Regulations loom for chicken farms
The SPCA’s chief scientific officer says the prospect of regulations specifically for meat chickens will improve the fastgrowing New Zealand poultry industry.
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is investigating Tegel’s broiler farm in Helensville, Auckland, after animal rights group Direct Animal Action published a video taken of dead and injured chickens at the plant.
The National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee, which sets the animal welfare codes, has declined to comment while MPI’s investigation is under way.
However, the SPCA’s Dr Arnja Dale says scoping work has already begun that could add teeth to the current welfare code.
Dale said it would take three years to complete the regulation process, and she hopes it will bring down the density of chickens allowed, from the current minimum of 38 kilograms per square metre of floor space, to 30kg at all times.
‘‘That’s a lot of birds ... not when you put them in at one day old but when they’re at slaughter weight – that’s very crowded.’’
She hopes it will encourage chicken breeders to import breeds that don’t grow as fast, reducing the risk of birds becoming lame. Dale says those breeds are not available in New Zealand yet.
‘‘I would love to see humane breeds regulated in New Zealand. Do I think that’s reasonable at this point of time and where our poultry industry is? No, I don’t, but I would love to see companies showing some leadership and bringing that on. I can see stocking density being hopefully decreased.’’
Currently the welfare code advises chicken farmers to check on the birds at least once a day for deaths and injuries.
Commercial sheds can contain 20,000 to 40,000 chicks, and Dale believed three or more checks a day would be better for a commercial operation.
Meanwhile, a British animal welfare expert says Direct Animal Action’s video shows behaviour that he considers unusual.
Jonathan Cooper, a principal lecturer at the University of Lincoln in England, said the number of bleeding birds seemed relatively high, as was the number of hens on their backs.
‘‘In my experience the incidence of chicken pecking in broilers is rare. The number of dead and injured birds in the video suggests the farms were either not carrying out regular checks, or failing to perform these to standards expected of codes,’’ he said.
Tegel has said the video was ‘‘designed to shock’’ and did not reflect reality at the Helensville farm.
Consumer demand for chicken has soared in New Zealand in the past 40 years, and Dale said that gave poultry companies added reason to keep up with new welfare standards.
‘‘With billions and billions of investment being invested into synthetic proteins, it’s important that if our meat industries are going to continue and thrive in the changing landscape that is coming globally, not just in New Zealand, that we have the best practice possible for our farms.’’
Public debate would ultimately drive changes to animal welfare, she said.
‘‘Normally it takes some form of public dialogue . . . It exposes people to some of the methods we use in New Zealand in terms of farming our animals that is often behind closed doors.’’