the first step toward a better future and click below for a demo.
