Wool sheep welfare is at the heart of the global wool industry and every wool grower’s farm. Ensuring positive animal health outcomes is paramount, ethically as well as economically. The industry recognises the importance of this issue to consumers, brands and retailers, and is committed to transparency in all stages of the wool pipeline.

Best practice principles for sheep

Based on the universally recognised Five Freedoms of animal welfare, the IWTO Specifications for Wool Sheep Welfare provide a concise guide to best practice principles for wool sheep production around the world.

The Specifications respect the vast diversity of sheep production environments, and includes links to the legislative frameworks that protect animal welfare in each wool producing country.

Because of the differences in production systems, sheep breeds, and a host of climatic and environmental variables, best practices in animal welfare are highly specific to region and country. These are guided by the universal animal  welfare principles that meet the physiological and behavioural need of sheep:

  • Environment

  • Nutrition

  • Health

  • Behaviour

  • Handling

Read more about each principle and how it applies in practice in wool production: view or download the IWTO Specifications for Wool Sheep Welfare.

WOOL SHEEP WELFARE & THE DUMFRIES DECLARATION

The IWTO Specifications for Wool Sheep Welfare are also a cornerstone of the Dumfries Wool Declaration, the industry’s 10-point declaration of intent to support an environmentally responsible, sustainable and commercially viable wool industry.

The full text of the Dumfries Wool Declaration is available here. Pledge your support for the wool industry by committing your company to these 10 Principles, and sign the Dumfries Wool Declaration on the Campaign for Wool website.

IWTO & THE OIE

The OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health) is recognised by the World Trade Organistion as the reference organisation for international animal health standards.

The IWTO and OIE  maintain a Memorandum of Understanding with the following commitments:

  • The IWTO monitors national and international welfare regulations set by Government or Intergovernmental Organisations in order to determine the appropriate actions to promote the wool industry in relation to sustainability issues
  • The OIE works on safeguarding world trade by publishing health sanitary standards for international trade in animals and animal products for Member Countries to protect themselves from the introduction of disease and pathogens and avoid their spread worldwide
  • The OIE and IWTO keep each other informed of activities that may be of mutual interest and invite the other to participate as an observer in meetings where matters of mutual interest might arise and make reports of these meetings available.

Both organisations endeavor to cooperate further through both formal and informal consultations on issues of common interest, in particular the exchange of views and participation at meetings on relevant aspects of animal welfare and biosecurity, which could impact the wool industry.