Broiler Chickens

In 2018, M&S was the first UK retailer to sign up to the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC) - a company pledge to introduce higher welfare standards for all the chickens in its supply by 2026.

M&S was also the first to start on its transition, successfully securing a commercial deal with its supplier to convert all its Oakham^TM chicken to Oakham^TM Gold. This involved the gradual laying down of breeding flocks from the slower growing Hubbard breed - birds that have been shown to lead longer, healthier and more fulfilled lives.

M&S is now the first UK retailer to sell 100% BCC-compliant fresh chicken, leading the way in raising the welfare bar for ALL chickens reared for meat.

Discover how M&S has achieved 'the biggest change to chicken rearing in a generation'.

Norwegian poultry producer Norsk Kylling has successfully transitioned 100% of its chicken production to meet the higher welfare requirements of the European Chicken Commitment.

Norsk Kylling adopts a holistic approach to sustainable and higher welfare production, setting new standards for reducing energy consumption, waste and its environmental footprint, while improving animal welfare, production efficiency and developing novel feed ingredients.

Discover how Norsk Kylling has successfully harmonised profitability, animal welfare and environmental sustainability, setting a new benchmark for the poultry industry.

The Windstreek broiler house is the product of six years of development work and the vision of Robert Nijkamp, a poultry farmer based near Zwolle, in the Netherlands.

The idea for the Windstreek broiler house originated from a Wageningen University research project, funded by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation which explored possible solutions for sustainable broiler production and consumption.

After the research project’s conclusion, Mr Nijkamp was determined to see the Windstreek broiler house become a reality on his farm. He set about pulling together key stakeholders to develop the concept further and eventually realise the design.

The house now produces 145,600 birds per year and the chicken is processed and marketed by Plukon Food Group and sold by Dutch supermarket Albert Heijn, mostly as fresh portioned chicken.  

The development of the Windstreek broiler house is a bold project, which incorporates a whole range of innovative features and examples of best practice for animal welfare and the environment, for which it was recognised with a Best Innovation Award from Compassion in 2016.

Read the full technical case study or watch the video here

The British Poultry Council launched an Antimicrobial Stewardship Programme in 2011 to ensure a continuous review of medicine usage in poultry meat as well as promoting best practice across the sector. Read the full case study here.

Animal welfare concerns are now well recognised by the public, food companies, governments and farmers. However, in many instances, there is no significant volume of alternative supplies of food for consumers to buy. To meet this challenge in a sustainable manner on farms, the most practical solutions will be primarily driven by farmers for farmers.

The European Farmers Network (EFN) was a partnership established between Compassion in World Farming (Compassion) and the FAI (Food Animal Initiative) in 2008-2011. The network brought together a values-driven association of farmers across Europe who believe that higher animal welfare is an essential part of sustainable agriculture.

The focus of the EFN was to bring together farmers who were willing to lead by example, demonstrating solutions to a wide audience.