ANIMAL welfarists have turned their attention to China, with the RSPCA securing a £359,000 grant to take the concept of higher welfare labelling to the country's huge livestock sector, and its increasingly affluent consumers.

China is home to half of the world’s pigs and a third of its poultry, so any improvements in its livestock farming practices have the potential to impact on an enormous number of animals, said the RSPCA, which was awarded the grant by US-based foundation the Open Philanthropy Project.

That money will support a two-year project using the RSPCA's farm animal welfare standards and higher welfare labelling scheme as a model for a similar assurance and food labelling programme in China. RSPCA head of international Paul Littlefair said: “This grant is a major step forward in our efforts to improve farm animal welfare in China. There is a real and growing appetite both at government level and among the public for ethically produced food and reliable food labelling. The scale of farming in China means there is an opportunity to make an extremely broad and lasting impact on animal welfare.”

The RSPCA co-hosted the country’s first ever conference on the subject in 2005, responding to the Chinese authorities’ concerns over food safety by emphasising the impact that poor treatment of animals can have on the safety and quality of meat and dairy products.

Since then, it claims that the consensus among China’s own scientists and food industry leaders around the importance of welfare has steadily grown. Every March, the 3000 delegates of the National People’s Congress come together in Beijing for a week of intense discussion on the major issues confronting the country’s society and economy – and last month, farm animals were firmly on the agenda, as scientist and Congress delegate Zhao Wanping called for China to legislate for stronger welfare measures for farm animals.

Although China’s meat, eggs and milk production has grown rapidly over recent decades, average consumption is still half that of the US and far below Europe. Interestingly there are signs recently that the authorities are anxious not to see consumption of meat and dairy rise to levels that are unsustainable.

In May 2016 the health ministry issued new dietary guidelines recommending more moderate meat intake, primarily with a view to improving public health. This would also chime in with China’s commitment to environmental protection, limiting the adverse impact of increased livestock production in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and water pollution.

Mr Littlefair added: “It appears that China is moving in a similar direction to Europe, with a focus on encouraging citizens to eat modest amounts of meat but to choose carefully, considering the impact of their eating habits particularly on the environment and animal welfare. A higher welfare assurance scheme will enable Chinese consumers for the first time to think about the wellbeing of farm animals in their purchasing choices.”