Keywords : Housing

Bien-être : la France bon élève en poulet, selon le Better Chicken Commitment

Sheila Kolani

Published in 2024

ChickenTrack 2023 has assessed the commitment of 85 companies to animal welfare on chicken farms, showing an encouraging increase from 39% to 65% of European companies who publicly reported on their work for transition under the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC) in 2023. In France, of the 34 companies assessed, 68% published information on their progress.

Document types: Technical Paper

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Livestock buildings, Enrichment, Identification, Housing, Societal issues

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Assemblée nationale : réponse écrite à la question n°10089 : Garantir une transition pour un élevage sans cage

Question: Mrs Sandra Regol (Ecologist - NUPES - Bas-Rhin). Answer: Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty

Published in 2024

Response from the French Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty to an MP's question on the EU's commitment to ban cage farming.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories:Cattle, Pigs, Poultry

Keywords:Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Livestock buildings, Housing, Restraint equipment

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Air bubble curtain improves the welfare of captive rainbow trout fry and fingerlings

Océane Amichaud, Thomas Lafond, Georgina Lea Fazekas, Aude Kleiber, Thierry Kerneis, Axel Batard, Lionel Goardon, Laurent Labbé, Sophie Lambert, Sylvain Milla, Violaine Colson

Published in 2024

Scientific article showing that the repeated diffusion of bubbles in a tank improved the welfare of rainbow trout. The short-term (~7 weeks) and long-term (~21 weeks) enrichment effects were similar to those observed with more conventional environmental enrichment (provision of plants and shelter). The fish were less aggressive, less fearful and showed enhanced learning abilities.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Fish

Keywords: Animal-based measurements, Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Learning, training, Enrichment, Wefare indicators, Housing, Living environment, Behavioural disorders, Stress

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Research Note: Welfare and stress responses of broiler chickens raised in conventional and animal welfare-certified broiler farms

Kwon Byung-Yeon, Lee Hyun-Gwan, Jeon Yong-Sung, Song Ju-Yong, Kim Sang-Ho, Kim Dong-Wook, Kim Chan-Ho, Lee Kyung-Woo

Published in 2024

Study comparing the welfare of broilers reared on conventional and welfare-certified farms. Chickens on the certified farm scored lower hock burn and feather dirtiness and had better gait scores, although corticosterone levels in feathers were higher, warranting further study.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Animal-based measurements, Livestock buildings, Welfare indicators, Housing, Carcass quality, Robustness, Behavioural disorders

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European Parliament: Oral answer to Question O-000059/23: Promising review of EU animal welfare legislation and European citizens' initiatives on animal welfare (debate)

Question : Niels Fuglsang (S&D), Thomas Waitz (Greens/EFA), Günther Sidl (S&D), Sarah Wiener (Greens/EFA), Emil Radev (EPP), Michaela Šojdrová (EPP), Sirpa Pietikäinen (EPP), Heidi Hautala (Greens/EFA), Annika Bruna (ID), Caroline Roose (Greens/EFA), Pascal Durand (S&D), Pierre Larrouturou (S&D), Martin Buschmann (NI), Manuela Ripa (Greens/EFA), Martin Häusling (Greens/EFA), Maria Noichl (S&D), Anna Deparnay-Grunenberg (Greens/EFA), Grace O'Sullivan (Greens/EFA), Mario Furore (NI), Rosa D'Amato (Greens/EFA), Tiziana Beghin (NI), Petras Auštrevičius (Renew), Tilly Metz (Greens/EFA), Anja Hazekamp (The Left), Sylwia Spurek (Greens/EFA), Francisco Guerreiro (Greens/EFA), Martin Hojsík (Renew), Michal Wiezik (Renew), Malin Björk (The Left), Marisa Matias (The Left), Ville Niinistö (Greens/EFA), Marianne Vind (S&D), Christel Schaldemose (S&D), Karen Melchior (Renew), Alice Kuhnke (Greens/EFA), Pär Holmgren (Greens/EFA), Marina Kaljurand (S&D), Mick Wallace (The Left), Henna Virkkunen (EPP), Róża Thun und Hohenstein (Renew). Answer: Ms Ferreira on behalf of the European Commission

Published in 2024

On December 7, 2023, the European Commission brought forward only its proposed revision of the legislation on the protection of animals during transport, postponing the other long-awaited proposals to revise what is now outdated European animal welfare legislation. A group of MEPs has called on the European Commission to provide a precise timetable for the implementation of the legislative proposals that are still pending (farming, slaughter, labeling).

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories:Cattle, Mammals, Sheep, Pigs, Poultry

Keywords:Abandonment, Adoption,  Livestock buildings, Animal trade, Identification, Housing, Restraint equipment, Livestock farming system, Transport, Societal issues

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Veal calf welfare and rearing 

Didier Bastien, Magdéléna Chanteperdrix, Virginie Lefoul, Christophe Martineau, Etienne Labussière, Manuel Tourtier

Published in 2024

Article summarising papers on veal calves given at the 74th European Animal Science Congress (EAAP). The presentations discussed work to identify societal expectations, establish the impact of different housing and feeding methods, evaluate changes in antibiotic use and develop tools for assessing biosecurity on farms.

Document Types: Technical review

Animal categories: Bovines

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Livestock buildings, Societal issues, Welfare indicators, Housing, Socialization, livestock farming system

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Welfare issues resulting from feed restriction in pregnant sows

EU Reference Centre for Animal Welfare Pigs (EURCAW-Pigs)

Published in 2024

This article, intended for inspectors in EU Member States, describes the effects of feed restriction on the welfare of pregnant sows. Indicators of hunger-related aggression and stereotypies are described, along with measures to help sows feel satiated by increasing the fibre content of their diet, and to mitigate these behaviors by modifying various aspects of the living environment.

Document types: Technical Paper

Animal categories: Porcines

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Aggression, Aggressiveness, Enrichment, Welfare indicators, Housing, Behavioural disorders

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European Parliament: written answer to question E-003639/23: Elite equestrian sport and animal welfare

Question: Niels Fugland (S&D). Answer: Mrs Kyriakides on behalf of the European Commission

Published in 2024

Answer to a Member's question on the measures the Commission intends to take to ensure that the welfare of horses in equestrian sport is respected

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories: Equines

Key word: Animal mediation, Education, Housing,Working animals

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National Assembly: written answer to question n°12527: Welfare and protection of farm animals

Question: Béatrice Roullaud (Rassemblement National - Seine-et-Marne). Answer: Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty.

Published in 2024

Answer from MASA to a parliamentary question from a French Member of Parliament on the revision of European legislation on the welfare and protection of farm animals, which has not as yet delivered all of the expected package, in particular the ban on cages due to be in place by 2027.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories:Cattle, Pigs, Poultry

Keywords:Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Livestock buildings, Housing, Restraint equipment, Livestock farming system

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European Parliament: Written answer to Question E-003407/23: Time spent on the revision of EU animal welfare legislation

Question: Nikolaj Villumsen (The Left). Answer: Mrs Kyriakides on behalf of the European Commission

Published in 2024

Answer to a question on how long it has taken the Commission and EFSA to prepare the revision of European legislation concerning the "End the Cage Age", a revision which was not fully completed in the end.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories:Cattle, Goats, Equines, Sheep, Fish, Pigs, Ruminants, Poultry

Keywords:Livestock buildings, Housing, Societal issues, Restraint equipment, livestock farming system

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