New welfare code for meat chickens in NZ

New standards relating to the welfare of meat chickens came into effect in New Zealand today. Minimum standards and best practice guidelines are set out in the new code, which replaces the 2003 code.

“The previous code concentrated solely on chickens that are fully housed,” said John Hellström, chair of the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC), the body that developed the code. “The new code has a broader scope and includes chickens that have access to the outdoors.

“Another key change is that farmers will have to take the environment of the chicken into account when deciding on how many chickens to keep in a given area.

“Farmers will still be required to stay within the minimum standards for stocking density, but they will now have to also consider things like litter quality, lighting, air quality and temperature when deciding how to house their chickens,” Hellström said.

NAWAC says it developed the code after considering feedback from industry and the public. The code is available here.