The animal welfare index TGI 35 L, developed in Austria, has proven to be a practical and accurate instrument for assessing animal welfare at the farm level.

Within the framework of this project, this proven system for assessing animal welfare is being integrated, in cooperation with the Institute for Food and Resource Economics at the University of Bonn, into a comprehensive instrument for analyzing the effects of cross-compliance. The interplay of effects from land use, producer income, the environment, biodiversity, animal welfare, and food safety yields entirely new and valuable insights for decision-makers in the European Union.

The results of this project will directly inform the overall EU project CCAT. This project evaluates the effects of cross-compliance measures on achieving environmental, sustainability, and socio-economic goals in Europe. The findings will provide valuable information for the discussion of cross-compliance policy at the European level.

A more detailed description of the overall CCAT project can be found at www.ccat.nl/UK/Cross compliance tool for animal welfare.

Main goal of the project is the development of an analytical tool for the evaluation of the effects of cross compliance (CC) concerning the appropriateness of housing systems. The investigation of the animal appropriateness of cattle and pig housing systems by means of a field-tested evaluation system (TGI 35 L) represents the basis for this purpose.