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The award is conferred for the special contribution to higher animal welfare standards. The official award ceremony will take place as part of the Animal Health Event held at EuroTier on November 14 at EuroTier 2024 in Hanover, Germany.
The Animal Welfare Award, a distinction award for companies earning a EuroTier innovation award, has been presented by the DLG (German Agricultural Society) together with the bpt (German Association of Practicing Veterinarians) since 2018. The prerequisite of the distinction is winning a gold or silver medal in the DLG award scheme “Innovation Award EuroTier”: A product that has won gold or silver is eligible for the distinction if it also meets the requirements for higher animal welfare standards according to the evaluation criteria of the Animal Welfare Award.
This year, the Animal Welfare Award is being presented to the Flex Air Stall from Cow Welfare A/S, a company headquartered in Denmark. Avoiding heat stress in farm livestock poses a major challenge in times of climate change and increasingly long periods of very high temperatures in the summer. In addition to the significant impairment of animal welfare and health, heat stress in dairy cows also goes hand in hand with a significant decline in the milk yield. Retrofittable systems such as fans are difficult to implement in existing barn buildings and the desired cooling effect is often not achieved where it is needed, namely at the animal.
This is where the Flex Air Stall comes into play: the cow's comfort is significantly increased by a constant flow of fresh air into the lying area via the cubicle bar. This approach is as simple as it is innovative.
Animal suffering due to heat is therefore quickly and continuously prevented. A system that creates a comfortable climate zone in the animals' resting area and therefore quickly and effectively ensures optimum cow welfare in the freestall barn is available for the first time. The Flex Air Stall thus serves to directly protect the welfare and health of cows, particularly in the light of the current challenge posed by climate change, and is therefore thoroughly deserving of the Animal Welfare Award.
September 24, 2024 - EuroTier
