Welfare Quality

All Maitomaa farms are Welfare Quality® certified. The certificate is granted to farms where cow welfare is regularly assessed, using a system based on current research data. Maitomaa is the second dairy in Europe to receive this certification.

Maitomaa also produces milk and yoghurt bearing Finland’s first packaging label for animal welfare, the ELVI label. The label’s strict criteria are based on scientific research, and its use is monitored by an independent operator, FinWelfare Oy. The international Welfare Quality system, developed to measure animal welfare, and the ELVI label complement each other: ELVI requires conditions that support animal welfare and WQ measures the results of those conditions.

Why is Welfare Quality® a good method for measuring welfare?

1. WQ looks at things from the animal’s perspective, not the human’s
It is not assumed that an animal is automatically doing well simply because certain criteria are met – for example, things regarding barn structures or smooth running of barn operations – but rather, welfare is assessed by observing the animal and its behavior.

2. WQ observes animal welfare comprehensively
WQ is based on research data, which has been used to develop species-specific welfare criteria and principles. These criteria and principles allow for a comprehensive assessment of cow welfare and make it easy to identify areas for improvement.

3. WQ goes beyond the minimum standards set by animal welfare legislation
WQ audits help to better understand the species-specific needs and behavior of cows and provide tools for continuously improving animal welfare.

On-going auditing. Photo: Essi Wallenius.

4. The cows’ welfare is also monitored by an external party
An expert who regularly visits the barn ensures that even long-term changes in the cows’ welfare are detected.

5. WQ is not dependent on individual countries’ standards regarding the living conditions of farm animals
Thanks to a Europe-wide measurement system, animal welfare can be assessed according to the same principles everywhere.

PRUDENCE
Prudence lives in a loose-housing barn in the Kuopio area in Finland. She is friendly and curious, and she likes to follow people around the barn.

Prudence also goes outside in the winter.