Happier chickens in the EU?

The European Union passed new rules this week it says will ease the suffering of the billions of chickens raised in Europe each year. Broilers, or meat birds, have been reared for decades in tightly packed sheds, a.k.a. factory farms, that can hold up to 50,000 chickens. These crowded, filthy conditions can lead to a range of diseases affecting humans and chickens alike, including avian respiratory problems and salmonella.

To prevent these problems, the EU ministers agreed (with more than a little nudging from animal welfare groups) to limit stocking densities from an average of 40 kilograms of birds per square meter to 33 kilograms. And if broiler producers keep mortality low and improve ventilation, the EU can reward them by letting them raise stocking densities to between 39 and 42 kilograms per square meter.

These measures were hard fought, with animal advocates pushing legislators to improve welfare for chickens. But the broiler industry continues to ignore the chronic pain, heart disease, circulatory problems, and lameness that result from selective breeding of birds for fast growth and cramped conditions (see the Humane Society's report, The Welfare of Animals in the Broiler Chicken Industry). Maybe if European consumers knew that the chickens they buy in grocery stores couldn’t walk before they were slaughtered, they would take them off their shopping lists—and force the industry to change its practices.