24 June 2005 - EU proposals to improve conditions for battery chickens ‘don’t go far enough’, an MEP has warned.

Green Euro-MP Caroline Lucas says a planned new EU directive on the welfare of broiler chickens falls short of implementing the recommendations of an EU scientific committee on animal welfare and must be improved.

Dr Lucas, Green MEP for South-East England and a Vice-President of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), said: “The proposed directive falls well short of the recommendations of the Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare (SCAHAW).

“The directive calls for a maximum density which SCAHAW reports will lead to ‘a steep rise in the frequency of serious welfare problems’, it says nothing about farmers’ selection of fast-growing breeds, and it mandates an inadequate level of lighting in battery chicken sheds.”

Her comments were made in a letter to Markos Kyprianou, the EU Commissioner responsible for Health and Consumer Protection, demanding a rethink on the proposals to bring them into line with SCAHAW recommendations.

The MEP, who is also Co-President of the European Parliament’s cross-party group on Health and Consumer Protection, added: “Though some elements of the proposed directive are commendable, such as its requirement for better training, it falls well short of the standards demanded by animal rights organisations and animal welfare experts.

“In answer to a previous written question I was told that any EU legislation would take into account SCAHAW’s recommendations. The current proposals do not deliver on this assurance and the draft must be improved immediately.”

ENDS