Poultry Welfare Statement

Annyalla Chicks shall fully comply with the poultry welfare standards set out in law alongside the applicable code of practices associated with all business activities.

As well as the legal considerations, the business acknowledges its moral and ethical duty to care responsibly for its livestock. The business poultry welfare monitoring scheme seeks to guarantee the safety and humane treatment of birds via policy and ongoing internal auditing procedures as well as external assessments.

The business poultry welfare policy sets out the aims as:

  • Mandatory internal and external training and development shall be given to all employees; bound by the assurance scheme standards requirements to ensure they are applied consistently across the group.

  • Stringent implementation through monitoring, auditing, training and business support networks ensuring our produce is fully traceable from source flock to hatchery, hatchery to grower and grower to processor.

  • Internally inspect all livestock premises on a regular basis via our area management teams, operational support teams, field teams and group poultry welfare manager. These inspections cover bird health and welfare, biosecurity, hygiene and traceability alongside regular risk assessments and compliance reports.

  • Conduct audits by our fully trained staff members who measure the standards to the same standard or higher than external auditors, to ensure ultimate audit compliance and consistency.

Our business ethos for the management of poultry welfare is to maintain the highest level of welfare at all of our premises and the business fully endorses the ‘Five Freedoms’ promoted by the farm animal welfare council (FAWC).

Annyalla Chicks has fully trained ‘Poultry Welfare Officers’ at numerous sites across the UK who are responsible for the welfare of the livestock in their care.

Annyalla Chicks senior management teams oversee the implementation of the business poultry welfare policy, by regularly reviewing the inspection and auditing system, auditing results and trends of key welfare indicators (KWIs).

All Annyalla Chicks team members are trained in best practice poultry health and welfare, biosecurity and hygiene. Personnel are trained to ensure they have the skills and knowledge in:

  • Normal and abnormal bird behaviour

  • Fear reactions

  • Signs of good health and poor health and disease

  • Correct handling of birds

  • Litter management

  • Signs of thermal stress in birds and procedures to be followed in the event of an extreme heat event