European Union-Rules on Poultry slaughter.

EUROPEAN UNION-RULES ON POULTRY.

Plans to implement Europe’s first comprehensive welfare rules on chickens raised for meat were released for consultation by Defra yesterday.

The EU rules focus on the overall welfare of birds, as well as the individual factors that contribute to welfare, and include the monitoring of birds at slaughterhouses so that signs of poor welfare can be raised with both producers and agencies responsible for animal welfare and food safety.

The new European rules for the first time produce a legal baseline for all producers, including those who do not participate in any voluntary assurance schemes, while complementing, not replacing, existing voluntary assurance schemes.

Farming minister Jane Kennedy said: "These new EU rules are a welcome improvement on the limited conditions previously applied to the welfare of chickens raised for meat. From now on, we will be looking at what really matters, which is the overall welfare of the bird itself.