For meat chickens to experience good welfare, it’s important that their environment is stimulating and enriching, and allows them to exhibit their natural behaviours. These behaviours include perching, dust bathing, foraging, ground scratching, and stretching and flapping their wings. Having access to environments that allow meat chickens to display natural…
Chickens in the meat industry are sometimes required to be euthanased on-farm if they are weak, sick, injured or unable to walk and will not recover with treatment. As with all euthanasia of animals, it is important that the method used is humane, meaning the method chosen either kills the…
All animals need to have enough space to carry out their normal behaviours, and to be physically healthy. When it comes to meat chickens, it’s important that birds have enough room to exercise, explore, peck, dust bathe, forage, and rest. Generally, with all else being equal, the higher the stocking…
Breeder birds in the meat chicken industry lay the eggs that will hatch into chickens grown for meat. There are currently two main commercial meat chicken breeds in Australia, both of which have been selectively bred to grow to large sizes quickly. This genetic selection has led to animal welfare…
Meat chickens, even those that are provided with access to an outdoor range area, will spend the majority of their time indoors and in contact with the litter. Bedding, in the form of sawdust, wood shavings, finely cut straw or rice hulls, is spread over the floor of the shed…
Chickens are sociable, quirky and inquisitive creatures. Descended from jungle fowl, they still possess instincts strongly aligned with seeking shelter in vegetation and roosting up high at night to keep away from predators. Meat chickens, also called broiler chickens, are those that are grown for their meat, as opposed to…
The export of any animals for slaughter has serious welfare problems — some relate to transport conditions resulting in stress, disease, injury and death and others relate to a lack of control over what happens to animals in importing countries. These risks are especially high for horses and donkeys. Exported…
The majority of food animals destined for slaughter overseas are first mustered on their property of origin, then loaded onto livestock trucks, transported to a feedlot or assembly depot, loaded once again onto trucks, transported to the wharf, and loaded onto the ship. Live export sea voyages may last up…
Each year, Australia exports tens of thousands of dairy cattle and breeding animals to countries all over the world to increase and improve local herds through breeding programs. Unfortunately, there are no laws to protect these animals once they leave Australia. Breeding animals are not covered by the Australian Government…
As Australia’s largest and most trusted animal welfare organisation, the RSPCA is committed to improving and promoting better welfare for farm animals throughout their lifetime. The RSPCA firmly grounds its policies, communications and activities on the most current animal welfare science. This science-based approach forms the foundation for our role…