Code of Practice for the welfare of meat chickens and meat breeding chickens

Overview

The purpose of this consultation is to seek views on a new statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Meat Chickens and Meat Breeding Chickens, for England.

The purpose of the existing statutory code is to provide owners and keepers of meat chickens and meat breeding chickens with guidance on how to comply with relevant welfare legislation. 

The existing code has not been updated since it was published in 2002. It does not reflect the additional rules relating to the welfare of conventionally reared meat chickens which came into force in 2010. 

Guidance on these requirements was published in 2011 in a separate document “Interim guidance for keepers of conventionally reared meat chickens in relation to the Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007 as amended by the Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2010”.

The proposal is to revoke the existing statutory Code of Recommendations for the Welfare of Livestock: Meat Chickens and Breeding Chickens (2002) and to replace both it and the interim guidance with a new statutory code (provided in draft as part of this consultation). 

Why your views matter

The new statutory code aims to provide up-to-date guidance on the current legislation, maintain animal welfare standards, reflect the latest scientific and veterinary knowledge and be presented in a clear and relevant way for farmers.

The consultation invites comments on whether and how well the draft statutory code published with this consultation document achieves these aims. 

How to respond:

Please visit our online survey link below.

Alternatively, if you wish to respond by other means, please contact us at : animalwelfare.consultations@defra.gsi.gov.uk

This consultation started on 11 August 2017 and closes on 6 October 2017.

What happens next

Now that consultation has concluded we will summarise the responses and place this summary on our website at https://www.gov.uk/defra