US poultry group revises animal welfare programme

The National Chicken Council (NCC) has released a revision of its Animal Welfare Guidelines and Audit Checklist, the industry-standard programme for assessment of animal welfare programmes and practices in broiler and broiler breeder operations.

The revisions were recommended by a task force of industry veterinarians and other experts chaired by Bill Lovette, president and chief operating officer of Case Foods in Troutman, North Carolina, and approved by the NCC executive committee and board of directors.

The revision is the first overhaul of the programme in about five years. Lovette said key differences in the new programme, compared with the guidelines in effect since 2005, include:

• Greater emphasis on corporate commitment to animal welfare, including a requirement that senior management must sign off on company's animal welfare programme.
  
  
• Each department of the company handling live animals (hatchery, grow-out, catching and transportation, and processing) must have a person in charge of promoting adherence to the Guidelines.
  
  
• Each department must have a disaster response and recovery plan.
  
  
• Employees who handle live animals must be trained in advance and must receive retraining every year, in languages other than English if necessary.
  
  
• Addition of a preface stating principles of animal welfare.
  
  
• Commitment to review the programme every two years, beginning with review by scientific advisors in 2011 followed by an industry committee review in 2012.