Guidelines of the IGN

Guidelines of the IGN (PDF-Document)

25 years of IGN - its origins, achievments and future prospects (PDF-Document)

Objectives and foundation of IGN
The International Society of Livestock Husbandry (IGN) promotes the proper housing, breeding, nutrition and treatment of farm animals on a scientific basis. Wide-ranging scientific knowledge is used to find sustainable long-term solutions that facilitate proper animal husbandry. Livestock farmers and animal welfare regulations must take the species-specific needs of farm animals into account. IGN vigorously promotes this cause.

IGN was founded in 1978 by Swiss and German scientists at the instigation and with the support of Dr. h.c. Felix Wankel.

Animal husbandry and animal welfare
On a national and international level IGN provides an impetus for the formulation of legislation and regulations facilitating proper animal husbandry and contemporary, scientifically based animal welfare. Where such decrees already exist, it works to enforce them.

Animal husbandry, ethology and veterinary medicine
Within the research framework appropriate scientific approaches can be used to draw conclusions on diminished animal well-being using behavioural indicators, parameters of veterinary medicine and clinical physiology. IGN fosters efforts which place a high value on ethological, physiological and clinical arguments in the formulation and enforcement of animal welfare legislation. It supports both basic and applied research.

Animal husbandry and ecology
Animal husbandry in the agricultural sphere should also take farm animal ecology into consideration. Proper animal husbandry, feeding and care must not be developed independently of environmentally relevant requirements. The development of proper animal housing systems should be accompanied by an ecological reorientation of agriculture. IGN supports the efforts of politicians, associations and private individuals to bring this about.

Animal nutrition and animal breeding
The well-being, health, behaviour and life of animals can be adversely affected by feedstuffs inappropriate to the requirements of a particular species and by improvements to the efficiency of livestock production through breeding, bio-engineering, genetic engineering and associated measures which ignore the needs of the animals. IGN wants feeding and breeding to take account of animals' species-specific needs.

Members and working method of IGN
IGN members are specialists from various fields involved in animal husbandry, mainly scientists and experts in ethology, agrarian sciences, veterinary science, ethics, philosophy, animal welfare, jurisprudence and government.

IGN disseminates information on issues relating to proper animal husbandry using specialist conferences, workshops, publications, advisory opinions, its website and its quarterly newsletter, "Nutztierhaltung". The newsletter mainly features abstracts of scientific publications in various fields of animal husbandry. IGN is open to collaboration with organisations and institutions whose goals include proper and ecological animal husbandry.

Guidelines of the IGN (PDF-Document)

25 years of IGN - its origins, achievments and future prospects (PDF-Document)

Proceedings of the workshop on the topic of "Suffering" (PDF-Document)

Proceedings of the workshop on "Ethological  and neurophysiological criteria for suffering with special reference to the domestic pig" (PDF-Document)

Report on welfare of laying hens (edited by the IGN and the University of Kassel)
Abstract (PDF-Document)

Proceedings of the workshop on "Group housing of dry sows" (PDF-Document)

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