What’s the Better Chicken Commitment?
Video: RSPCA UK
The Better Chicken Commitment is a commitment for businesses to introduce higher welfare standards for all chickens in their supply chain. It sets targets for the most important welfare issues for chickens raised for meat. The Better Chicken Commitment calls for:
Higher welfare, slower growing chicken breeds
Comfortable, healthy living conditions, where each chicken has enough space, light and clean air
Slaughter methods that are more humane, with effective stunning and no live shackling
Hundreds of companies across North America and Europe are signed up to the Better Chicken Commitment.
But in Australia, not much has changed for chickens in over a decade.
As Australians grow more aware and concerned about where our food comes from, we’re looking to restaurants and shops to meet our expectations for animal welfare, sustainability, and food quality.
The Better Chicken Commitment provides a way for food businesses to demonstrate their commitment to higher welfare standards for chickens raised for meat.
Image: RSPCA UK
Slower growing chicken breeds
Most commercial meat chicken breeds are designed for maximum meat production, at the cost of animal welfare.
They are genetically created to grow incredibly fast, to produce the most meat in the shortest possible time. Their growth rates are so fast that their bones may break and their muscles tear, and they struggle to walk under their own body weight. These chickens reach an average slaughter weight of 2.2kg at just five weeks old.
But it doesn’t have to be like this.
Before companies created these abnormally fast-growing chickens, we had healthier chickens. They were then genetically selected to be more profitable. These genetic changes increased profits at the cost of health and wellbeing of chickens. Now, their life and death is full of stress and pain, unlike the chicken breeds of the past.
Modern breeds that suffer less from these problems do exist – just not in Australia yet. These chickens grow at a slower, safer rate. For example, the BCC-approved Hubbard Redbro weighs about 1.6kg at five weeks, 25 percent less than current breeds, and is usually slaughtered at around six weeks of age at about 2.1kg. The Better Chicken Commitment calls for chicken producers to switch to one of these modern, higher welfare breeds.
Image: RSPCA UK
More space, more light, more comfort
Space
Space in chicken houses is measured in kg/m² to take account of the weight/size of each bird which, with growing chickens, increases every day of their short lives. The lower the number of kg/m², the more space is available for each chicken to sit, move around, flap their wings, dustbathe and forage.
The BCC requires a maximum stocking density of 30kg/m² or less. But chickens can legally be kept at stocking densities up to 40kg/m², which severely limits the movement of birds in their last few weeks of life.
Chickens also like to perch and peck without having to compete with other birds for space. The BCC requires at least 2 metres of usable perch space and two types of objects to peck at per 1,000 birds.
Light
The BCC requires chicken houses to have at least 50 lux of light (lux is the measure of how much light reaches a surface). For comparison, outside on an overcast day you’ll experience around 1,000 lux. A low light you might use in a dining room may provide around 50-100 lux.
Chickens have worse vision at low light levels than humans, so having enough light to see well is incredibly important for their welfare. Most chicken sheds in Australia have no windows, so indoor birds will never experience natural light. Artificial light levels are usually kept low, around 10-20 lux. This is closer to twilight, the darkness when the sun is just below the horizon.
It’s also important that they have a long, continuous period of darkness to rest properly. The BCC requires at least 4 hours of continuous darkness, and 6 hours total darkness every 24 hours.
Air Quality
Good air quality should be a given in any housing environment. High levels of ammonia and carbon dioxide can sting the eyes and make it painful to breathe and are often an indicator of other welfare problems.
The BCC requires a maximum ammonia concentration of 20ppm and maximum carbon dioxide concentration of 3,000ppm, measured at the level of the chickens’ heads.
Image: Farm Transparency Project
A more humane death
Current slaughter methods for chickens are not humane and involve painful shackling and unreliable stunning.
Chickens should be slaughtered in a way that minimises handling and uses effective, reliable stunning so the birds don’t experience any pain.
Unfortunately, current standard slaughter methods for chickens don’t meet this standard.
The Better Chicken Commitment calls on chicken producers to switch to one of the following options:
Controlled atmosphere stunning where gas is used
to painlessly send the birds unconscious without needing human handling
Effective electrical stunning without live inversion*
Effective stunning means that every chicken is made unconscious before and during death, to avoid suffering. Live inversion means grabbing chickens by the legs and hanging them upside down on a conveyer belt before stunning – a stressful and often painful process.
Food businesses are leaders in driving industry change. We’re inviting food businesses to join us and commit to a better future for chickens in Australia.
Before we even began our campaign in Australia, Domino’s, Marley Spoon, and Open Farm became the first businesses to sign the Better Chicken Commitment.
Across the ditch in Aotearoa New Zealand, seven businesses have signed the BCC, including Domino’s. Two more NZ BCC companies also operate in Australia (but haven't yet signed the BCC here) - HelloFresh and The Coffee Club.
With your help, we can grow this small number into a long list of Better Chicken Commitments.
Are you part of a business interested in signing the Better Chicken Commitment? Contact us.
Aussie companies supporting the BCC
Two easy actions you can do right now to help chickens are:
Sign the Better Chicken Commitment pledge, to show that you support businesses making the switch to better chicken.
Spread the word – most Aussies are unaware of how bad life is for our chickens, and, like you, will want better welfare standards.
As our campaign grows, there’ll be more opportunities to help demonstrate your support for the Better Chicken Commitment. Signing our BCC pledge will also get you on our email list, where we’ll share more opportunities to help chickens have a better life.
Help make life better for chickens
Add your name here to show the chicken industry and food businesses that you want higher welfare chicken products that meet the requirements of the Better Chicken Commitment.
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Like most Australians, I care about the welfare of farmed animals.
Chickens farmed for meat are one of the most poorly treated animals in the agriculture industry. Every year, millions of Aussie chickens suffer short, miserable lives before being slaughtered using outdated and cruel methods. I want that to change.
As many Australians like me grow more aware and concerned about how animals are farmed for food, I'm looking to restaurants and shops to match expectations for better animal welfare, sustainability, and food quality.
I’m calling on food businesses to sign the Better Chicken Commitment and introduce higher welfare standards for all chickens in their supply chain. This includes better living conditions, more humane slaughter methods, and switching to healthier, slower growing chicken breeds that promote good welfare.
It’s time to change the way chickens are farmed in Australia.
The Better Chicken Commitment must be the new standard for Aussie chickens.