Farmed bird welfare science review

The department commissioned an independent, peer-reviewed Farmed Bird Welfare Science Review:

• Farmed Bird Science Review (PDF - 3.9 MB) (PDF - 3.7 MB)
• Farmed Bird Science Review (WORD - 2.7 MB) (WORD - 2.6 MB)

It examines contemporary scientific evidence on the care, management and slaughter practices used in the farming of:

• poultry
• game birds
• ratites (emus and ostriches).

The review was written by the University of Bristol, which is world-renowned for its work in farmed bird welfare. It was independently peer-reviewed by Australian and New Zealand animal welfare scientists.

The review draws on existing publicly available, peer reviewed studies. It refers to a number of international poultry studies, so not all findings are applicable to current Victorian poultry husbandry practices.

The Farmed Bird Welfare Science Review complemented work undertaken during the development of the draft Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for Poultry. These Standards and Guidelines are being developed as part of a national process involving all Australian states and territories.