RSPCA Approved, 2022 Impact Report

For over 25 years

For over 2 5 years

The RSPCA Approved Farming Scheme focuses solely on improving the lives of Australia’s farmed animals.

The Three Pillars

of the RSPCA Approved Farming Scheme

Science and standards

Assessment and certification

Working with industry

In 2022 we certified

97,079 layer hens
92,084 pigs
647,150,667 meat chickens
209,434 turkeys
5,650,334 farmed Atlantic salmon
535 farms

RSPCA Assessors conducted

1,113 assessments of farms, processes and abattoirs
1.8 million layer hens
1 . 8
million
layer hens
1.7 million pigs
1 . 7
million
pigs
5 billion meat chickens
5
billion
meat chickens
3.3 million turkeys
3 . 3
million
turkeys
30 million farmed Atlantic salmon
30
million
farmed Atlantic salmon
  1. 1996
  2. 2001
  3. 2003
  4. 2005
  5. 2009
  6. 2010
  7. 2013
  8. 2014
  9. 2015
  10. 2016
  11. 2018
  12. 2019
  13. 2020
  14. 2021
  15. 2022
1996
The RSPCA established the RSPCA Accreditation Scheme and released its first animal welfare standard.
Its focus was to improve the lives of Australia’s egg-laying hens and provide guidance
and a trustworthy choice to consumers wanting to purchase eggs from cage-free farms with a focus on animal welfare.
The first egg farm joins the Scheme.
2001
The RSPCA releases an animal welfare Standard for pigs.
2003
The first pig farm joins the Scheme.
2005
Rohde’s Free Range Eggs joins the Scheme
and is still proudly RSPCA Approved and is the only participating egg farm in South Australia.
2009
After the Scheme’s first external review, it’s renamed the RSPCA Approved Farming Scheme.
2010
For the first time, a major Australian supermarket sources RSPCA Approved pork for a product line under their own brand.
To this day, Coles is the only supermarket to offer customers RSPCA Approved pork nation-wide.
The RSPCA releases animal welfare Standards for meat chickens and turkeys.
Mt Barker Free Range Chicken is the first chicken brand to join the Scheme, followed closely by Freedom Farms in 2011.
2013
95.2 million hens, pigs, meat chickens and turkeys have benefitted from higher welfare farming conditions since the Scheme began.
2014
In a landmark move forward for farm animal welfare in Australia, Coles became the first supermarket to source RSPCA Approved chicken for all of its own brand of fresh chicken.
This move was closely followed by Woolworths and launched a transformation within the industry.
2015
805 million hens, pigs, meat chickens and turkeys have benefitted from higher welfare farming conditions since the Scheme began.
2016
The RSPCA releases an animal welfare Standard for farmed Atlantic salmon.
2018
A second external review is undertaken to better understand how the Scheme can operate to best practice standards.
After undergoing the RSPCA’s certification process for two years, Huon Aquaculture became the first RSPCA Approved farmed Atlantic salmon producer.
The RSPCA releases an animal welfare Standard for dairy veal calves (which is now the Standard for dairy calves).
2 billion hens, pigs, meat chickens, turkeys and salmon have benefitted from higher welfare farming conditions since the Scheme began.
2019
After the Scheme’s second external review, the RSPCA Certification Body and a management system is implemented for the Scheme’s meat chicken program.
In an Australian first, Coles launches RSPCA Approved Slow Hills chicken — the first slow-growing chicken available to the Australian consumer.
2020
In addition to fresh chicken, Coles and Woolworths source RSPCA Approved for the Australian chicken used as an ingredient in their own brand products.
Three billion hens, pigs, meat chickens, turkeys and salmon have benefitted from higher welfare farming conditions since the Scheme began.
2021
We continued to assess farms and abattoirs with a remote model during lock downs.
2022
Five billion hens, pigs, meat chickens, turkeys and salmon have benefitted from higher welfare farming conditions since the Scheme began.

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