FACTORY FARMING

APPENDIX
ENDNOTES
DEFINITIONS
Animal factory farming – This report does not seek to
define animal factory farming using specific criteria or
thresholds. Instead, it considers animal factory farming
to be operations which exhibit certain characteristics
that differentiate it from traditional, non-intensive
livestock production. These are:
••
The large scale of the operations in terms of
animal stock numbers;
••
Confinement that undermines the five
animal welfare freedoms; 162
••
Management and husbandry practices which may
compromise the health and safety of workers,
surrounding communities and the environment;
••
Highly mechanised production methods, such as
the use of hardware and automation for tasks such
as feeding and cleaning.
There is no universally agreed definition of ‘animal
factory farming’. The term has been used mainly by
NGOs or pressure groups to refer to livestock
production systems that demonstrate the above
characteristics. Alternative terms include ‘industrial
livestock production’ and ‘intensive animal farming’.
Various definitions are provided by government
regulators. The term ‘Concentrated Animal Feeding
Operations’ (CAFO) is commonly used by industry
and external interests to describe animal factory
farming. The term originates from the United States
Environmental Protection Agency which defines
CAFOs as farm operations that exhibit particular
characteristics. These include the confinement of
animals for at least 45 days per year, and the absence
of grass or other vegetation from the confinement area
during the normal growing season. 163 In the US, CAFOs
can be classed as large, medium or small, depending
on the number of animals that are confined, how
wastewater is managed, and whether the operation
is a significant contributor of pollutants. 164
In the European Union (EU), ‘intensive’ is defined as
an operation which may rear, or be designed to rear,
40,000 poultry, 2,500 production pigs (over 30kg), or
750 sows. 165 The EU recognises that “intensive farming
is likely to result in worse conditions for the animals
than low intensity, ‘natural’ or organic farming”. 165
The Canadian province of Saskatchewan defines an
‘intensive livestock operation’ as one where the space
per animal unit, in which livestock is confined, is less
than 370m 2 . 166
The US-based Pew Commission on Industrial
Farm Animal Production has developed a more allencompassing
term, Industrial Farm Animal Production
(IFAP). This refers to highly intensive production practices
regardless of the size of the facility. 168 IFAP “encompasses
all aspects of breeding, feeding, raising and processing
animals or their products for human consumption”,
with a focus on a small number of species.
Animal factory farming can also be differentiated
from traditional or conventional farming, although
the distinctions may not always be entirely clear cut.
Generally traditional or conventional farms are often
considered to be family owned and operated, smaller
in scale, use less chemicals, antibiotics and feed
inputs, raise a range of animal breeds and treat
animals more humanely.
This report focuses on primary livestock species
associated with animal factory farming: cattle, poultry
and pigs. Globally, however, there are a large number
of livestock species, including rabbits, ducks, and
buffalo that are raised in conditions consistent with
the characteristics of factory farming.
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