Europese boeren zuchten onder vogelgriep en EU-bureaucratie voor legbatterijen (en)

EUOBSERVER / STRASBOURG - MEPs have called for better conditions for raising and keeping chickens, with opponents of the report fearing it will add more pressure on an industry already under strain from an emerging avian influenza epidemic.

An overwhelming majority of MEPs on Tuesday (14 February) adopted a report which suggests putting limits on stock densities and imposing better general conditions for chickens. These conditions would cover ventilation, feeding times, access to water, minimal noise, dry litter and daily inspections. "It needs to be emphasised that animal welfare and health are to be placed on an equal footing with economic and social interests when rules governing meat production are drawn up," the report states.

The report suggests the European Commission should standardise penalties for chicken farmers who do not comply with the standards.

MEPs also called for a common system of labelling chicken meat for consumers, stating not only the origin of the products, but also the animal's age and the stocking density at which the chickens are kept. The latest figures show that 5.2 billion chickens are raised each year in the EU with an annual turnover of approximately €20 billion. According to the report, which includes several changes to an earlier commission proposal for a new directive, farmers should only be allowed to house 30 kg of chickens per square metre.

Opponents say more red tape for chicken farmers

Swedish leftist MEP Jonas Sjostedt welcomed the idea of the EU introducing minimum rules in the area, but felt the report does not go far enough. "Unfortunately, the proposal is far from ambitious enough. An allowed density of 30 kilos per square metre means that animals will continue to suffer in the EU broiler factories," Mr Sjostedt said.

Mr Sjostedt also said that farmers in countries where rules are stricter, like his native Sweden where only 20 kilos per square metre are allowed, would be disadvantaged. Opponents of the EU directive, which has to be approved by all EU agriculture ministers before becoming law, said that it would create even more red tape for an industry that is already under pressure as sales drop with the emerging threat of bird flu.

Austria hit by bird flu

Tuesday's report coincides with reports in recent days that bird flu has reached EU territory. Greece, Italy and Slovenia reported cases of the lethal H5N1 strain of bird flu last weekend, with bird meat sales dropping as a direct consequence. Late on Tuesday, news emerged that the Austrian authorities had confirmed cases of the H5 avian influenza virus in two dead swans found in the region of Stiria.

The Austrian authorities immediately urged farmers to keep their poultry indoors, restrict movement of poultry except when taken directly to the slaughterhouse, and forbade farmers to dispatch meat outside the protection zone of three kilometres around the spot where the virus was located.


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