The Policy
The Better Chicken Commitment is the leading set of standards for broiler welfare driving the food industry towards higher welfare practices.
The exact standards of the Australia–New Zealand Better Chicken Commitment policy are outlined below.
We require our suppliers to meet the following requirements for 100% of the [fresh, frozen, and processed] chicken in our supply chain:
- Implement a maximum stocking density of 30kg/m2 or less. Thinning is discouraged and if practiced must be limited to one thin per flock.
- Adopt breeds that demonstrate higher welfare outcomes: either the following breeds, Hubbard Redbro (indoor use only); Hubbard Norfolk Black, JA757, JACY57, 787, 957, or 987, Rambler Ranger, Ranger Classic, and Ranger Gold, or other breeds that meet the criteria of the RSPCA (England & Wales) Broiler Breed Welfare Assessment Protocol or equivalent protocol validated by the Better Chicken Commitment committee.
- Meet improved environmental standards including:
- At least 50 lux of light, including natural light. At least six hours of darkness in each 24-hour period, with four hours of that darkness being continuous.
- At least two metres of usable perch space, and two pecking substrates, per 1,000 birds.
- On air quality: the concentration of ammonia does not exceed 20 ppm and the concentration of carbon dioxide does not exceed 3000 ppm at the level of the chickens’ heads, regardless of stocking density.
- No cages or multi-tier systems[1].
- Adopt controlled atmosphere stunning using inert gas or multi-phase systems, or effective electrical stunning without live inversion.
- Demonstrate compliance with the above standards via third-party auditing and annual public reporting on progress towards this commitment.
This clause is to prevent these systems being developed and used in future. ↩︎