Ecological Animal Farming in Andalusia
This consists in feeding animals only with raw materials to achieve ecological products without chemical aid for development and farming techniques that promote environmental balance. Raising animals is performed in a wide leaving the animal reared, freely without influencing its growth. The food is also carried out only with herbal ingredients from organic agriculture.
Andalusian Committee for Organic Agriculture in Spain and European Community (CEC) define as an organic livestock production system that aims to produce top quality health food, nutritional and organoleptic, respecting the environment and animal welfare through the optimal use of resources and use of synthetic chemical products.
In the European Community, organic livestock farming should be considered in the context of an agro-ecosystem in which animals play a key role, closing production cycles make dung needed to expand the subscriber and allowing the rotations with forage crops or grass crops.
The management techniques should respect the European Convention for the Protection of Animals Raised for purposes adopted by Resolution 78/923/EEC of the Council and the rules of Council Directive (on the Protection of Animals and farmer purposes) and shall be aimed at maintaining the good health of livestock through appropriate diets and good management, relying as little as possible to veterinary medicine.
Therefore, in organic livestock, rejected the methods of intensive livestock operation, such as the permanent confinement, prolonged confinement, lack of freedom of movement, mooring, the operating on battery and accommodation in controlled environment.
Buildings for the accommodation of livestock have proper ventilation, natural lighting and adequate space for ensuring free movement of animals and areas of sufficient rest and natural beds of material.
Regard to animal feed in any case is allowed to mix with animal feed (except dairy products and fish meal), stimulating growth and appetite, urea or other toxic substances. All animals must have a reasonable period of breastfeeding.
In organic livestock, rejection techniques of synchronization of estrus unnatural procedures, transfers of genetic manipulation of embryos. Vaccination is permitted when there is a known disease that cannot be controlled by other management techniques or the use of aromatherapy, homeopathy, and so on.
Transportation must be adapted to the resolution 91/628/EEC , and sacrifice are to be governed by the rules set out in the European Convention for the Protection of Animals for Slaughter, Resolution 88 / 306/CEE Council.
Organic stock farming is regulated at national level in Spain by the Technical Regulations and Standards Board of the Organic Farming CRAE (1990).
Food passing all inspections will be provided with labels to ensure consumers the highest quality and environmental respect.
The application of good management practices (selection and breeding, feeding, housing conditions …) and strict biosecurity measures (flow control on the farm, plans for vaccinations, checkups, records zootechnical …) make possible the control of animal diseases without the application of preventive antibiotics, anti-parasitic, hormones or other synthetic chemicals. In these conditions, the supply of existing commercial and homeopathic medicines, phytotherapics recorded (and as other alternative therapies), now provides the treatment of sick animals that may have no recourse in most cases chemically synthesized allopathic medicines.
The organic poultry represents an important innovation in producion of egg and chicken meat. Our country has great facilities for the development of such products, the availability of the mild climate most of the year, large tracts of crop land dried fruit and organic and very healthy. This is a great opportunity for the modernization of our poultry industry and a great business opportunity and rural development.