On 3 May 2023, in Brussels, will take place a high-level conference presenting the results of a two-year European Parliament pilot project on Best practices for transitioning to higher welfare cage-free egg production systems. This pilot project is particularly relevant in the context of the Commission's commitment, in response to the European Citizen's Initiative End the Cage Age' to propose legislation to phase-out the use of cages for laying hens (and other species). The project...

The Centre is celebrating the production of two videos. The first is a presentation video of EURCAW Poultry-SFA which can be found on the website page "About Us" or directly here. The second one is on the assessment of the state of consciousness after waterbath stunning in broiler chickens which can be found on the website page "Stunning" or directly here.

The Centre is celebrating the publication of its fourth scientific paper as a result of the work carried out in Activity 3 in 2021. In this study, we examined the validity of six methods for dust assessment in layer barns. The methods were either developed for the purpose or as a refinement of existing methods. Of the six methods examined, the dust sheet test with a test duration of 2–3 h was found to be the most promising method. This article named "Validation of methods for...

The Centre is celebrating the publication of its third scientific paper as a result of the work carried out in Activity 3 in 2021 and 2022. The technical study aimed at evaluating the prevalence and the inter-observer repeatability of the most valid and feasible animal-based indicators (ABIs) of the state of consciousness after waterbath stunning (WBS) in turkeys before bleeding (tonic seizure, breathing, spontaneous blinking, and vocalization) and during bleeding (wing...

The second Reflection Board meeting between representatives of the Reflection Board (RB) organizations (from the EU Platform on Animal Welfare) and the EURCAW-Poultry-SFA, was held remotely via Teams on November, 18th 2022 afternoon. In total 12 participants, seven of them from seven EU platform entities forming the RB, and four from EURCAW-Poultry-SFA were connected. One representative from DG SANTE attended as an observer.   This meeting was the occasion to remind the objectives...

The third EU-network meeting between representatives of EU Member States (MSs) Competent Authorities (CAs) and the EURCAW-Poultry-SFA, took place in Palma (Spain) on September, 28-29, 2022 for 1,5 days. In total 59 participants, from 19 EU MSs participated, including 26 delegates from CAs, and 14 from EURCAW-Poultry-SFA. One EFTA representative attended as an observer. This meeting was the occasion to present the objectives of the Centre, and the work performed since the last meeting....

The next 26 to 29 June 2023, will take place the eleven European Symposium on Poultry Welfare in Prague (Czech Republic). 9 sessions are planned:   Welfare – part of poultry production sustainability Welfare assessment (labelling, traceability, precision livestock farming, smart technologies) Main welfare challenges (feather pecking, beak trimming, keel bone, bone strength in broilers) Poultry killing, transport, slaughtering Poultry breeding and welfare, epi-...

On Thursday 27 October the Welfare Quality Network held its annual seminar on animal welfare indicators. This year the meeting was jointly organized by the three EURCAWs and held in Wageningen, The Netherlands.   The target audience consisted of scientific institutes who act as support bodies to their governments on animal welfare issues. In addition, the meeting was attended by representatives from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the Dutch Competent Authority (NVWA), and...

Organized by EURCAW-Poultry-SFA. The webinar was held via Teams. Target audience: Official inspectors from the Competent Authorities of the EU MSs Attendance through invitation only.   The PDF of the presentation is available here. The webinar recording is available here.    Description: Council Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009 of 24 September 2009 on the protection of animals at the time of killing requires assessing the state of consciousness of the...

The three EURCAWs (EURCAW Ruminants & Equines, EURCAW Pigs, and EURCAW Poultry-SFA) hosted the second workshop with National Reference Centres for Animal Welfare and the Competent Authorities’ Supporting Bodies on 13 September 2022. In total 89 participants from 22 Member States participated, including 24 members from the three EURCAWs, and three delegates from DG SANTE of the European Commission.   The aims of the meeting were...