NCC animal welfare guidelines got certified
“Consumers want to be sure that all animals being raised for food are treated with respect and are properly cared for during their lives,” said Dr. Ashley Peterson, NCC senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs. “The people, families, and companies involved in raising broilers – chickens raised for meat – share the public’s concern. With this certification, consumers and customers can feel confident that when buying and eating chicken, the birds were well-cared for and treated humanely.”
“Our approach to the well-being of the birds is focused on objective measures and welfare outcomes throughout the birds’ entire lives, using the latest science and data and by carefully observing the chickens’ behavior,” Peterson added.
The NCC broiler guidelines were last updated in January 2017 and the NCC broiler breeder guidelines were last updated in June 2017, but this is the first time in history they have been certified by an independent audit certification organization.
The updated animal welfare guides include the following parameters to improve chicken welfare:
Increased focus on bird behavior, objective measures and welfare outcomes;
Increasing recordkeeping and corrective action requirements both in the hatchery and on the farm;
Increasing oversight of chick welfare at the hatchery;
Adding time requirements for euthanasia of birds unfit for transport;
New parameters on catching requirements;
Improved consistencies between the NCC broiler and breeder guidelines for ease of auditing;
Adding a major non-conformance to the broiler breeder guidelines; and
Adding specifics on broiler breeder monitoring by an auditor.
In addition, the new guidelines state that birds must have enough space to express normal behaviors such as dust bathing, preening, eating, drinking, etc.
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