Welfare in Transport proposals – what's the NFU doing?

Members of the NFU poultry board’s working group helped compile a comprehensive list of additional steps currently taken by the industry to help protect bird welfare in hot and cold weather conditions without the need for the proposed temperature limit or thermoregulated vehicles.

This submission also included historic DOA data in different weather conditions to demonstrate the UK poultry sector’s strong track record on welfare in transport, as well as initial figures from the NFU’s datalogger trial, indicating that the internal temperature of the vehicle remains within the thermal comfort range for poultry, even if the external temperature is below 5°C.

The submission also reiterated our support for a collaborative approach to welfare, so that where opportunities for further development or innovation can be identified, they should be both practical for the industry to adopt and deliver tangible welfare benefits.

NFU representatives highlighted the existing high welfare in transport standards already operated by the industry and reiterated that there is insufficient evidence to demonstrate that the proposals in their current form would provide any benefit to animal welfare.

Industry data demonstrates that DOA (dead on arrival) levels in all seasons are already very low, with the vast majority of journeys being carried out without incident. Whilst the industry is always striving to improve welfare standards, any changes to current legislation needs to be proportionate and workable for the poultry sector.

Defra welcomed the NFU’s input and asked for details of current and potential future intervention strategies that are workable for the sector and will protect or improve welfare in transport when the external temperature is outside of the proposed temperature range.

The NFU submitted evidence demonstrating the high welfare in transport outcomes currently achieved by the industry and reiterated the importance of ensuring any changes avoid unfairly impacting independent broiler producers who wish to supply different processors across the country.

Members of the NFU poultry board’s working group submitted data and case studies from their own businesses to help demonstrate the need for flexibility in emergency situations as well as an exemption for independent broiler producers.

NFU representatives highlighted the need for contingency planning in emergency situations where broilers may need to be transported for longer than four hours. Examples where this might be needed include: an unplanned processing plant closure, vehicle breakdown or major disruption to the supply chain.

The NFU also raised concerns that the proposed journey time limit would have a disproportionate impact on independent broiler producers supplying the wholesale market.

Defra agreed to consider further submissions of evidence and data to support exemptions for broiler producers who may not be able to meet the proposed four hour limit, as well as emergency situations for all poultry species.

Together with members of the poultry board working group, the NFU launched a project using dataloggers to gather internal vehicle temperatures during transport of poultry. 

The datalogger project will also measure a number of other factors such as: the duration and distance of the journey, delays, the size of vehicle and the number and type of birds that are being transported. Outcome measures, such as the number of birds that are dead on arrival, will also be collected at the point of unloading.

The data will then be used in the NFU’s lobbying to help demonstrate that the external temperature in winter does not correlate with the internal thermal conditions experienced by the birds in transport.

The NFU has responded to the changes made to the government’s proposals on new welfare in transport measures. Changes made by Defra include:

• Removing restrictions applying to sea transport in certain weather conditions for domestic journeys.
• Excluding vehicle loading and unloading in journey time limits for poultry.

Former NFU Deputy President Stuart Roberts said: “Animal welfare is always a top priority for any livestock or poultry farmer and we maintain that new rules or policy should be based on sound evidence and the latest science.

“We’re pleased to see in some areas Defra has taken account of the evidence we presented and made changes to its proposals.

“However, we’re disappointed that other elements are not more meaningfully welfare-focused, utilising driver training and experience. For example, we are frustrated that our proposal for a live export assurance scheme has been overlooked, which would have ensured UK rules on transport and processing would have followed animals to other countries.

“We believe basing a transport ban purely on its purpose, in this case for slaughter, is not logical given that farmers and transporters have an inherent interest in ensuring all journeys meaningfully protect welfare at all stages and types of movement.

“We are pleased to see that Defra is committed to working collaboratively with the industry in this area and we stand ready to support further policy development to improve welfare at transport.”

Read former poultry board chair Thomas Wornham's opinion piece about the amended proposals here: Poultry opinion: New welfare in transport measures

The NFU’s response to the original consultation stressed the significant impact the proposals would have on the livestock and poultry sectors, while failing to deliver any meaningful benefit to animal welfare.

At the end of 2020, Defra opened the “Improvements to animal welfare in transport” consultation, aiming to improve upon the current rules and requirements for the transport of animals.

Defra are proposing a maximum journey time limit of four hours for transporting broilers to slaughter and a 12 hour journey time limit for all other poultry species.

The proposals also state that day-old chicks can currently  still be transported for up to 24 hours, with Defra looking at additional measures for journeys lasting longer than 24 hours.

Defra's original proposals on journey times included loading and unloading times.

Defra are also proposing a ban on transporting poultry further than 65km (40 miles) when the outside temperature is lower than 5°C or higher than 25°C, unless the birds are transported in thermoregulated vehicles.