Animal category: Poultry

Scientific paper on tests to ascertain the suitability of QBA to assess the emotional state of laying hens. Using QBA, 3 main dimensions were found to explain more than 80% of variations in emotional state - mood, alertness and arousal.

Decree clarifying the definition of what constitutes a new or refurbished building, which effectively limits the ban on the keeping of hens in cages to buildings where production capacity is increased. 

DG SANTE audit report carried out in France in early 2021, revealing that the effectiveness of official controls in French abattoirs has been significantly improved, as the result of the strengthening of operators' self-monitoring and inspectors' training in particular, but identifying 3 previous recommendations not yet taken into account, and adding two new ones.

Scientific review on the benefits of combining ergonomics with applied ethology to study the links between animal welfare and the welfare of the livestock farmer. It proposes a new way of looking at the human-animal relationship in animal husbandry taking core concepts from both disciplines.

A scientific review of the neural circuitry of the avian hypothalamus associated with thermoregulation, food intake and stress response and how these systems may interact during heat exposure.

Scientific review presenting the results of a multi-year study on the capacity of perches containing a cooling circuit to reduce heat stress in laying hens. It demonstrates the effectiveness of this cooling system when combined with an enrichment element in reducing body heat and heat stress in laying hens.

Article demonstrating that the French organic label guarantees higher animal welfare standards than conventional farming, providing access to outdoors, banning cage rearing and tethered systems, allowing only exceptional authorisation of non-medical surgical interventions, and requiring more frequent checks and compulsory stunning before slaughter. However, the legislation on transport and slaughter is still inadequate, even in the case of organic farming.

Scientific paper comparing the production indicators of several strains of broilers, with a view to finding strains with sufficient growth to be profitable and presenting fewer risks to animal welfare than do fast-growing conventional strains.

Press release presenting the results of the European Parliament's Committee of Inquiry into the protection of animals during transport. The committee recognised that EU rules on the protection of animals during transport are not always respected and that the welfare needs of animals during transport are not always met. It recommends limiting and better monitoring the export of live animals, developing meat-and-carcass transport and banning the transport of very young animals.

News item presenting the results of scientific work commissioned by the Global Animal Partnership to understand and measure the welfare levels of broiler chickens. This work has resulted in a list of breeds that have high genetic welfare levels and are therefore recommended for welfare-friendly breeding.