February 7, 2007

Top poultry integrator in Europe fined for overcrowding chickens

Groupe Doux, the largest poultry integrator in Europe, has been fined EUR 30,000 by the Court of Appeal in Rennes in a long-running suit for forcing some 15 farmers to keep more broilers than legally allowed.

The case has been in progress for almost 10 years. First lawsuits were filed in 1998 when farmers in Brittany were discovered with over 20,000 maximum bird limit established by the EU .

In 2003, Doux was implicated when the case was researched on legal matters. The judge concluded that Doux was fully aware of the infringements at the farms and also falsified documents by reporting lower numbers for the supply of baby chicks and fattened broilers.

At one point, the charges were nearly dropped as new regulations increased the maximum number of chickens to 30,000. However, the court in Rennes decided that Doux had violated the law.