Primary products and foodstuffs

AMA Quality Seal Guidelines for Chicken Farming – amendment

The AMA Quality Seal Guidelines for chicken farming are amended as follows:

• More frequent compulsory professional training sessions for those responsible for looking after the animals, and the establishment of regulations for stand-in workers when the former are unable to do so.
• Exclusive use of soy products not cultivated on deforested land
• Certificate of completion of the theoretical and practical training on emergency slaughter, as set out in the information sheet ‘Emergency slaughter of broiler chickens’.
• Requirements for access to animal housing in order to prevent unauthorised persons from entering and other animals from breaking in.
• Optional supplementary module ‘Animal Husbandry Plus’ with additional requirements for animal husbandry:
- Annual inspection of the requirements set out in the module.
- Requirements for population density in animal housing: A maximum of 20.5 chicks may be housed per square metre of usable floor space, and the maximum density in animal housing of 30 kg per square metre of usable floor space per housing unit for broiler chickens, as stipulated by Austrian law, must be maintained throughout the entire rearing period.
- Elements that provide structure for the chickens shall be made available.
- There must be natural light covering at least 2 per cent of the housing floor area.
- For every 100 m² of housing floor space or part thereof, at least one suitable manipulable item (such as straw bales, pecking stones or organic material) must be provided.
- Compulsory participation in an animal health monitoring scheme.
• Optional supplementary module ‘Animal Husbandry plus outdoor climate’, which builds on the ‘Animal Husbandry plus’ supplementary module and sets out additional requirements for animal husbandry:
- Requirements for population density in animal housing: A maximum of 18.5 chicks may be housed per m² of usable area, and the maximum housing density of 27.5 kg/m² of usable area per housing unit for broiler chickens must be maintained throughout the entire rearing period.
- A covered outdoor-climate area comprising at least 20 per cent of the floor area of the housing.
- Raised areas occupying at least 10 per cent of the floor area of the housing unit must also be provided for the chickens as structural elements.
- At least two suitable manipulable materials (e.g. straw bales, pecking stones or organic material) must be provided for each 150 m² of housing area or part thereof.
- More vigorous breeds.
• Optional additional module, ‘Animal husbandry plus – outdoor area / pasture’, which builds on the additional module
‘Animal husbandry plus outdoor climate’ and includes additional requirements for animal husbandry:
- Requirements for population density in animal housing: A maximum of 18.5 chicks may be housed per m² of usable area, and the maximum housing density of 27.5 kg/m² of usable area per housing unit for broiler chickens must be maintained throughout the entire rearing period.
- Natural light covering at least 3 per cent of the usable floor area of the animal housing.
- Outdoor area on unpaved soil (green outdoor area) of at least 2 m²/broiler chicken.
- Suitable materials for plumage care (such as a sand bath) must be made available to the chickens.