Severity and Penalties

Severity and Penalty Points

What's the purpose of classifying claims by "severity" and what's the meaning of "penalty points"?


"Severity"

Many aspects of animal transportation are regulated by law or are necessary for a transparent and credible examination of those.

Not all of these aspects have the same impact on animal welfare. However, we must control all given aspects and claim their non-compliance.

Therefore we have created four "severity levels" in order to illustrate the different impact of non-compliances on the animals' well-being.

The classification of these "severity levels" follows on one hand the direct seriousness of harm done to the animal and on the other hand the possible loss of credibility of a label ensueing the non-compliance.

Severity Level
Significance of Non-Compliance on Animal Welfare
low There is a non-compliance with legal or private jurisdiction. However, there is no, or only a very small, impact on the animals' well-being.
average

a) Observed handling, facilities and actions can lead to a slightly increased stress level and/or minor injuries and/or

b) observed handling, facilities and actions can lead to a considerably increased stress level and/or bigger injuries. However, the probability of occurence is low.

high Observed handling, facilities and actions can lead immediately to high stress level and/or serious pain and injuries. The probability of occurence is high.
very high
Observed handling, facilities and actions which certainly lead to a high social or physiological stress and/or serious pain for the animal.



"Penalty Points"

We haven't found a better expression for these numbers yet and we also don't want to gloss over their meaning: the "penalty points" were developed in co-operation with our clients to show in one single number the decency or poorness of an animal transport.

The penalty points serve to develop an easily comprehensible sanction scheme.
Penalty points count only for one control each. They are NOT accumulated over time or anything similar.

 

Severity of Non-Compliance
  Penalty Points per Claim
low 1
average 2
high 5
very high
15