Tyson transitions to Five Domains animal welfare framework

Tyson Foods is integrating a new animal welfare framework, called the Five Domains, across its global poultry operations.

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David Tadevosian I shutterstock.com
David Tadevosian I shutterstock.com

Tyson Foods is integrating a new animal welfare framework, called the Five Domains, across its global poultry operations.

“From our standpoint, what we’re really trying to do is drive continues improvement in animal welfare. The Five Domains is a framework that we feel helps us better assess and communicate about the continuum of animal welfare to our team members and to our stakeholders,” Dr. Ken Opengart, Vice President of Global Animal Welfare, Tyson Foods, said.

“If we can better communicate and better assess, then we’re going to continue to drive better animal welfare culture and drive continuous improvements in animal welfare outcomes. That's really our mission at Tyson.”

Last year, the company made the decision to transition from the Five Freedoms – freedom from hunger and thirst, freedom from discomfort, freedom from pain injury or disease, freedom to express natural behavior and freedom from fear and distress.

“The Five Freedoms are somewhat limited in not only the ability to assess welfare, but it really focuses on negative things,” explained Opengart. “And what we’re after is an actionable animal welfare framework.”

What are the Five Domains?

The Five Domains animal welfare framework, developed by David Mellor, a former Director of the Animal Welfare Science and Bioethics Centre at Massey University, incorporates functional and behavioral components to provide a holistic look at the animal’s overall welfare well-being.

This framework encourages the promotion of positive mental states through four domains – nutrition, physical environment, health and behavioral opportunities – ultimately contributing to the mental state of the animal.

“Within the Five Domains, each domain has positive outcomes and negative outcomes,” said Opengart. “You can have positive outcomes in one domain and negative outcomes in another domain and they’re all together collectively going to impact that mental domain – how the animal is coping with the environment.”

Tyson Foods, headquartered in Springdale, Arkansas, is the largest chicken producer in the United States and the fifth largest turkey producer. It is also one of the nation’s four largest beef producer and a major producer of pork. The company is also expanding its presence in the plant-based protein sector.  

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