Everyone enjoys a good throwback, and for the 5 billion meat chickens, pigs, layer hens, turkeys and salmon reared to the RSPCA’s higher welfare standards who have benefitted from a better quality of life since the RSPCA Approved Farming Scheme began over 25 years ago, this is a great opportunity to look back on some of our keystone producers and brands who have helped improve animal welfare along the way. It’s all part of helping you Know the Story behind RSPCA Approved.
Rohde’s Free Range Eggs (2005)
Second-generation farmers John and Ange Rohde were early adopters of the RSPCA Standard for Layer Hens and have had RSPCA Approved certification for over 17 years. Now with some 100,000 hens roaming their free-range farm in SA’s Clare Valley, producers like the Rohde’s family are leading the way in cage-free egg farming.
Layer hens are curious, intelligent, and social creatures, and need to have their physical and behavioural needs met to live a better life. Producers with RSPCA Approved certification raise their hens with plenty of space to move, stretch and flap their wings, secluded nest boxes to lay their eggs and, for producers like Rohde’s who meet the RSPCA outdoor standard, hens are able to roam outside during the day, with shade and plenty of vegetation to keep them engaged. In the evenings they return to their barn for a safe place to rest. Hen welfare is core of the Rohde’s business with the RSPCA Approved certification providing the third-party assurance their customers are looking for.
Freedom Farms (2011)
With over 75 years in the poultry business, Cordina Chicken Farms are the oldest poultry producer in Australia and is behind many innovative milestones that have changed the industry, evidence of their commitment to sustainable and higher welfare farming practices.
An early adopter of the RSPCA Standard, the chickens on Cordina’s Freedom Farms have more room to move, perches for better leg health, dry litter floor covering, all to encourage them to express their natural behaviours. These farms include sheds with open sides to allow natural light and ventilation to pass through, while allowing the birds to remain safe from predators. As part of certification, farms are monitored closely to ensure conformance with RSPCA’s Standard.
Grill’d Healthy Burgers (2016)
Grill’d were proudly the first restaurant chain to make the switch to 100% RSPCA Approved chicken in all their restaurants. They are committed to making considered choices about what goes on their menu, including sourcing free-range eggs, and in a world first, a sustainable, grass-fed beef patty that creates up to 67% less methane than regular cattle. When it comes to higher-welfare food, Grill’d knows the importance of supporting better welfare on farm, setting a valuable example that encourages other restaurants to make the switch.
Sourcing from producers with the RSPCA Approved certification means supporting continual improvement for the welfare of Australian meat chickens. RSPCA Approved certification covers whole of life; with the detailed RSPCA Approved Standard for Meat Chickens containing over 400 requirements solely focused on providing better animal welfare outcomes.
Interested in reading more?
What’s important for a good certification?
What is the RSPCA Approved Farming Scheme?
