The experience of animal welfare inspections as perceived by Danish livestock farmers: A qualitative research approach

Animal welfare control carried out by the authorities by using unannounced on-farm inspection has been expanding in Denmark during the past 10 years. In the EU among others, third-party audit and inspection of animal welfare connected to private labels or as a requirement from the food industry is a growing field. The present study was conducted to bring the farmers' experience of the inspection of animal welfare legislation into the discussion about on-farm animal welfare assessment, and the perceived need for third-party audit. Subsequent to unannounced farm inspections, 12 farmers were interviewed using a semi-qualitative interview technique. The results show that the farmers on the one hand perceived animal welfare inspections as necessary and inevitable, mainly based on a belief that not all farmers comply with the law; at the same time, farmers felt that inspections were generally unfair. In addition, they expressed the view that the inspections were carried out in very different ways between farms. Therefore, the farmers believe that the animal welfare inspection creates a feeling of certainty, because it protects the sector, but also at the same time, produces uncertainty. The analysis also shows a challenge in the communication between the farmers and the inspectors about animal welfare, related to conflicts between languages from different domains. It is suggested that more room for reflection on animal welfare should be taken into account in the future.