An Independent Poultry Panel has finalised the development of proposed new Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for Poultry.
Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said the proposed standards covered a range of welfare requirements for poultry including chickens, ducks, pigeons and emus.
“It also proposes the phase-out of conventional chicken cages, commonly known as battery cages, over the next 10 to 15 years,’’ Senator Watt said.
Other proposed changes include the provision of water to all ducks, environmental stimulation for breeding chickens, and improvements to the minimum light intensity and required periods of darkness, ventilation and temperature parameters for all poultry species.
Senator Watt said there was strong interest in the standards following 167,000 public submissions during the consultation period.
“The poultry standards are part of a suite of animal welfare standards and guidelines that aim to harmonise animal welfare legislation and provide clarity and consistency for industry and consumers,” he said.
“The new standards will also assure Australia’s trading partners that we have strong standards of animal welfare.”
In the 2021-22 financial year, Australian hens laid 6.3 billion eggs, worth $1.1 billion in supermarket sales. The annual value of chicken meat production is more than $2.85 billion.
VFF Eggs Group president Brian Ahmed said the VFF was disappointed with the release of the poultry standards and guidelines by the Federal Government.
“The phase-out of caged egg farming will have a huge impact on food security given the ubiquitous use of eggs,” Mr Ahmed said.
“Victorian egg farmers support improved animal welfare standards, however the focus has become on particular enterprise systems disregarding science-based assessments of welfare in favour of opinion.
“We believe that the current ‘three egg enterprise system’ — which includes caged, barn and free-range — needs to be maintained.”
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