Chickens on a factory farm. Photo: Depositphotos.com
Too many chickens often kept in small area: animal rights group
Animal rights organisation Wakker Dier is taking legal action against food and product safety board NVWA in an effort to get more space for chickens raised on factory farms.
The organisation says the Netherlands has been breaking EU rules for more than 10 years and has also asked the European Commission to intervene.
Since 2007 no more than 33 kilos of broiler chickens (chickens being raised to be eaten) can be raised within a square kilometre – the equivalent of roughly 16 chickens. However, farmers can deviate from this if they adhere to minimum welfare standards and the death rate on chicken farms is low.
Wakker Dier says Dutch factory farms have been able to profit from the exemption, allowing them up to 21 chickens a square metre, because the NVWA does not monitor whether farms are meeting all the rules.
And, says the aid group, national figures show many farmers who make use of the exemption do have a higher death rate than permitted.
Although Dutch supermarkets have virtually stopped selling the very cheapest, fast-growing chickens, known as plofkip, they do still produce the meat for export.
The European food safety body EFSA recently recommended a further reduction in the number of chickens barns can hold. Its research suggests that health problems begin when more than five or six birds are kept per square metre.
The NVWA and farm ministry are now in talks about the regulations, Wakker Dier said. Nevertheless, legal action and Brussels intervention are merited because “the NVWA is very slow at dealing with these sorts of issues,” Wakker Dier’s Anne Hilhorst said.
Why do fast-growing broiler chicken breeds need to be phased out?
18 September 2023
Photo – Act 4 Farmed Animals.
95% of the broiler chickens currently reared on factory farms are fast-growing, selectively bred to reach slaughter weight in just five to six weeks. Their growth rate has a huge impact on their health and welfare. Here’s why the EU must ban fast-growing broiler breeds as soon as possible.
Sickness. Exhaustion. Starvation. Broiler chickens commonly face all of these problems on factory farms, as the way in which they are bred results in a string of health issues that have a major impact on their physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. From the immense pressure their rapid growth puts on their bodies to the crowded conditions they are housed in, it’s clear fast-growing broiler breeds must be banned in the EU’s anticipated update to the animal welfare laws.
The European Commission is currently working on revising the animal welfare legislation for the first time in decades.
Learn more about the policies we are asking them to consider for all kept species, including broiler chickens, here.
What are the biggest health problems experienced by fast-growing broiler chickens?
Lameness: the skeletal systems and leg muscles of fast-growing broiler birds cannot keep up with their rapid growth and weight gain. They therefore have muscles far too heavy for their fragile bones, leading to gait problems and considerable pain. Up to 58.8% of broiler chickens reportedly suffer from lameness;
Lesions: due to their excessive weight, fast-growing broilers spend more time sitting than their slower-growing counterparts. It is common for them to develop lesions on their bodies that can become infected due to the poor hygiene standards in place on most factory farms. Contact dermatitis is also frequent in these systems, with up to 58% of industrially-farmed broiler birds reportedly suffering from lesions;
Heart failure: their unnatural growth rate puts immense pressure on the cardiovascular system, meaning countless birds die before slaughter.
What other factors make it impossible for fast-growing broiler chickens to lead comfortable lives?
Fast-growing broiler chickens are chronically hungry, which results in them experiencing near constant mental and physical distress.
They also generate a lot of body heat due to their high metabolic rates. With typical broiler houses containing thousands of birds, these spaces quickly become inhospitable, with chickens overheating. The consequences can be fatal.
To make matters worse, broiler houses are not cleared of litter until the birds have been taken to the slaughterhouse. This means that chickens have to live in their own faeces for weeks, and often end up suffering from respiratory problems, eye abnormalities and other health issues resulting from high levels of ammonia and other noxious gases.
Due to their sheer size and subsequent health problems, broiler chickens cannot engage with their environments and peers comfortably. Evidence shows that broilers are curious birds that want to explore and play, but breeding in a way that causes them to be chronically unhealthy, while also being crushed into huge flocks, means these birds don’t have the energy nor the means to express their natural behaviours.
Here’s what a day in the life of a typical factory farmed broiler chicken looks like.
The European Commission must ban the breeding of fast-growing broiler chickens
Fast-growing broiler breeds must be prohibited in the updated animal welfare legislation, and only slower-growing breeds should be permitted in Europe’s farming systems. These animals deserve a healthy life filled with positive experiences, which is only possible for birds of breeds with slower growth rates.
Citizens’ initiative to ban fur farming in Finland breaks records
13 September 2023
Susiryhmä
Having collected the required 50,000 signatures in just 24 hours, a Finnish citizens’ initiative calling for a national phase out of fur farming will now go to Parliament for debate.
Turkistarhaus historiaan (consign fur farming to history) calls for a law to ban fur farming in Finland within a reasonable transition period, in addition to rolling out a support system for fur farmers to ensure a fair transition for all.
Finnish citizens’ initiatives have 6 months in which to gather the required level of support.
After breaking records by acquiring the required 50,000 signatures in only one day, over 100,000 names have now been added. Signatures are collected on the Ministry of Justice’s website.
The organisers highlighted the suffering of animals such as mink and foxes, the economically unprofitable industry and public health risks as reasons why fur farming must be brought to an end.
The demand for a ban will be debated in the Finnish parliament after validation of the signatures.
The success of the initiative is another clear indication that European citizens want to see an end to fur farming, as proven by the European Citizens’ Initiative Fur Free Europe which gathered over 1.5 million validated signatures.
Mass pig culling continues in Italy amid African swine fever crisis
14 September 2023
Essere Animali
Essere Animali documented serious biosecurity and animal welfare shortcomings in the management of pig culling.
First detected in Italy in January 2022, African swine fever (ASF) is a highly contagious viral disease that affects domestic and wild pigs. Whilst posing no threat to humans, mass culls have been taking place in an attempt to limit the spread of the disease amongst farmed pigs to reduce losses for farmers.
New footage obtained by Essere Animali in the province of Pavia shows inadequately culled animals subjected to slow and painful deaths, and serious deficiencies in hygiene and biosecurity that may lead to further spread of the virus on farms.
The footage shows:
Serious deficiencies in the facility and in the biosecurity procedures
Inadequate management of culling with severe additional suffering for the animals
The lack of animal welfare training of the workers involved
At least 5 pigs abandoned on the ground in the pen leading to the killing containers in an acute distressed condition with symptoms potentially attributable to ASF
The organisation also claims that improper implementation of biosecurity measures by the nation’s health authorities have resulted in the inability to control the spread of the disease, resulting in emergency mass culls that are a disaster for animal welfare.
We think it is essential to show images that show that, in the face of all the failings of the health authorities and our institutions, in a period of time in which public money has been spent on inadequate measures and biosecurity has not been sufficiently stringent, it is the tens of thousands of pigs that will be slaughtered in these days, amidst atrocious suffering and in the absence of adequate stunning, who will pay the highest price.
Nightmare for animals at the largest egg producer in the European Union
12 September 2023
Otwarte Klatki
Press Release
An investigation released today has revealed large-scale inhumane conditions at the largest egg producer in the European Union.
A documented investigation by Anima International at Fermy Drobiu Woźniak, in Poland, has revealed serious welfare issues and irregularities, including injured and sick hens left without treatment and dying in cages. Almost one million hens in cages and tens of thousands in barns are reared on this farm. The company exports to 60 countries in Europe, Asia and Africa, with exports accounting for 70% of its production.
Two activists who were employed at the farm over the summer described how on a daily basis, dead hens were discovered in advanced stages of decomposition, at times obstructing conveyor belts and allowing eggs to come into contact with deceased animals. The hens live in a huge confinement, leading to multiple cases of aggression and acts of cannibalism. Despite the fact that cages were enriched, per European Union regulations, the conditions at the farm fell short of the requirements.
Click ‘Watch on YouTube’ to view – M
Hens in industrial farming lay more than 300 eggs a year. Such intensive production and high levels of exploitation result in some animals dying of exhaustion. Others go to slaughter after just 18 months or so, as their bodies are unable to sustain intense production. Under the right conditions, they could live up to 10 years.
Bogna Wiltowska, Director of Investigations and Interventions, Anima International Poland (Otwarte Klatki)
A supplier who keeps the largest number of hens in the entire European Union should also be the leader in terms of welfare standards. Fermy Drobiu Woźniak’s decision to phase out cage farming would affect several million hens per year.
Paweł Rawicki, President, Anima International Poland (Otwarte Klatki)
In the upcoming months, the European Commission is expected to reveal its proposals for a revised animal welfare legislation, including a reply to the European Citizens’ Initiative to End the Cage Age.
This investigation shows the horrific realities faced by animals in Europe and definitely does not bode well to an EU that claims that it is a leader in animal welfare. The European Commission now has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to introduce a ban on cages, and to see through the democratic process in which 1.4 million EU citizens asked for transition to cage-free systems.
Security staff under fire for violent takedown of animal rights protestor at New York Fashion Week
The rough removal of a PETA animal rights activist from the runway at a Coach fashion show has been has caused a flap in the couture world.
In video footage posted by The Cut on Instagram, a protestor covered only by body paint and a pair of underwear with the words “Coach Leather Kills” painted on her chest, was followed by another woman holding up a sign with the same message.
Cage enrichment on fur farms is not a viable option
5 September 2023
RFA
A new scientific briefing paper confirms that attempts to introduce cage enrichment or alternative housing systems as a means of improving welfare on fur farms are doomed to fail, and only a ban is a
The report, which provides an overview of the current standards of housing of animals farmed for fur also examines the scientific evidence on the possibility of meeting the welfare needs of these species, either through enrichment/enlargement of cage systems or development of alternative housing systems.
It concludes that scientific evidence and experience in various EU countries clearly shows that “enrichment/enlargement of cage systems is not able to address the major welfare issues for mink, foxes and raccoon dogs farmed for fur and there are insurmountable obstacles to the development of more extensive alternative systems.” This makes it impossible for the needs of mink, foxes and raccoon dogs to be met by the fur industry. A ban is the only viable solution to the serious welfare problems of animals farmed for fur.
By the end of 2023, the European Commission is set to publish a proposal for a revised animal welfare legislation. A leak of the draft Impact Assessment report on the revision of animal welfare legislation suggested ‘improved’ animal welfare requirements as an option for fur farmed animals, ‘while ensuring that it remains economically viable to farm fur animals under those conditions’. However, the evidence once again shows that this is not a viable solution.
This report sends a stark message to European decision makers that a move towards legislating for cage enrichment on fur farms would be doomed to fail. Any such plans must be immediately discarded. There are inherent welfare failures with fur farming that cannot be resolved by tinkering around with cage standards. The science is clear and is summarised in this new briefing paper. If the European Commission is serious about improving animal welfare in the EU, then a full ban on fur farming is a necessity.
Mark Glover, Campaigns Director, Respect for Animals
The science is clear – only a total ban on fur farms will truly protect animal welfare. Member states and EU Citizens have made their voice heard, the ball remains in the European Commission’s court, to end this cruel practice once and for all.
World Animals Voice 