At RSPCA Approved, we work closely with producers to ensure better animal welfare on farm in order to create change and improvements within farming industries. Whether the animals are housed in an enriched barn, or have access to an inviting outdoor area, the RSPCA Standards have a focus on improving welfare for farmed animals. Brands such as Hazeldenes have a strong commitment to higher-welfare farming practices; even though it’s not the easiest way, Hazeldenes believe passionately in raising their birds to a higher-welfare standard for a better quality of life.
In 2014, Hazeldenes assisted Coles in launching Coles’ own brand RSPCA Approved chicken, the beginning of a positive change for the poultry industry that has since provided Australians with easy to find RSPCA Approved chicken in supermarkets nation-wide. For over 10 years now, consumers have had the option to choose poultry raised with better welfare as a priority, allowing them to align their values with their purchasing decisions, and in turn showing producers that better welfare on farm is important to the community.
Maintaining RSPCA Approved certification is no easy feat – it includes regular, robust assessments from specially trained RSPCA Assessors, ongoing conformance to over 400 requirements in the RSPCA Standard for Meat Chickens, thorough chain of custody assessments, and improvements to housing, enrichment and monitoring to exceed standard legal requirements. For Hazeldenes to maintain certification for over a decade is a tremendous milestone.
Meat chickens on Hazeldenes farms are reared in an enriched barn, with environmental enrichment such as perches and dry, friable litter to encourage dustbathing, foraging and scratching behaviours. The standards also require light cycles that replicate natural daylight with periods of darkness for rest, as well as ventilation and temperature requirements in the barn. Even on free-range farms, the birds will spend a majority of their lives indoors in the safety of shelter and other meat chickens, away from potential predators or adverse weather, so it’s important to ensure the environment indoors is adequate to house them while also allowing them to express natural behaviours. Ensuring a better quality of life for meat chickens means ongoing improvements for both for indoor and free-range production.
The RSPCA’s standards exist solely to improve farm animal welfare, they are detailed, science and evidence based and reviewed around every five years to keep up with current science, innovation and industry practices for ongoing improvement. Crucially, they provide opportunities for animals to express natural behaviours. Producers that are certified by RSPCA Approved undergo regular, rigorous assessments by specially trained assessors, and because a humane death is also important, their primary processing plants are assessed annually. Sourcing from producers with the RSPCA Approved certification, such as Hazeldenes, means supporting continual improvement for the welfare of Australian meat chickens.
