Technical economical effects of the measures on the pigs welfare and protection

The term of animal welfare was chosen to describe the animal life quality. It is derived from the English language. This notion includes health, productive comfort and also involves the animal protection. The Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare, issued by the World Society for Animals Protection, defines welfare as: Degree in which the animal physical, behavioural and psychological requirements are met. As a member state, Romania has implemented EU legislation on the animal welfare and protection, including farm animals. There are seven measures to ensure the minimum standards concerning animal welfare on farms and they include: flooring, lighting, fights prevention, potable water, microclimate, dry bedding, health. Increasing the number of farms in which are applied superior measures in comparison with the mandatory technological measures and improving the welfare of pigs leads to improving the environment and the rural space. The animal welfare superior standards often involve additional costs and therefore the state provides some tools to compensate producers for higher production costs for: increasing by at least 10% of available space allocated to each animal, ensuring at least 11 hours / day artificial light with a value of 50 lux of lighting, improving pig welfare conditions during transport, correction the nitrites and nitrates level in the water, reducing pollutants by 30% in comparison with the mandatory minimum level, by maintaining optimal microclimate parameters limits, improving the rest area.