Key Benefits:
Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2092/91 of 24 June 1991 concerning the method of organic production of agricultural products and its presentation on agricultural products and foodstuffs (self amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 394/2007);
Considering Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 establishing the specific rules for the organization of official controls concerning products of animal origin intended for human consumption (the same amended by Council Regulation [EC] No 1791/2006);
Having regard to Commission Regulation (EC) No. 543/2008 of 16 June 2008 on the modalities for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1234/2007 of 22 October 2007 on the joint organization of markets in the agricultural sector, as amended by Council Regulation (EC) No. 1047/2009 of 19 October 2009 on the standards of marketing for poultry meat;
In light of Council Directive 98/58/EC of 20 July 1998 on the protection of animals in livestock;
In light of Council Directive 2007/43/EC of 28 June 2007 setting minimum rules for the protection of chickens for meat production;
In view of the rural and maritime fishing code, including articles L. 214-3, L. 234-1, R. 214-17, R. 215-4;
Having regard to the amended decision of 25 October 1982 relating to animal husbandry, custody and detention,
Stop it!
Object and scope.
1. This Order sets out the minimum standards for the protection of chickens for meat production. It does not apply:
(a) To farms of less than five hundred chickens;
(b) To farms where only breeding chickens are raised;
(c) To the seams;
(d) To chickens raised inside in an extensive system or to chickens outwards or raised in the open air or outwards referred to in items b, c, d and e of Schedule IV to Regulation (EEC) No. 1538/91 referred to above.
(e) To organic chickens in accordance with Regulation (EEC) No. 2092/91 referred to above;
2. This Order applies to the herd of livestock, in farms with both a breeding herd and a herd of livestock.
3. The primary responsibility for animal welfare lies with the owner or breeder of animals.
Definitions.
(a) "Owner", any natural or legal person who has the property of the farm where chickens are raised;
(b) "Feror", any natural or legal person responsible for or responsible for chickens on a permanent or temporary basis under a contract or under the law;
(c) "Official Veterinary", a veterinarian authorized in accordance with Annex I, Section III, Chapter IV, Title A, of Regulation (EC) No. 854/2004 referred to above;
(d) "Polet", an animal of the Gallus gallus species intended for meat production;
(e) "Operation", a production site in which chickens are raised;
(f) " Poulailler", a building in a farm where a flock of chickens is raised;
(g) " usable surface", a litter surface accessible to chickens permanently;
(h) "Hand Density", the total vivid weight of chickens in a poultry per square metre of usable surface;
(i) "Tropeau", a group of chickens that are installed in a chicken coop and are present at the same time;
(j) "Day Mortality Rate", the number of chickens who died in a chicken coop on the same day, including those who were put to death because of illness or for other reasons, divided by the number of chickens present in the chicken coop on the same day, multiplied by 100;
(k) The sum of daily mortality rates is "cumulated daily mortality rate".
Requirements for chicken breeding.
1. All hens must meet the requirements set out in Appendix I. All batches are subject to follow-up at the slaughterhouse as provided in paragraphs 2 and 3 of Schedule III.
2. The maximum livestock density in a farm or in a farm hen does not exceed at any time 33 kg/m2.
3. By derogation from paragraph 2, a higher livestock density is allowed, provided that, in addition to the requirements set out in Appendix I, the owner or the breeder meets the requirements set out in Appendix II and paragraph 1 of Appendix III.
4. Where a derogation is granted under paragraph 3, the maximum livestock density in a farm or in a farm coop shall not at any time exceed 39 kg/m2.
5. When the criteria set out in Appendix V are met, the maximum livestock density referred to in paragraph 3 may be increased, while at no time exceeding 42 kg/m2.
Training and advice for chickens.
1. Breeders who are natural persons must have an individual professional certificate of meat chicken breeder. This certificate, justifying a level of knowledge relating to animal well-being acquired during training, is issued by the prefect of the department (Departmental Director responsible for the protection of populations) of the place of domicile of the breeder.
2. The training referred to in subsection 1 is delivered by a training body approved by order of the Minister for Agriculture. In order to obtain an approval under this Order, the training modules cover the points related to well-being, and at least those listed in Appendix IV. The training, which is available in modules, has a minimum duration of seven hours. To obtain its approval, the training organization addresses to the general direction of teaching and research a file including:
- the curriculum vitae(s) of the trainers(s) on professional skills in poultry production modes and good animal protection practices;
- the detailed pedagogical program including the duration of the training modules;
- the training materials used in the course of training and those provided to the breeders;
– a description of the logistics implemented to organize the training.
Following a joint advice from the General Directorate of Food and the General Directorate of Education and Research, training organizations are proposed to the Minister in charge of agriculture for a period of five years. The Minister may suspend or withdraw the approval in the event of a finding of non-compliance with the approval criteria.
3. At the end of the training referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, the training organization shall issue to the breeder a training certificate according to the model in Appendix VI. The training organization records a copy of the training monitoring certificate. A copy of any training certificate may be requested by the General Directorate of Food, the General Directorate of Education and Research or by prefects.
4. In order to obtain an individual professional certificate of meat chicken breeder, the breeder transmits a copy of the training certificate to the prefect of the department of his home.
5. By derogation, any breeder installed for more than one year before June 30, 2010 may be exempted from the training if requested by the prefect of the department of his home. To do so, it provides evidence that it has practised for a minimum of one year the raising of poultry of flesh. This evidence may be any written document mentioning the name of the breeder and the name of the livestock in which it exercises or exercised.
With regard to the document provided, the department's prefect (Departmental Director for Population Protection) then issues the individual professional certificate of chicken breeder and transmits regulatory documentation relating to minimum standards for the protection of meat chickens. The breeder must read and assimilate the documentation received and keep it in its livestock register.
6. The owners or meat chicken breeders give instructions and advice to the people employed or hired by them to take care of the chickens or to capture them and ensure their loading. These instructions and advice will address the relevant animal welfare requirements, including in relation to the methods of death in the farms.
Guides to good practices.
When guides of good practices are established, they are developed and disseminated by poultry professional organizations, in consultation with the General Directorate of Food and animal protection associations. Guides of good practices must also take into account a scientific opinion, which is requested by the General Directorate of Food.
Final provisions.
The Director General of Food, the Director General of Education and Research and the Prefects are responsible, each with respect to it, for the execution of this Order, which will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.
A N N E X E S
A N N E X E I
EXIGENCES FOR ALL EXPLOITATIONS
1. Abreuvoirs
Water troughs are placed and maintained to minimize any accidental spill.
2. Food
Chicken feeding can be made either ad libitum or by the distribution of meals. Chickens should not be deprived of food more than twelve hours before scheduled slaughter time.
3. Litter
All chickens have permanent access to a dry and friable surface bedding.
4. Ventilation and heating
The ventilation is sufficient to avoid too high temperatures. It is, if any, combined with heating systems to eliminate excess moisture.
5. Bruit
The sound level is reduced to a minimum level. The construction, assembly, operation and maintenance of fans, power supplies and other equipment are designed to cause as little noise as possible.
6. Light
(a) All premises have a minimum intensity of 20 lux during periods of brightness, depending on a measurement taken at the bird's eye; at least 80% of the usable surface are illuminated.
A temporary reduction in the level of lighting may be allowed, if any, on the advice of a veterinarian. The breeder notes in the breeding register the periods of intensity reduction. A written record of the veterinary notice must be kept in the farm for a minimum period of three years and must be available at any request. The veterinarian's opinion can only be formulated during a visit to the operation, except in the event of a sudden mortality, spike or cannibalism syndrome, for which an immediate action of the breeder to reduce luminosity may be required. In order to regulate these three exceptions, and in a concomitant manner to the establishment of the appropriate animal care protocol, the veterinarian writes to the breeder the identification criteria, the proposals for non-clinical interventions for the current lot and prescribes technical and health measures to prevent these syndromes. If the breeder needs to use this exemption to reduce the luminous intensity, it must call the veterinarian who sends a written confirmation of the authorization to reduce the luminous intensity within three working days.
(b) Within seven days from the installation of chickens in the premises and up to three days before the scheduled slaughter time, the lighting must follow a rhythm of twenty-four hours and include periods of darkness of at least six hours in total, including at least one uninterrupted period of darkness of four hours at least, not including periods of light transition.
7. Inspection
(a) All chickens raised in the operation must be inspected at least twice a day. Particular attention should be paid to signs indicating a decrease in the level of well-being or health of animals.
(b) Chickens who are seriously injured or have visible signs of health disorders, including those who are moving with difficulty, who suffer from severe ascite or malformations, and those who are likely to suffer receive appropriate treatment or are immediately put to death. A veterinarian is contacted whenever necessary.
8. Cleaning
All premises, equipment and utensils that are in contact with chickens are fully cleaned and disinfected whenever a final sanitary vacuum is practised and before the introduction of a new herd into the chicken coop. After the last chicken removal, the entire litter must be removed and a clean litter must be installed.
9. Record keeping
The owner or the breeder shall, for each farm hen, have a register in which:
(a) The number of chickens introduced;
(b) The usable surface;
(c) The hybrid or the breed of chickens, if he knows them;
(d) During each control, the number of chickens found dead and the causes of mortality if known as the number of chickens killed and the cause;
(e) The number of chickens remaining in the herd after the removal of the volatiles for sale or slaughter.
These records are kept for at least three years and are made available to the inspection services at the time of the inspection or when the inspection is requested.
10. Surgical interventions
All surgical procedures performed for other purposes than therapeutic or diagnostic and causing damage or loss of a sensitive part of the body or alteration of the bone structure are prohibited.
However, beak removal may be allowed if all other measures to prevent feather picking and cannibalism have failed. In this case, it is performed only after consultation with a veterinarian and on the advice of a veterinarian, and this operation is performed by qualified personnel on chicks less than ten days. The written record of the veterinary board must be retained by the operator for a period of three years.
Castration of male chickens, performed under the control of a veterinarian by personnel who received special training, is authorized.
A N N E X E I
EXIGENCES CONCERNING DENSITIES
ELEVAGE MORE ELEVENTS
A. Notification and documentation
1. The owner or the breeder shall communicate to the veterinary authority of the department where his or her husbandry is located its intention to increase the density of herding to be greater than 33 kg/m2.
It indicates the maximum value that it undertakes to respect and informs the departmental veterinary authority of any modification of this livestock density within a period of not less than fifteen days prior to the installation of the herd in the hen.
If requested by the veterinary authority, the veterinary authority shall transmit at the same time a document summarizing the information contained in the documentation under item 2.
2. The owner or breeder keeps and makes available in the poultry documentation detailing the production systems. This documentation includes, in particular, information on the technical modalities for hen and its equipment such as:
(a) A plan of the chicken coop specifying the dimensions of the surfaces occupied by the chickens;
(b) Information on ventilation systems and, where appropriate, air conditioning and heating systems, including their location, a diagram of the ventilation system indicating the air quality parameters targeted, for example, air flow, speed and temperature;
(c) Information on feeding and watering systems and their location;
(d) Information on alarm systems and rescue systems in the event of a breakdown of automatic or mechanical equipment essential to the health and well-being of animals;
(e) The type of floor covering and litter normally used;
(f) The characteristics of the program usually used.
This documentation is made available to the veterinary authority upon request and maintained. In particular, it is necessary to record the technical inspections carried out on ventilation and alarm systems.
The owner or the breeder shall promptly communicate to the veterinary authority of the department where the farm is located any change in relation to this description of the chicken, equipment or procedures that may affect the well-being of the birds.
B. Control of environmental parameters
The owner or herd ensures that each herd of the operation is equipped with ventilation systems and, if necessary, heating and air conditioning, designed, manufactured and operated in such a way that:
(a) The ammonia concentration (NH3) does not exceed 20 ppm and the carbon dioxide concentration (CO2) does not exceed 3,000 ppm according to measures taken at the chicken head;
(b) When the external temperature measured in the shade exceeds 30 °C, the inside temperature does not exceed that external temperature by more than 3 °C;
(c) The average relative humidity measured inside the coop over a period of forty-eight hours does not exceed 70%, when the outside temperature is less than 10 °C.
A N N E X E I I
CONTROL AND FOLLOW-UP IN ABATTER
1. Mortality
(a) In the case of livestock density greater than 33 kg/m2, the documents accompanying the herd mention the daily mortality and the cumulative daily mortality rate calculated by the owner or herder, as well as the hybrid or race of chickens.
(b) Under the control of the official veterinarian of the slaughterhouse, these data, as well as the number of chickens of dead meat upon arrival, are recorded by specifying the name of the operation and the henhouse within it. The plausibility of data and the accumulated daily mortality rate is verified taking into account the number of chickens of flesh slaughtered and the number of chickens found dead on arrival at the slaughterhouse.
2. Post-mortem inspection
As part of the controls carried out in accordance with the above-mentioned Regulation (EC) No 854/2004, the official veterinarian of the slaughterhouse evaluates the results of the post mortem inspection in order to detect other possible signs of well-being deficiencies, such as abnormal levels of contact dermatitis, parasitism and systemic disease in the operation or hen of the original operation.
3. Communication of results
If the mortality rate referred to in point 1 or the results of the post-mortem inspection referred to in point 2 correspond to a deficiency in animal welfare, the official veterinarian shall communicate the data to the owner or breeder of the animals and to the departmental veterinary authority of the animal breeding site. The owner or breeder of animals and the departmental veterinary authority shall take appropriate measures.
A N N E X E I V
TRAINING
The training courses referred to in Article 4, paragraph 2, relate at least to national and community legislation relating to the protection of chickens, and in particular to:
(a) Annexes I and II of the above-mentioned Directive No. 2007/43/EC and this Order;
(b) The physiology of animals, including their needs for food and water, their behaviour and the concept of stress;
(c) Practical aspects of the careful handling of chickens, their capture, loading and transport;
(d) Emergency care for chickens, death and emergency slaughter procedures;
(e) Preventive biosecurity measures.
A N N E X E V
CRITES CONCERNING AUGMENTATION
DENSITY
1. Criteria
(a) The control of the operation carried out by the departmental veterinary authority over the past two years has not revealed any irregularity with respect to the requirements of this Order;
(b) The management, by the owner or the breeder, of the operation is carried out applying good practices guides when they exist;
(c) In at least seven consecutive herds of a later controlled building, the cumulative daily mortality rate is less than 1% + (0.06% multiplied by the age of herd slaughter in days).
In the absence of control over the operation carried out by the veterinary authority over the past two years, at least one control shall be performed to verify whether the requirement under this item has been met.
2. Exceptional circumstances
By derogation from point 1 (c), the veterinary authority may decide to authorize the increase in livestock density when the owner or the breeder provided sufficient explanations on the exceptional nature of the higher cumulative daily mortality rate or showed that the causes were independent of its will.
A N N E X E V I
FOLLOW-UP MODEL FOR TRAINING
This certificate is issued to:
NOM of birth:
Spousal NAME:
First name:
Born:
Day Month Year Birth Commune Department Country
It is issued after the one-day training on the regulation and well-being of chickens for meat production and organized by the following person, authorized to provide such training.
Quality of the trainer
NOM of birth:
First name:
FORMATION BODY:
Full address (Lane Number: Extension [bis, ter,...]; Type of track [avenue, etc.]; Name of the track; Postal code; Locality/Community)
Training follow-up date:
Training approved by Ministerial Order
Done
The
Signature et cachet du formateur :
Done in Paris, June 28, 2010.
For the Minister and by delegation:
Director General
food,
P. Briand
Director General
teaching and research,
Mr. Zalay
