Berglandmilch promoting animal welfare
Austrian dairy Berglandmilch will implement a program to promote animal welfare among its milk suppliers. From 1 July, up to one cent more per kilogram of milk will be paid for particularly animal-friendly housing systems.
Measures to increase animal welfare, which go beyond the statutory requirements, in a three-stage animal welfare bonus programme with additional milk premium supplements, can also help smaller farmers in disadvantaged regions. Transhumance (moving livestock from one grazing ground to another in a seasonal cycle) or letting cows graze in the meadows are especially rewarded in the Berglandmilch animal welfare bonus programme
The staggering takes place in three stages, with stage 1 providing a combination stance with 120 days expiration instead of the statutory 90 days. An 0.5 cent surcharge will be paid in addition for keeping cows in playpens. With a maximum supplement of one cent, a playpen keeping with a year-round run or with at least 120 days grazing is compensated in stage 3.
The new Animal Welfare Act in Austria prohibits, for example, the permanent tethering of dairy cows. With the animal welfare bonus Berglandmilch is creating incentives to further increase cow comfort in the stables.
