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Council Directive 2007/43/EC laying down minimum rules for the protection of chickens kept for meat production

Introduction

The aim of this page is to keep you informed about the progress of the Council Directive for the welfare of chickens kept for meat production. Included below are:

  • a background to the Directive
  • a link to the initial proposal and Commission Impact Assessment
  • a link to a report into the economic impact of the proposal on the industry in England
  • a link to a report into the non-market benefits of the proposal
  • a link to the Partial Regulatory Impact Assessment
  • a link to the European Parliament’s plenary opinion
  • a list of key dates
  • a general update
  • a link to the Directive

Background

Currently general welfare legislation applies to meat chickens. However, until now the meat chicken sector was the last major area of intensive livestock production not covered by the species-specific programme of European Union (EU) farm animal welfare standards.

The European Commission put forward a new proposal in May 2005, to introduce improvements to the welfare of intensively farmed chickens by means of technical and management requirements. This includes enhanced monitoring on the farms and an increased flow of information between the producers, competent authorities and the slaughterhouse, based on a welfare-specific monitoring of the flocks after slaughter.

The Directive sets conditions for the keeping of chickens for meat production; from the time chicks are brought to the production sites until they leave for slaughter. It does not cover parent flocks, nor brooding and hatching of chicks or the free-range and organic meat chicken sectors which have their own rules. It focuses on the welfare problems of intensive farming systems with a minimum threshold of 500 chickens.

The European Parliament did not produce a report on the proposal until February 2006. The UK was therefore not able to complete negotiations of the proposal under its Presidency. However, a revised dossier was passed to the Austrians who produced a seven point work plan for taking the proposal forward. Work continued under the Finnish Presidency but a qualified majority agreement on a text was not possible. The German Presidency produced a compromise document in April 2007 and this gained political agreement at Agriculture Council on May 7. The Directive was formally adopted on the 28 June 2007 before being printed in the Official Journal. The Directive will enter into force on 30 June 2010.

The initial proposal

ADAS/University of Exeter report

Defra commissioned a study on the economic and operational impacts of the proposed Directive. The purpose of the study is to provide information to assist in the compilation of a Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA).

The report PDF document (1.2 MB - Warning: this is a large file) is available on this website.

Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) study

SAC have carried out a study into the non-market benefits accruing to the public from differing levels of improved meat chicken welfare.

The final report PDF document (442 KB) is available here.

Partial Regulatory Impact Assessment

The Regulatory Impact Assessment PDF document (270 KB) relates to the impact of the original Commission proposal and was completed in January 2006

Key dates

2007
  • 12 April – Attaches
  • 20 April – Attaches
  • 27 April- Coreper
  • 2 May – Coreper
  • 7 May – Agriculture Council - Directive gains agreement
2006
  • 8 Dec - Coreper
  • 14 Nov - Attaches
  • 11 Oct - Attaches
  • 19 Jun - Agriculture Council
  • 27 Apr – Debate on proposal in European Standing Committee A, House of Commons
  • 14 Feb - Plenary Session of the European Parliament PDF document (481 KB)

Update

Luxembourg held the first Veterinary Expert Council working group meeting (where the proposal is discussed and negotiated between the 25 Member States) on the proposals on 14 June 2005. The first working group during the UK’s Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers was held on 14 July 2005.

We held a 12 week public consultation on the proposal and Regulatory Impact Assessment, which ended on 30 September 2005. Copies of responses are available from the Defra Information Resource Centre. Tel: 020 7238 6575, email: defra.library@defra.gsi.gov.uk.

The UK’s Presidency aimed to:

  • improve the surveillance and control of broilers kept in free range, organic and conventional systems with stocking densities less than 30kg/m², and to make optimum use of the resources of competent authorities;
  • meet the concerns of industry and competent authorities with respect to the unpredictability and variations in growth rates of meat chickens, and to have proportionate harmonised implementation of stocking density provisions throughout the EU;
  • harmonise the checks at slaughterhouses to utilise all the available information and to ensure harmonisation of action taken by competent authorities in cases of reported deficiency or severe deficiencies.

We undertook a limited consultation of stakeholders on these ideas. Below are links to the stakeholder letter and the three Presidency ideas.

At the Council working group on 9 December 2005, a revised consolidated version of the proposal was presented and discussed. This text took account of a number of the ideas which the UK Presidency had presented. The first Council working group under the Austrian Presidency was held on 2 February 2006 a fourth working group held on 27 April.

A letter PDF document (32 KB) giving an update on the progress of the proposed Directive was sent to stakeholders on 24 April 2006.

A proposed way forward for the Directive was suggested by the Austrian Presidency and discussed at Agriculture Council on 19 June 2006. Further information is available in Defra's letter PDF document (22 KB) of 21 June 2006.

The proposal then passed to the Finnish Presidency and was discussed at the more political attaches level. The Finns developed the Austrians seven point plan. More information is available in Defra's stakeholder update letters PDF document (44 KB) of 26 September 2006 and 6 November PDF document (56 KB). Unfortunately when the proposal was discussed at Coreper 8 December some Member States still could not support proposals so the text did not go for agreement at December’s Agriculture Council. A news release was issued.

The German Presidency presented a compromise document at an attaches meeting on the 12 April 2007. More information is available in the stakeholder letter of the 18 April PDF document (52 KB) This was further discussed at Attaches on the 20 April and Coreper meetings on the 27 April and 2 May. At Agriculture Council on the 7 May 2007 European Union Ministers agreed the Directive. A news release has been issued.

Directive: Council Directive 2007/43/EC laying down minimum rules for the protection of chickens kept for meat production PDF document (Link to EU website).

A presentation PDF document (200 KB) detailing the requirements of the new Directive is attached.

Page last modified: 12 June, 2008
Page published: 18 October, 2005

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs