Health and welfare in organic poultry in Europe: state of the art and future challenges.

Summary

In Europe, over 4 million laying hens and 1.8 million broilers are kept according to the organic principles. Although the regulations are the same for every country, there is a large diversity in farm sizes and farming systems. In Switzerland, 220.000 laying hens are kept on 2100 farms, while in the Netherlands 700.000 hens are kept on 130 farms. In Switzerland, mean mortality is 8%, in the Netherlands mean mortality is 11%, mainly caused by infectious diseases. Regarding animal welfare, feather pecking is seen in 70% of the Dutch and in 50% of the Swiss flocks. Feather pecking has usually started during the rearing period. The main challenges for the future are reducing the vulnerability to diseases and decreasing the amount of feather pecking. In this respect, appro-priate rearing conditions are of crucial importance. Moreover, the consequences of large farm size and the layout of the outdoor run should receive more attention. These goals can be achieved by research, education of farmers and regulation.