Growing consumer concern about animal welfare has led to increasing demand for eggs produced under higher welfare standards. This trend is also reflected in the development of numerous animal welfare labelling schemes for laying hens across Europe. Although there is heterogeneity, certain animal welfare indicators show consistency across the standards, such as requirements for the provision of perches, nests, lighting regime and access to range and pasture. Welfare is enhanced compared to conventional, and in some cases even to organic laying hen husbandry by providing a detailed framework and clear implementation guidelines for each provision. Emphasis is placed on environmental enrichment. However, critical welfare issues remain either insufficiently addressed or entirely overlooked, including transport conditions, depopulation methods, the culling of male chicks, and the welfare of breeder layers. Also, incorporating requirements on maximum accepted mortality rates and positive human–animal interaction could contribute to a more comprehensive welfare assessment. When combined with collaboration among stakeholders, including public and private entities, and improved consumer education on animal welfare, labelling on animal welfare could be a promising approach to ameliorating the welfare of laying hens in production systems.
Papageorgiou et al. (Fri,) studied this question.