Rovagnati livestock
We have long invested in the improvement and development of the Rovagnati Livestock area through proprietary, directly-managed facilities and others that are indirectly controlled. This journey began in 1994 when we purchased our first land, and has accelerated notably since 2019 with further investments aimed at restructuring, reclamation, and optimization in accordance with higher quality standards.
Rovagnati has two supply chains: the 3I supply chain, from pigs born, raised and selected in Italy, and the Rovagnati AW supply chain, which instead adheres to the Swiss Animal Welfare (TIERWOHL SCHWEIZ - TWS) guidelines, among the highest in Europe.
Our suppliers
Alongside the Rovagnati supply chains we work with several external suppliers (exclusively slaughterhouses and butchering facilities) recognized at the European level for relevance and size, and selected according to quality and conduct criteria aligned with our values. The companies we work with are required to comply with EU and national laws governing standards guaranteeing animal welfare, and to adhere to the contents of the Rovagnati Code of Ethics by committing to its principles and standards of behavior. In order to assess the quality of suppliers, we include adherence to the GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) programme, of which BRC, IFS and FSSC 22000 certifications are part, as a preferential selection criterion.
Among the external supply chains we also find Naturals, certified by DNV for the Animal Welfare management only, which, through the development of a specific Animal Welfare program, guarantees good animal husbandry and welfare practices:
• No castration without anaesthesia;
• No cutting and filing of teeth;
• Retention of ears;
• Tail-cutting only practicable on veterinary certificate. Project with goal of total elimination of tail docking by 2030;
• Permanent access for sows and pigs to manipulable environmental enrichment materials such as ropes and cloth. Jute sacks for sows and alfalfa for pigs are also provided;
• Freedom of movement for sows up to 7 days before farrowing.
In addition to Animal Welfare, the absence of hormone use and the abolition of antibiotic use from birth to slaughter are guaranteed, according to the KDV (ALG) ‘Antibiotic Free Life Guarantee’ supply chain guidelines. Animals that, on the basis of veterinary inspections, require antibiotic treatment are treated and excluded from the supply chain.
Animal Welfare within the Rovagnati AW supply chain
1. No antibiotic use from birth
No antibiotics may be administered from birth to selection of the animal, except for its own protection. All animals, if necessary, can be treated by modern systems of medication in the drinking water or by medicated feed.
In these specific cases, a strictly controlled administration of the medication is carried out by our in-house veterinary team, which uses vaccine prophylaxis with specific and stabulogenic vaccines permitted by law and does not use mass treatment by means of prophylaxis and metaphylaxis, always ensuring that the appropriate suspension times are observed in accordance with the law.
All Rovagnati AW production sites have stringent biosecurity measures in place and high health protocols that are constantly monitored by our operators. All production units are registered and monitored under the national ‘Classy Farm’ scheme that regulates and monitors antibiotic use, biosecurity and animal welfare measures. At all stages of breeding, fluoroquinolones, cephalosporins and colistin are not used unless there are no alternatives and/or there is a risk of animal suffering.
2. No castration without anesthesia and analgesia
In accordance with European legislation, only surgical castration with a local anaesthetic and anti-inflammatory for general use is permitted and chemical or chemical-based castration is prohibited.
3. Suitable environment
The Rovagnati AW supply chain sees a 30 percent increase in space over normal density criteria to provide the animals with more space at all stages of growth. The following specifies the characteristics that livestock environments must have in order to further improve living conditions:
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Use of environmental enrichment to accommodate animal behaviour through the provision of manipulative material such as straw, wood, paper. In the Rovagnati AW chain, all the animals, at all stages of breeding, are provided with hanging sticks or accessible by specific dispensers. Inside each stall, hay and dehydrated alfalfa compressed into large pellets are also distributed, with the exception of the weaning site where the piglets have straw instead;
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Maximum protection from the risk of injury and disease*;
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Free guaranteed access to drinking water and feed according to BWM (Body Weight Mass)* requirements;
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Facilities where optimal climatic conditions can be achieved, respecting the lowest critical temperature (LCT) and highest critical temperature (HCT) of pigs*;
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Availability of solid flooring, including in animal resting areas, and gridded flooring in some structures, depending on the cleaning technology in use in the breeding enclosures.
* The following conditions also apply within the 3I proprietary supply chain.
4. Controlled diet
The animals' diets are specific to each growth stage and are balanced and calculated by an experienced animal nutritionist. In this way, feed rations are designed and developed according to different weight categories and life stages. This ensures the animal a feed ration appropriate to its nutritional needs (protein, energy, mineral and essential nutrients...) at all times of the day.
On Rovagnati farms, we follow a highly balanced diet that includes:
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Reducing protein content and increasing amino acid use so as to ensure the pigs’ protein needs are still met while decreasing ammonia production in the environment;
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Reduction of grain consumption through the recovery of highly controlled food (for the same nutritional intake) from the human food chain, following the principles of anti-waste and the circular economy;
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Identification of products that will completely and adequately replace soybeans in animal feed;
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Inclusion of valuable foods such as milk whey.
5. Health checkups
We carry out daily check-ups by specialised operators in order to verify the state of health of the animals and any problems that have arisen.
The check is mainly based on visual inspection of the animal's condition and behaviour. If conditions are found to be unsatisfactory, specific measures are taken to protect the animals by identifying and reporting them in order to avoid the administration of further treatment. With the aim of making the processes as integrated as possible, the care of our animals is entrusted to in-house veterinarians who carry out all the necessary checks to safeguard their well-being and the modulated administration of medicines with the application of medications during feeding in order not to generate stress.
6. Freedom of movement before farrowing
Sows are granted freedom of movement up to 7 days before farrowing, in accordance with European legislation.
7. No tooth filing
Neither cutting nor filing of teeth is practised for all animals.
8. No to ear and tail docking
The cutting of the ears and tail is prohibited.