Period from November 2021 to June 2022
A ministerial decree issued in November 2021, placing mainland France under a ‘high risk’ status, forced poultry farmers to implement specific biosecurity measures, in order to limit the spread of the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus. More specifically, these restrictions applied to poultry with outdoor access (mainly Label Rouge and Organic Agriculture poultry). Third parties (in particular auditors) were no longer allowed to enter production sites.
In this context, Association Étiquette Bien-Être Animal called on all producers concerned to apply biosecurity measures. Under certain conditions, when animal welfare considerations made it necessary, and on the basis of an authorization issued by the authorities, outdoor access was made possible by reducing the range area: Association Étiquette Bien-Être Animal encouraged this practice.
As a result, during the epizootic period, A- and B-scored broilers did
not have access to an outdoor run (except for the derogation mentioned
above), and annual audits by external auditors were not carried out.
Nonetheless, the animals still benefited from enrichments in the barn
encouraging the expression of their behaviour, including more space
available (compared with C-, D- or E-scored poultry) and the presence of
perches. Moreover, hatchery, transport and slaughter requirements
remained unchanged and audited. The living conditions of C-scored
broilers were not affected by the measures.
Thus, for farms previously audited by external auditors, the Étiquette Bien-Être Animal scores (A, B or C) were maintained on products. As stipulated by the authorities, a display has been placed on the shelves to inform consumers of the lack of outdoor access during this period of high epizootic risk. As soon as the sanitary restrictions were lifted (June 2022), all A- and B- scored poultry regained access to an outdoor run, and audits resumed as usual.
This situation also explains why you may have come across products displaying a blank animal welfare label (with no letter / score) on your store shelves, as products from farms recently integrated into the initiative could not benefit from a score without an on-site audit. This situation was rectified as soon as the sanitary constraints on poultry farms were lifted and audits resumed. Thank you for your understanding.
