RSPCA’s higher-welfare farm animal certification program has been operating for over 30 years and during this time we’ve improved the lives of more than five billion Australian farm animals and worked with producers, restaurants and retailers to implement countless positive changes.
To best achieve our vision of a world where animals and people live together with dignity, respect and compassion, in what is an increasingly demanding environment, going about business as usual without considering future impact is unacceptable for such an important program. Just like the companies we work with, we’re on a path of continuous improvement so that we can positively impact the lives of more farm animals. To do this it’s crucial that we look to the future and ensure that the program is as well-equipped as it can be to raise the bar for farm animal welfare.
To envision this, we’ve embarked on a transformation program and over the coming years you’ll see some changes but rest assured, fundamentally our mission will remain the same – to improve the lives of animals through care and evidence-based welfare advancements that change attitudes, behaviours, practices and laws. Our transformation will focus on lifting and diversifying our standards, improving our governance and operating model, and the introduction of our new brand identity.
Our first step is to share our new name, RSPCA Certified, and a new logo, designed to be more impactful, easily recognised, clearly visible on packaging and importantly, clearly conveys who we are and what we do. We know RSPCA Approved has been a recognised and respected brand, however our new name goes further to better communicate the strength of RSPCA’s farm animal welfare certification, helping to harness a strong future for the program.
The new logo features three farm animals as a collective on top of the brand name, our statement that animals come first.
Poultry, monogastric and aquaculture make up the three icons to represent farm animals as a whole. The certification program prioritises improving farm animal welfare in Australia. whilst also providing guidance and a trustworthy choice for consumers who want to purchase higher-welfare products.
While it will take some time for brands, retailers and retailers to transition packaging to the new brand identity, wherever you see RSPCA Certified or RSPCA Approved – they reflect the same robust, higher-welfare certification you’ve come to know and trust.
It’s still a certification program, with regular, rigorous assessments by specially trained RSPCA Assessors and a robust certification process on top.
It’s still backed by stringent, science-informed animal welfare standards, developed by the RSPCA Australia Science and Policy team.
It’s still all about raising the bar for farm animal welfare – giving producers a higher-welfare standard they can strive to achieve, and a logo that consumers can rely on to mean better animal welfare.
It’s still independent from industry and government and still provides a better standard of welfare than what’s legally required in Australia.
Importantly, the certification will remain independent from industry and government and continue to provide a better standard of welfare than what’s legally required in Australia, meaning millions of animals raised to a better welfare standard than if the program did not exist.
