Eggs and poultry
Legislation in the eggs and poultry sector
Feed and water
The Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2000
The general requirements of these Regulations are:
- Poultry shall be fed a wholesome diet appropriate to their age and species in a sufficient quantity to maintain good health, satisfy their nutritional needs and to promote a positive state of well being.
- No food or liquid should cause unnecessary suffering or injury either because of its content or in the manner of provision.
- Access to feed must be at intervals appropriate to their physiological needs (and, in any case, at least once per day)
- There must be a suitable water supply and an adequate supply of fresh drinking water each day.
- Feeding and watering equipment shall be designed, constructed, placed and maintained so that contamination of feed and water and the harmful effects of competition between birds are minimised.
In addition, there are specific requirements for hens kept in battery cages. A feed trough of not less than 10 cm multiplied by the number of hens in the cage and capable of being used without restriction shall be provided. The cages shall have a continuos drinking channel which not be less than 10 cm multiplied by the number of hens in the cage and capable of being used without restriction, except where nipple drinkers or drinking cups are provided. Where there are nipple drinkers or cups there shall be a minimum of two within reach of the cage.
The Feedingstuffs Regulations 2000 SI 2481, as amended
These Regulations give details of:
- Definitions of ingredients, feedingstuffs, additives and premixes
- Labelling of packages, containers and bulk loads
- Manner of packaging and sealing
- Permitted additives and their limits
- Undesirable substances
- The method for calculating the energy value of compound poultry feeds
Implementing Authority and Source of Further Information: Food Standards Agency - Animal Feed Division.
The Feedingstuffs (Zootechnical Products) Regulations 1998 SI No 1047
Antibiotics, coccidiostats, growth promoters and other medicinal substances are all zootechnical products. These Regulations control the manufacture and marketing of all of the above in the form of additives, premixes and when incorporated into feedingstuffs.
Implementing authority and source of further information: Veterinary Medicines Directorate.
The Feedingstuffs (Establishments and Intermediaries) Regulations 1999
These Regulations require farmers who mix their own livestock feed which contains certain additives or certain contaminants to register with or to be approved by their local trading standards authority.
Implementing Authority and Source of Further Information: Food Standards Agency - Animal Feed Division
The Feeding Stuffs (Safety Requirements for Feed for Food-Producing Animals) Regulations 2004. These Regulations provide for the enforcement of the feed- related provisions - Articles 15, 16, 18 & 20 of EC Regulation 178/2002 on the general principles of feed and food law. These provisions prohibit the marketing of unsafe feed and its advertising to purchasers in a misleading fashion; require feed business operators to have traceability systems in place; and lay down operators' responsibilities in matters of feed safety.
The Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Order (No 2) 1996
and
The BSE (No.2) Amendment Order 1999
The first Order makes it an offence to sell or supply mammalian meat and bonemeal (MBM), certain intermediates including greaves and ash from incineration of meat and bonemeal or any feedingstuffs known to incorporate MBM, for feeding to farmed livestock. It also prohibits the feeding of MBM to any farmed livestock including poultry.
The possession of mammalian meat and bonemeal, or any product containing meat and bone meal, on premises where livestock feed is produced, is also prohibited, except in very tightly defined and controlled circumstances.
Implementing Authority and Source of Further Information: Defra Animal Health (BSE & International Trade) Division.
The BSE (Feedingstuffs and Surveillance) Regulations 1999
The BSE (Feedingstuffs and Surveillance) Regulations 1999 (made under the European Communities Act) implements EU obligations on official feed sampling and epidemiological surveillance, thereby incorporating the basis for existing measures, such as the Feed Sampling Programme, into UK legislation.
Implementing Authority and Source of Further Information: Defra Animal Health (BSE & International Trade) Division.
Page last modified: 23 March 2006