Andorra extends animal‑welfare audits to horses, sheep and goats and boosts local organic support

The government has approved a package of measures that extends official animal‑welfare controls beyond cattle and increases support for local and organic agriculture.

From this year, equine, ovine and caprine holdings in Andorra will be subject to an external welfare audit every two years. The assessments, carried out by IRTA (the Catalonia Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology), cover 54 holdings and are backed by a dedicated fund of €112,000: €70,000 for equine operations, €25,000 for ovine and €17,000 for caprine. Only holdings whose livestock remain in Andorra for the entire calendar year are eligible; transhumant farms are excluded. The government will formalise spending commitments and schedule payments at a later date.

Evaluations follow four broad principles — feed quality, housing conditions, animal health and animal behaviour — translated into 11 specific indicators. These include practical requirements such as a minimum covered area per animal for winter stabling. The regulation was developed using international technical criteria adapted to Andorra’s mountain pastoral traditions. Officials describe the audits as a first step toward independent external certification that could, in future, allow compliant products to carry a market label attesting to their animal‑welfare standards.

Alongside the welfare audits, the government authorised grants for 2025 to promote proximity and quality agricultural production. A total of €23,572.29 was approved for products under recognised quality regimes, with new eligible categories including wine, trumfa (the local potato) and honey. Within this package, €15,000 was allocated to support domestic wineries; three producers received supplements of €5,130 each to complement per‑vineyard‑area payments. An additional aid tied to cultivated agricultural area was also activated.

Support for organic production includes €14,498 awarded to two holdings that met the most demanding organic requirements — an egg producer and a winery — plus an indirect €7,000 to help cover organic certification costs. Taken together, the principal grants for quality and organic schemes total about €38,070 for 2025, roughly double last year’s allocation; the separate €7,000 certification aid provides further support.

Ministry officials say the measures form part of a broader effort to reinforce local producers, promote sustainable farming practices and improve traceability and market value for Andorran agricultural products. The reforms are presented as a legislative priority to align production with growing consumer demand for sustainably and humanely produced food.