Special Issue for the 10th Anniversary of the Animal Welfare and Healthy Farming Branch of the Chinese Association of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine

Dear Colleagues,

Since its establishment in September 2015, the Animal Welfare and Healthy Farming Branch of the Chinese Association of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine has been committed to promoting the advancement of animal welfare principles, fostering healthy farming practices, and driving the sustainable development of animal husbandry. Over the past decade, against the backdrop of rapid global progress in animal welfare science and China's transition from extensive to precision livestock farming, the Branch has focused on cutting-edge theories and technologies worldwide, vigorously advancing the application of animal welfare in education, research, and production. This has significantly contributed to China's animal production industry. 

Animal welfare is a scientific discipline with rich intrinsic value. It requires interdisciplinary integration, theoretical innovation, and technological advancements, particularly the integration of modern digital technologies such as AI across the entire farming sector. 

Furthermore, animal welfare has become a core issue in the global agricultural and food value chain. The EU’s 2019–2024 Animal Welfare Strategy, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE)’s  Animal Welfare Standards, and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)’s emphasis on the link between animal welfare and food safety have propelled the standardization and legalization of animal welfare practices worldwide. 

In China, with the revision of the Animal Husbandry Law (2022), which for the first time included a "reduction of livestock stress" clause, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs’  Technical Standards for Quality and Safety Control in Livestock Farms, animal welfare is gradually shifting from academic discourse to industry practice. Furthermore, the Branch has actively built international dialogue platforms, introduced EU welfare farming certification systems, established China’s own welfare and healthy farming standards, and aligned domestic standards with global benchmarks. Farm-level practices remain the cornerstone of welfare innovation. 

Localized Implementation of the "Five Freedoms": 

Over the past decade, the Branch has achieved remarkable progress in advancing the "Five Freedoms" of animal welfare. Below are listed examples of this: 

1. Physiological Welfare: Promotion of precision feeding and intelligent environmental control technologies, reducing livestock malnutrition rates by 35% (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, 2023).
2. Environmental Welfare: Upgrading intensive farms, increasing coverage of welfare models like vertical farming and fermentation bed systems to 18%.
3. Health Welfare: Advocating "antibiotic-reduction farming," leading to a 42% decline in therapeutic antibiotic use in livestock from 2020 to 2023.
4. Behavioural Welfare: Formulating multiple group and industry standards, including *Technical Standards for Animal Welfare in Farms*.
5. Psychological Welfare: Conducting stress management training for transportation and slaughter processes, driving meticulous care practices.

Over the past decade, the Branch has served as a bridge for professionals, uniting experts, scholars, and practitioners. Its membership now exceeds 1,200 individuals across 28 provinces. It has hosted nine international and domestic conferences, trained over 5,000 professionals, led the development of five national standards and eight industry guidelines, and supported pioneering enterprises like Ningxia Xiaoming in launching cage-free laying hen systems. In 2023, participation in the OIE’s "Asian Farm Animal Welfare Education Program" marked China’s transition from a recipient to a contributor of welfare technologies. Animal welfare concepts are gaining traction, with professionals increasingly recognizing their role in enhancing efficiency and product quality.

Current Challenges:   

Biosecurity, food safety, and infectious disease control remain critical issues. Regional disparities, difficulties in transitioning small-scale farms, and lagging consumer awareness require urgent attention. Moving forward, the Branch will focus on enhancing quality and efficiency through welfare farming, advancing legislation, accelerating technology adoption, and deepening public education to inject new momentum into high-quality animal husbandry and ecological civilization. 

As we progress into the next decade, we firmly believe that animal welfare is not only an ethical imperative but also a "passport" for China’s animal husbandry to engage globally. The Branch will continue upholding scientific rigor to build a modern farming system that harmonizes humans and nature. 

Call for papers (Special Issue on the "Five Freedoms"): 

Submissions are welcome across all related fields, particularly focusing on livestock animals. The Special Issue will prioritize research related to the welfare and healthy farming of common livestock such as pigs, cattle, sheep, and poultry. Relevant disciplines include the following:

1. Animal ethology;
2. Animal microbiology;
3. Animal infectious diseases;
4. Animal genetics;
5. Animal toxicology;
6. Animal immunology.

Prof. Dr. Jianzhu Liu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Veterinary Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• ethology
• microbiology
• infectious diseases
• toxicology
• genetics