January 31, 2012

Bulgarian poultry farms to implement EU requirements by end-May

EU legislation concerning the welfare of animals and the ban on "un-enriched" cages for laying hens should be met and implemented by all Bulgarian poultry farms by the end of May.

A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of Agriculture Minister Miroslav Naydenov, representatives of the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency and the Union of Eggs Producers with the Association of Agricultural Producers in Bulgaria. The EC has set the end of July as a deadline by which 14 noncompliant member states should meet the requirements.

Bulgaria will meet the commitments two months earlier so as to prevent the imposing of financial sanctions on this country, Naydenov stressed.

Currently, of 121 poultry farms only 10 do not meet the requirements, said Ivan Angelov, President of the Union of Egg Producers. In Greece, for example, non-compliant farms account for 90% and in Poland - for 50%. Farmers believe that egg production in this country fully meets consumption and that control is very tight.