[동물복지] 한국 산업 동물 복지는 어떨까? Ver. English

Bioethical essay

A report on the animal welfare of livestock animals in South Korea

Description of the topic

One thing that surprised me when I first came to Hungary was the dog culture that was different from Korea. It was quite impressive to see dog parks and how the dog can allowed in various places, and even big dogs walking freely on the streets with owners and people looking at them with lovely eyes. The debate over animal welfare was unusual in our society, but I could feel indirectly that it has been debated steadily for many years in Europe.

Recently, discussions on animal welfare have been heating up in South Korea. Many people are angry at the mistreatment of animals known through the media, affection for homeless animals encountered on the streets, and wonder how the meat on the table was made. The ever-increasing market for pets and people's different perceptions, including funeral systems for pets, dog hotels, increased shopping for pets, and the popularity of animal television programs, make me feel even more aware of that. But it is still lacking. Because while interest in cute pets increases, awareness of farm animals is a step in place.

Humans have used animals as food, hunting tools, playing, clothes, and working tools. Among them, the most closely related part of human use of animals is the consumption of animals as food. For a long time, humans have used animals as food, and in the process animals have been slaughtered, ignoring even basic rights. Under these circumstances, Korea's livestock industry has developed into a way of seeking dense to increase productivity - dense breeding its called factory farming has allowed consumers to consume livestock at relatively low prices, but it has caused many problems, such as poor immunity to livestock due to dense breeding and environmental pollution caused by livestock manure and odour. Furthermore, now many people can know that dense breeding not only threatens the physical health of animals but also the mental health. So this truth makes some people claim strongly the animal rights. However, Some people think that for the welfare of animals, human welfare is being ignored.

The current situation of livestock in factory farm is disastrous. Chicken stay in a cage the size of A4 paper for life, and antibiotics are sprayed to them several times a day to remove mites. Pigs are born on the floor of concrete and live in a stall which can't move actively for entire their life. Also, livestock would be ruthlessly killed in the event of an infectious disease. In factory farming, cows cannot go to pasture and almost all their natural habits are impossible and frustrating. Most dairy cows milk several times a day in a milky area covered with excrement. Cows covered in excrement and injured in their legs should also stand in hard concrete during milking. Factory cows produce an average of more than 36 kilograms of milk each day, an abnormal amount due to genetic manipulation and hormone injections. Cows are regularly given a growth hormone, Psilac, that increases milk production. The use of growth hormones increases the chance that cows will become lame and the chance of cancer in humans.

So I would like to discuss in this essay why we should pursue the transition from the current factory farming to the animal welfare farm through the pros and cons of animal welfare farms. and the need of animal welfare for livestock and the reality of farm animal in South Korea.

The current status of animal welfare farms in Korea.

For the growing interest of people in animal welfare and sustainable safe livestock industry, the government of Korea has introduced an animal welfare livestock farm certification system. Korea's animal welfare farm certification system started with the layer chicken on March 19, 2012, followed by the order of pig (2013) meat chickens (2014) cows (2015). As of August 2017, domestic animal welfare farms had a total of 132 farms, including 92 chicken farms, 22 pork farms, and 6 cow farms. The figure is very low, with 8.5 percent of the layer chicken farms, 0.67 percent of the meat chicken farms, 0.26 percent of the pig farms and 0.11 percent of the cow farms.

The pros of the operation of animal welfare farms in Korea

• Animal welfare farms are better for animals, farmer and the environment

• Animal health directly affects human health (e.g. Bird flu, swine flu, Food-borne bacterial illnesses, such as Campylobacter and Salmonella). Improving the welfare of animals is increasingly being recognized as one of the key interventions in achieving control of zoonotic disease. For example, although Campylobacter and most Salmonella species have traditionally been thought of as zoonotic diseases, dangerous to human but giving no clinical signs of disease in chickens themselves, it is increasingly evident that chickens with high welfare are less likely to carry these bacteria.

• Even when animals do not die or have to be killed, disease and injury have major economic and welfare consequences. Improving their health thus provides another way in which efficiency and welfare are both working hand in hand. Healthy animals cost less in veterinary bills, medication and in the labour needed to treat them. As a result, the farmers may expect to see a decrease in the cost of ranch management.

• Animal welfare farm could be a way to overcome the occurrence of civil complaints due to bad smell which caused by dense breeding.

• When the grassland Formation, Animal welfare farms are basically created by the so-called "hoof cultivation", which uses the characteristics of hoofs and grassroots of livestock without depending on the power of machinery. As a result, 1. the soil can be prevented from flowing out of the grassland when the grassland is create. 2. excretion of the livestock are help to the grassland in the maintenance and management of the grassland, thus, the input of chemical fertilizer would be suppressed. By maintaining the ecosystem circulation system through this way, it can help maintain a healthy natural environment.

• Animal welfare farms can create jobs, boost profits and keep local food supplies healthy

• Most stockmen, animal welfare farmer, take great pride in looking after their animals and producing healthy, high welfare animals. Although such advantages are difficult to quantify in financial terms, they have clear financial implications. Farmers who are happy with the way their livestock are being kept will be likely to inspect them more often and spot problems at an early stage. it means that can have a good system thus will get some more benefit economically. Under this virtuous circle, one can expect to create jobs with high job satisfaction.

• According to the 2001 Guidelines for Humane Handling, Transport and Slaughter of Livestock (FAO, Humane Society International), animals that are healthy and well rested prior to slaughter are more likely to produce good quality meat. Animal stress before and during slaughter can have serious adverse effects on meat quality and on the market price of the meat. In other words, less stressed animals can make better products.

• Animal welfare farms have great significance in responding to consumption patterns that favor consumers' well-being these days. Animal welfare farms are farming methods that utilize the inherent power of natural resources to obtain food in the natural cycle of grass, soil, and livestock. Since livestock is grown on environmentally-friendly grass food, consumers can receive minerals and vitamins rich, delicious, and safe food.

The cons of the operation of animal welfare farms in Korea

• There is a lack of government attention and support for the conversion of animal welfare farms.

• The farmers' lack of know-how in the operation of animal welfare farms.

• There are difficulties in running animal welfare farms on a proper basis.

• Korea's current employment situation makes it difficult to recruit troops.

• Farm owners have a hard time finding a place to sell their product.

• More scientific data collection is required on current issues to solve the anxiety of animal welfare farm operations.

• It is necessary to identify the benefits of animal welfare farming by collecting more samples. For example, There are rumors that chickens raised in animal welfare farms have more mites, so more scientific data is needed to certain.

• Difficulties in breeding management and lack of benefits

• There are disadvantages such as egg production rate, which is 10 percent lower than dense breeding chicken, increasing feed ratio (10-15 percent) due to increased activity, and difficulties in finding fixed customer early in the operation of the farm.

• Although the certification of animal welfare livestock farms is far more difficult than the environmental-friendly, antibiotics and HACCP(Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) certifications, the certification process is not clear and there is a lack of differentiation in the certification process.

Misunderstandings and Truths of Animal Welfare

# Animal welfare means vegetarian food?

Most animal rights groups in our country also encourage vegetarianism, claiming the right to be happy with animals. And some people ask, "Why do you eat meat while you're looking for animal welfare?' In conclusion, animal welfare does not mean vegetarianism. And animal rights are different than what we generally say about animal welfare. Right animal welfare neither denies animal-related industries nor forces some people to eat vegetable. Just means the purpose of animal welfare is to reduce the pain inflicted on animals even if they are used and raised by necessity. In other words, animal welfare in the livestock sector reduces the pain caused by the breeding and production of livestock, which means improving management methods and breeding facilities.

# To be certified for animal welfare, you have to be grazed?

The most misunderstood aspect of animal welfare is grazing-type breeding, which many people think is animal welfare. It is true that grazing-type breeding can provide more instinctive opportunities for livestock, but it is no always good for animal welfare.

In one case, a livestock farmer wanted to get animal welfare certification because he was raising pigs in a paddock, so the agency in charge conducted a walkdown. but their breeding environment was very poor, with no proper shed in place, forcing pigs to be exposed to cold, heat, snow and rain. As a result, the livestock farmer was not certified for animal welfare. On the other hand, the layer chicken farms that didn't graze the chickens received animal welfare certification, which met the requirements of the certification standards. As these examples show, animal welfare can only be obtained when various requirements are met, such as feeding, breeding facilities and livestock management. Not just grazing animal.

# Animal welfare breeding has no disease?

The outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in England in 2001 caused a huge economic loss. and The British government concluded that for sustainable, safe farm industry, livestock must be raised environmentally and improved animal welfare. About nine years later, there was the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Korea and suffered a national disaster, the adoption of the animal welfare livestock farm certification system was accelerated by reference to the British countermeasures.

The reason for this emphasis on animal welfare is that poor breeding conditions and management of livestock can reduce the immunity of livestock by stressing them.

In other words, it can normalize the natural immunity of livestock by reducing the stress they receive, and reduce the occurrence of disease when they operate normally. Although animal welfare breeding can help normalize livestock's immunity, it should be clearly understood that animal welfare cannot be a panacea for all disease problems.

Conclusion

The current level of animal welfare of livestock in Korea is disastrous. and for a drastic change, public attention and the right perception about animal welfare of livestock, It seems that the government of Korea will need to make an active effort.

It is also true that there are many industrial and economic problems to introduce animal welfare. The introduction of animal welfare farms could reduce the yield of ranchers by limiting the number of animals and establishing a system that guarantees the five freedoms of animals, and may face a situation where customers turn their backs on the rising food prices caused by the operation of animal welfare farms. In addition, the fact that animal welfare farms are far superior to factory farms in the prevention of infectious diseases should be proved through more research results, as they have more external contact elements than factory farms and free personal contact.

Nevertheless, animal welfare is an inevitable trend for society, and I think it is the direction that the livestock industry of South Korea should take and take. In current factory farming, chickens spend their entire lives in A4-sized chicken farms, failing to do instinctive activities such as searching for food and bathing in sand, only laying eggs, and ending their lives as meat. Pigs spend their entire lives stuck in a body-like frame, unable to see the sky or walk around. If you think of animals as being Sentimental beings with feelings, the stress they are under is unimaginable, and it is impossible to rule out the occurrence of a disease caused by that stress. Also, antibiotics, which are used to prevent diseases caused by many breeding heads, cannot ignore the effects on humans who eat meat. For this reason, I think the welfare of farm animals should be considered and developed gradually, and the role of veterinarian in this process will be very important. As mentioned earlier, for animal welfare livestock farms, the risk of external contact is greater and may be vulnerable to infectious diseases caused by contact between individuals, etc. It should do its best to prevent diseases in advance through regular visits by veterinarians and health checks between individuals, minimize the possibility of germs in the process of farm animals becoming meat and distributing it, and eventually bring about changes in people's awareness and institutional changes in the welfare of current farm animals, so that animals can enjoy a happy life.

It's difficult to lay down your life for someone. But historically, animals have been willing to give their lives away for humans. In the past, if we looked at animals from a human point of view and didn't know how to respect their value as life, from now on, we should think of animals in a different aspect from what we've been doing. because we can recognize that animals are like humans as Sentimental and are precious creatures that are no different from us in the most basic respects.

References :

http://www.chukkyung.co.kr

http://www.snunews.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=17271

http://kostat.go.kr/portal/korea/kor_pi/8/6/2/index.board?bmode=read&aSeq=372563

https://www.worldanimalprotection.org/

https://www.ifc.org

http://www.dailyvet.co.kr/news/animalwelfare/90621

http://www.mafra.go.kr/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_welfare_and_rights_in_South_Korea

http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/AN15383