Animal Health and Welfare

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Various factors such as diseases, epidemics, methods of treatment, animal husbandry, etc. can seriously affect the welfare of farm animals. This does not simply have direct effects on the animal and its keeper, but can also have a considerable influence on the economy, environment and society. Aspects of animal welfare should not therefore be seen in isolation from these influences. For this reason, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is taking part in a new research campaign in the field of animal health and welfare in association with theFederal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV) and a further 28 European partners. This initiative is based on a measure that deals with research into infectious diseases affecting livestock (EMIDA, Emerging and Major Infectious Diseases of Livestock) and which has now been extended to include inter alia the important aspect of animal welfare.  

The new research campaign ANIHWA (Animal Health and Welfare) will focus on the health and welfare of farm animals: New approaches towards keeping farm animals, including measures to prevent the introduction of pathogens, the rapid identification and isolation of sick animals in a herd and new diagnostic procedures and vaccines will be developed within the framework of European research projects. Furthermore, new procedures will be elaborated for the use of antibiotics or alternatives to antibiotics on farm animals.  

ANIHWA takes advantage of the international division of labour. German researchers are contributing their know how to joint international projects in the fight against animal diseases that take the welfare of the animal into account and are at the same time gaining access to the know how of other European partners. This European-wide cooperation in the field of animal health and welfare is in line with the aims of the Federal Government's High-Tech Strategy and the BMBF's Internationalization Strategy. It also contributes towards achieving the Lisbon objectives. The funding initiative complements funding under the 7th EU Research Framework Programme and is supported by the European Commission.  

As a complementary European measure, ANIHWA supports the national funding priority FUGATO (functional genome analysis in the animal organism), whose approach towards health aspects in farm animals focuses on breeding measures. Studies on the transmission of infectious diseases to human beings are part of the funding priority zoonotic infectious diseases.