Poultry farmers concerned welfare proposals could 'quadruple cost of production'
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Poultry farmers have expressed concern that animal welfare proposals coming from Europe "have the potential to quadruple the cost of production", the Irish Farmers' Association has said.
The European Commission intends to put forward a legislative proposal by the end of 2023 to phase out and eventually prohibit the use of cages for farm animals.
As part of this, it has mandated the European Food Safety Authority to produce a report, which recommends a reduction in the capacity of poultry sheds for layers and broilers; changes in transport; and the limiting of growth rates.
IFA poultry chairman Nigel Sweetnam has said the recommendations for broilers and laying hens are on welfare alone, and that "full impact assessments must be completed on the environmental and financial sustainability of these recommendations".
"The proposals would mean the quadrupling of the energy requirements and the doubling of feed. This could result in a 2kg chicken costing €25 to the consumer," Mr Sweetnam estimates.
"However, this follows a 20-year period where chicken and eggs declined in price."
Mr Sweetnam said there "has to be consideration of the cost implications of proposed measures".
"This has the potential to decimate our poultry industry in Ireland, but also in the EU," according to Mr Sweetnam.
"It will open us up to more imported chicken from outside the EU, where we have no control over how the birds are farmed.
"If retailers or the EU want to drive this initiative, they must be made aware that the sector’s survival is hanging on a knife edge if these recommendations were to be implemented. Farm families and livelihoods are at risk and so too is the future of our food security."
