Animal Health and Animal Welfare - Bayer Latin America

Today is World Veterinary Day and this year the theme is Animal Welfare. This is an important topic for Bayer and we spoke to our colleagues in Latin America for the story below: 

“Animal welfare and animal health work together. One cannot exist without the other” says Gilberto Camargo, head of Animal Health in the sub regions of Chile and Argentina. “If you do not have animal welfare, you do not have animal health. And if you do not have animal health, you do not have animal welfare.” Last year, with the strong leadership and direction of Uwe Mucke, the Head of Animal Health in Region Latin America, our colleagues in Latin America completed a five-month training from the Cambridge Institute in Animal Welfare. And now they are using what they learned to help the farmers in their countries. 

Farm visit "Bayer milk tour"

Animal Welfare is the science with objective approaches in order to understand the animal’s needs, considering the animal holistically. It means understanding the animal not just from the physical point of view, but also the mental point of view. And it is a rapidly growing science in the veterinary world.

Uwe and the entire team in Latin America take animal welfare very seriously, and their passion is contagious. The message they share with farmers is simple – “what is good for the animal is good for the business.” Treat the animals well. 

The Bayer team goes directly to farms to explain the principle of animal welfare to farmers and their staff. And since farmers need to make a living for themselves and their families, it is important to help them see how making the animal healthier and happier is good for their business, and also good for the farming industry in Latin America. 

After visiting many farms and developing relationships with the farmers and veterinarians, the Bayer team knows that farmers want to do what is good for the animals, but sometimes they have habits that have been passed down for many years. Sometimes they do things because they have always done it that way, but if someone explains a better process and how it is beneficial for the animal and the farm, people change their behaviors. It is important to know the main factors that may cause stress and possible pain and implement methods that remove or reduce these stressors to the maximum

If farmers are taught new methods that are better for the animals, then the animals are healthier, and this is also good for the farmer. 

Gilberto says it best. “In Latin America, our company is well known ‘Bayer es Bueno.’ (If it’s Bayer, it’s good). And supporting animal welfare and animal health it brings additional value and is truly supporting our Bayer motto of “Science For A Better Life.”

To learn more about the Bayer team in Latin America and our work in Animal Welfare, stay tuned! We’ll be sharing more information on this topic every month.