Eliminating double standards: chicken meat imports must meet EU welfare standards

A new report from Eurogroup for Animals and World Animal Protection highlights the need for imported chicken meat to meet EU welfare standards to avoid a gap in welfare standards between EU-produced and imported chicken. Currently, imports only need to meet EU standards at slaughter, not for breeding, rearing, and transportation. The report calls for the EU to require equivalent welfare standards for all chicken meat, regardless of its origin, in response to consumer demand for high welfare standards for the meat they consume.

The report emphasizes the need for the EU to put forward modernized meat chicken legislation that goes beyond banning cages, with a dedicated import-equivalence article to cover all chicken products and ensure equivalent protection in practice. This move would prevent European farmers investing in higher welfare standards from being undercut by cheaper, lower welfare imports and provide appropriate support for exporting countries to meet the required standards.