Massive flocks of ‘free-range’ chooks

The reality of free-range chicken farming flies in the face of what most New Zealanders believe about how the birds live, Consumer NZ says.

The consumer watchdog is calling for a mandatory standard for free-range claims after a survey of 41 free-range brands found flocks of almost 40,000 on some New Zealand poultry farms.

Free-range eggs came from flocks of 500 to 10,000 birds while freerange chicken meat flocks were as large as 36,000 birds.

The findings were at odds with what Kiwi consumers believed ‘‘free range’’ meant, chief executive Sue Chetwin said.

‘‘Our latest survey found most consumers think ‘‘free range’’ should mean the birds spend most of their days roaming outside in small flocks. The majority reckon a freerange flock should number between 500 and 1500 hens but the reality can be vastly different.’’

Consumer NZ was seeking public support for a mandatory standard and would make its case to Commerce

and Consumer Affairs Minister Kris Faafoi, Chetwin said.

‘‘We think the standard should require companies to list flock size on packaging. It should also make clear the term ‘free range’ can’t be used unless the hens have regular access to an outdoor range and they use it.’’

However, Egg Producers Federation and Poultry Industry Association executive director Michael Brooks said minimum standards already existed under the Animal Welfare Act.

‘‘The standards and the codes of welfare are already there for meat chickens and layer hens,’’ he said.

‘‘If they have the required space and pop holes giving them access to the outdoors, there’s no evidence that flock size makes a difference.’’

Chickens were descended from ‘‘fringe forest dwellers’’ and liked to be under cover, Brooks said.

‘‘Even if they are free range, they congregate around the sheltered areas. They have an innate fear of something coming from above and they will stay under cover.

‘‘If there’s cover, warmth and protection from the sun, they will go outside but it’s not super encouraging for them.’’

Marianne Macdonald, campaigns manager at animal rights group Safe, disagreed that flock size wasn’t a factor in the birds’ welfare and said many wouldn’t be able to get outside, even if they wanted to.

‘‘There are problems with all forms of chicken production but the worst suffering is in chickens bred for meat,’’ she said.

‘‘There are huge numbers of chickens crammed into sheds and they may never get outside because of all the other birds to get past.’’

The problem was exacerbated by the industry’s continued use of birds bred to grow to full size in a matter of weeks, Macdonald said.

‘‘Their explosive growth means they suffer lameness, making it even more difficult to get to the pop holes.’’

Both the layer hen and meat chicken codes of welfare are up for review by the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee and Brooks said if changes were found to be necessary, they could happen during that process.

‘‘There are problems with all forms of chicken production but the worst suffering is in chickens bred for meat.’’ Marianne Macdonald