Welfare Data Trust
Verified Welfare Score standard
An outcome standard in three parts. First, the producer's welfare outcome data is hosted by the Trust, with denominators, periods, methods and missing records published. Second, the Trust audits how the data is collected: which animals are sampled and when, how scorers are trained and calibrated, how instruments are calibrated, and how software turns records into published figures. Third, the verified outcomes are scored from 0 to 10 against the Trust's industry reference. For producers that share no data, the score reflects only what their certification requires, or typical conventional production without one; verified data is what moves a score beyond that. No breed, housing or outdoor-access requirement applies; those are ways to improve outcomes, and the score reflects their results.
Requirements
- Host outcome data with the Trust for at least four consecutive completed production cycles, at flock, herd or lot level, with denominators, periods, methods and missing records published.
- Pass the Trust's audit of the data collection protocol: sampling plan, scorer training and calibration, instrument calibration and publishing software, with unannounced re-scoring visits.
- Publish the species' core outcome indicators defined in the Trust's rubric. For chickens raised for meat: survival including culls, walking ability, footpad and hock condition, air quality and litter condition as the birds experience them, losses in transport and at processing, and observed natural behavior.
- Show the score with its scale (out of 10) and a link to the Trust's directory entry, where the score is published.
Not required
- Any particular breed, growth rate, housing system, outdoor access or stocking density.
- Any other certification. Farms that hold one are scored on their measured outcomes like any other participant.
- A minimum score for participation. Every verified score is published, including low ones.
Tiers
| Tier | Awarded when |
|---|---|
| 0/10 | Data verified. Composite outcomes in the lowest band of the Trust's industry reference, far below typical conventional production, or a core health indicator in that band. |
| 1/10 | Data verified. Composite outcomes well below typical conventional production. |
| 2/10 | Data verified. Composite outcomes below typical conventional production. |
| 3/10 | Data verified. Composite outcomes comparable to typical conventional production, the level for products without a welfare certification. |
| 4/10 | Data verified. Composite outcomes above typical conventional production and comparable to the level for GAP Step 1 and American Humane Certified. |
| 5/10 | Data verified. Composite outcomes comparable to the level for Certified Humane and GAP Step 2, with no core health indicator below the conventional band. |
| 6/10 | Data verified. Composite outcomes comparable to the level for GAP Step 3 and Certified Humane Free Range, with no core health indicator below the conventional band. |
| 7/10 | Data verified. Composite outcomes comparable to the highest level any practice standard requires (GAP Steps 4 to 5+ and Animal Welfare Approved), with every core health indicator above the conventional band. |
| 8/10 | Data verified with no unresolved audit finding. Composite outcomes better than any practice standard requires, with every core health indicator in the upper quarter of the industry reference. Reachable only with verified outcome data. |
| 9/10 | Data verified with no unresolved audit finding. Composite outcomes in the top band of the industry reference, with every core health indicator in its top band. Reachable only with verified outcome data. |
| 10/10 | Data verified with no unresolved audit finding over at least four consecutive cycles. Composite outcomes and every core indicator, including behavior and environment, at the best levels in the Trust's verified reference for the species. Reachable only with verified outcome data. |