Meat Chicken Welfare | RSPCA Certified

Over 750 million chickens are farmed for meat production in Australia every year.

This high number of animals coupled with the many serious animal welfare issues in the chicken meat industry is precisely why the RSPCA is involved in meat chicken production, to improve the welfare outcomes for many millions of animals.

Over 80% of Australia’s meat chickens are farmed entirely indoors, and the rest with outdoor access (free-range) when fully feathered. RSPCA Certified chicken can come from indoor or free-range systems, so long as the farms and abattoirs supplying the chicken have been assessed and certified to the RSPCA Australia Standard for Meat Chickens.

Watch Video — RSPCA Certified Meat Chickens

RSPCA Certified
Meat Chickens

For meat chickens on RSPCA Certified farms there is a focus on encouraging them to be active and express natural behaviours. By providing more space, friable litter for scratching and dust bathing, pecking objects, access to perches, lighting to encourage activity, and a period of darkness to rest properly, RSPCA Certified meat chickens build muscle and bone strength and have a better environment indoors than what is legally required.

Free-range RSPCA Certified chicken farms also need to meet additional requirements to make sure the outdoor range is inviting and attractive to meat chickens, including shade and vegetation.

Be Involved Certified Products

“It’s been great to partner with the RSPCA Certified team in improving animal welfare outcomes on 100% of our meat chicken farms across Australia for almost 10 years.”

Farm Assessments

RSPCA Certified chicken farms are assessed annually by specially trained RSPCA Assessors, with additional unannounced assessments on top of a routine assessment. All RSPCA Certified chicken abattoirs have an annual unannounced assessment.

Be Involved Certified Products

Legal requirements for Meat Chickens

The RSPCA Australia standard and corresponding certification from RSPCA Certified is just one way the RSPCA works to improve meat chicken welfare. There are a number of serious welfare issues that the RSPCA is concerned about when it comes to how chickens are raised for meat and ongoing improvements are still needed.

For example, the fast-growing meat chicken breeds used in Australia today, have an increased risk of skeletal abnormalities, lameness, metabolic diseases and mortality, and may be unable to support the rapid growth for which they’ve been genetically selected.

While issues such as poor housing and inadequate space can be addressed over the life of the bird, there are limitations to mitigating the inherent welfare impacts of these genetic selection decisions.

For more information about key welfare issues for meat chickens, and how RSPCA continues to advocate for improvements, visit the RSPCA Australia website.

Legal minimum	RSPCA Certified
Stocking density is up to 40 kg/m2 depending on shed ventilation type and season.	Stocking density is 28-34kg/m2 depending on shed ventilation type.
Perches not legally required.	2.7m of perching per 1,000 birds from 7 days of age.
No minimum requirement for floor substrate (litter) depth.	Dry, friable litter managed and maintained at a depth of 50mm.
No minimum light or dark period, and minimum light intensity of 2 lux.	Continuous minimum light period of 8 hours, at 20 lux average intensity. Continuous minimum dark period of 4 hours. With a minimum of 6 hours total darkness.

Since 2010, 5.1 billion meat chickens have experienced a better quality of life thanks to RSPCA Certified.

RSPCA Standards

Discover the requirements outlined in the RSPCA Australia Standard for Meat Chickens.

RSPCA Standards

Case Studies

We’re passionate about everything that goes into our burgers. That’s why we use 100% RSPCA Certified chicken in all of our restaurants.

RSPCA Certified and our Freedom Farms vision are closely aligned, providing a strong framework to support animal welfare and continuous improvement.

Elgin Valley Farms is committed to farming our birds to a higher welfare standard and focusing on great supply chain partnerships, the quality and consistency of our products, and our dedication to excellence throughout every phase of production.

RSPCA Certified and our brand vision are perfectly aligned, hence why we are delighted to have been certified by the program for a decade.

It’s been great to partner with the RSPCA Certified team in improving animal welfare outcomes on 100% of our meat chicken farms across Australia for over 10 years.

With the guidance and support of RSPCA Certified, we have been able to enhance our farming practices, implementing a range of improvements to create a more enriching environment for our birds.