EU dismayed over poultry welfare stalemate

Ben Bradshaw, UK animal welfare minister, said: “The welfare of broiler chickens is a major concern to the public here and elsewhere in Europe. We have worked very hard over more than two years on these proposals, which would have led to real improvements to chicken welfare in Europe.

“I am dismayed that a small number of countries has blocked progress.”

The breakdown in talks has also caused anxiety among members of Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) and the British Poultry Council (BPC). Peter Stevenson, chief policy advisor of CIWF said, “We wanted it put through. Our concern is that we want all of Europe brought up to the same standards, because quite a lot of what is in that directive is a reflection of UK assurance production standards.”

The UK government intends to try to persuade the forthcoming German presidency of the EU to return to the issue, however, representatives were not optimistic that this would be resolved soon.