Assessing Livestock Production Practices on Small-Scale Multi-Species Farms Located on Floreana Island, Galápagos Islands

SIMPLE SUMMARY: In the Galápagos Islands, food animal agriculture is an important source of local meat and eggs and is driven by smallholder farms. With anticipated future increases in production animal populations in the Galápagos—one of the most biodiverse and protected ecosystems on the planet—the health of humans, animals, and the environment must be considered. An integral component of sustainable agriculture is animal welfare, which considers the health, nutrition, housing, and behavior of animals. To our knowledge, no formal assessments of production animal welfare have been conducted in the Galápagos Islands. We evaluated animal welfare conditions on farms located on Floreana Island, Galápagos utilizing five basic measures of animal care. We identified opportunities for enhanced activities in two of these measures, animal health management and timely euthanasia. Future work should promote knowledge transfer and in-country capacity building in these areas. Efforts to positively impact smallholder farm livelihoods in the Galápagos Islands will sustainably support the interconnected realms of animal health and welfare, wildlife and environmental health, and food safety and security in this unique ecosystem. ABSTRACT: Globally to date, established international standards for animal welfare, a priority of sustainable agriculture, have primarily focused on large-scale producers. However, across Latin America, including in Ecuador’s Galápagos Islands, smallholder farms play a critical role in food safety and security. We assessed five basic animal welfare measures (feed and water access, shelter availability and housing systems, animal health management, animal behavior, and timely euthanasia) for poultry, pigs, and cattle on Floreana Island, Galápagos. Utilizing assessment standards from multiple US sources and international standards, we developed a questionnaire and used it to conduct in-depth interviews during 4–5 July 2022 with eight participating producers, representing 75% of animal agriculture on Floreana. While we identified opportunities to enhance competencies in animal health management and timely euthanasia, farms performed well in the other assessed measures. Future work should promote knowledge transfer and in-country capacity building in farm biosecurity, access to veterinary care, antimicrobial resistance surveillance, and euthanasia methods. Efforts to positively impact smallholder farm livelihoods in Galápagos—one of the most biodiverse and protected ecosystems on the planet—will sustainably support human health through the interconnected realms of animal health and welfare, wildlife and environmental health, and food safety and security.