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Regulations 5 and 5A

[F1SCHEDULE 5AE+WAdditional conditions that apply in relation to conventionally reared meat chickens

Textual Amendments

PART 1E+WInterpretation

InterpretationE+W

1.  In this Schedule—

“chicken” means a conventionally reared meat chicken;

“keeper” means any person responsible for or in charge of chickens in terms of contract or by law whether on a permanent or temporary basis;

“official veterinarian” has the same meaning as it has in [F2Regulation (EU) 2017/625];

“Regulation 853/2004” means Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin.

F3...

[F4“Regulation (EU) 2017/625” means Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council on official controls and other official activities performed to ensure the application of food and feed law, rules on animal health and welfare, plant health and plant protection products.]

Textual Amendments

PART 2E+WGeneral additional conditions

TrainingE+W

2.—(1) A keeper must hold a certificate recognised by the Secretary of State for the purposes of Article 4(3) or (4) of Council Directive 2007/43/EC (certificates of completion of training courses or equivalent experience).

(2) The Secretary of State must publish from time to time, in such a way as the Secretary of State considers appropriate, a list of certificates recognised by the Secretary of State for the purposes of sub-paragraph (1).

Stocking density limitsE+W

3.—(1) Unless sub-paragraph (2) applies, the stocking density must not exceed 33 kilograms per m2 of usable area.

(2) A stocking density in excess of 33 kilograms and up to 39 kilograms per m2 of usable area may be used if the requirements of paragraph 5 are complied with.

Notification of stocking densityE+W

4.—(1) A keeper must ensure that the Secretary of State is notified of the intended stocking density of each house where it is intended to keep chickens at a density in excess of 33 kilograms per m2 of usable area, and of any subsequent change to that notified density.

(2) Notification must be made in such manner and form as the Secretary of State may require.

(3) Notification (including notification of any change) must be given at least 15 working days before stocking at that density or changed density takes place.

(4) In this paragraph “working day” means a day other than a Saturday or a Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday or a day which is a bank holiday in England and Wales under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971(1).

Requirements for higher stocking densitiesE+W

5.  The requirements of this paragraph are that the keeper must—

(a)maintain and, on request, make available to the Secretary of State, documentation in the house giving a detailed description of the production systems, in particular information on technical details of the house and its equipment, including—

(i)a plan of the house including the dimensions of the surfaces occupied by the chickens;

(ii)ventilation and any relevant cooling and heating system (including their location), and a ventilation plan, detailing target air quality parameters (such as airflow, air speed and temperature);

(iii)feeding and watering systems (and their location);

(iv)alarm and backup systems in the event of a failure of any equipment essential for the health and well-being of the chickens;

(v)floor type and litter normally used; and

(vi)records of technical inspections of the ventilation and alarm systems;

(b)keep up to date the documentation referred to in subparagraph (a);

(c)ensure that each house is equipped with ventilation and, if necessary, heating and cooling systems designed, constructed and operated in such a way that—

(i)the concentration of ammonia does not exceed 20 parts per million and the concentration of carbon dioxide does not exceed 3,000 parts per million, when measured at the level of the chickens’ heads;

(ii)when the outside temperature measured in the shade exceeds 30°C, the inside temperature does not exceed the outside temperature by more than 3°C; and

(iii)when the outside temperature is below 10°C, the average relative humidity measured inside the house during a continuous period of 48 hours does not exceed 70%.

Drink and feedE+W

6.—(1) Drinkers must be positioned and maintained in such a way that spillage is minimised.

(2) Feed must be either continuously available or meal fed.

(3) Feed must not be withdrawn from the chickens more than 12 hours before the expected slaughter time.

LitterE+W

7.  All chickens must have permanent access to litter which is dry and friable on the surface.

Ventilation and heatingE+W

8.—(1) Ventilation must be sufficient to avoid overheating.

(2) Ventilation, in combination with heating systems, must be sufficient to remove excessive moisture.

NoiseE+W

9.  In all houses—

(a)the sound level must be minimised; and

(b)ventilation fans, feeding machinery or other equipment must be constructed, placed, operated and maintained in such a way that they cause the least possible amount of noise.

LightE+W

10.—(1) All houses must have lighting with an intensity of at least 20 lux during the lighting periods, measured at bird eye level and illuminating at least 80% of the usable area.

(2) A temporary reduction from that lighting level is permitted where necessary following veterinary advice.

(3) Within 7 days from the time when the chickens are placed in the house and until 3 days before the expected time of slaughter, the lighting must follow a 24-hour rhythm and include periods of darkness lasting at least 6 hours in total, with at least one uninterrupted period of darkness of at least 4 hours, excluding dimming periods.

InspectionE+W

11.—(1) A keeper must ensure that all chickens kept on the holding are inspected at least twice a day.

(2) Special attention must be paid to signs indicating a reduced level of animal health or welfare.

(3) Chickens that are seriously injured or show evident signs of health disorder (including those having difficulties in walking, severe ascites or severe malformations), and are likely to suffer, must receive appropriate treatment or be culled immediately.

CleaningE+W

12.  After the final depopulation of a house and before a new flock is introduced—

(a)any part of a house, and any equipment or utensil, which has been in contact with chickens must be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected; and

(b)all litter must be removed and clean litter provided.

Record keepingE+W

13.—(1) A keeper must maintain, for each house, a record of—

(a)the number of chickens introduced;

(b)the usable area;

(c)the hybrid or breed of the chickens (if known);

(d)the number of chickens found dead, with an indication of the causes (if known), as well as the number of chickens culled with cause, on each inspection; and

(e)the number of chickens remaining in the flock following the removal of chickens for sale or slaughter.

(2) The record must be retained for at least 3 years.

PART 3E+WMonitoring and follow-up at the slaughterhouse

Food chain information and chickens dead on arrivalE+W

14.—(1) For the purposes of Section III (food chain information) of Annex II to Regulation 853/2004, the daily mortality rate and cumulative daily mortality rate and the hybrid or breed of chickens from a flock with a stocking density in excess of 33 kilograms per m2 of usable area is treated as relevant food safety information.

(2) A food business operator operating a slaughterhouse must—

(a)under the supervision of the official veterinarian, record the number of chickens from such a flock that are dead on arrival at the slaughterhouse; and

(b)provide that information on request to the official veterinarian.

(3) In this paragraph—

“cumulative daily mortality rate” means the sum of daily mortality rates;

“daily mortality rate” means the number of chickens which have died in a house on the same day including those that have been culled either because of disease or because of other reasons, divided by the number of chickens present in the house on that day, multiplied by 100.

Identification of poor welfare conditions and follow-upE+W

15.—(1) An official veterinarian conducting controls under [F5Regulation (EU) 2017/625] in relation to chickens must evaluate the results of the post-mortem inspection to identify possible indications of poor welfare conditions in their holding or house of origin.

(2) If the mortality rate of the chickens or the results of the post-mortem inspection are consistent with poor animal welfare conditions, the official veterinarian must communicate the data to the keeper of those chickens and to the Secretary of State without delay.]

Textual Amendments

(1)

OJ No L125, 23.5.96, p 3