The National Animal Welfare Standard for the Chicken Meat Industry (the Standard) sets out requirements for the welfare of meat chickens (including meat breeders) during production and processing. The requirements are structured to address the topics of:
- management requirements
- resource requirements
- egg management and hatching
- housing and husbandry
- bird health
- handling and transport
- processing.
The requirements in this Standard are based on existing scientific knowledge in terms of meat chicken welfare and farming practices.
Wherever possible, the requirements in this Standard are written as performance-based outcomes for meat chicken production and processing. They are designed to encompass the differences in farming and processing practices.
Download a copy of the Standard (PDF, 1.56MB).