Animals Aotearoa is calling for a 30kg limit. Some overseas countries have a maximum limit of 40kg. He believed the highest level reached in New Zealand was around 36kg, and this was usually only reached in the last days before the chickens were processed. "Some companies do eight hours continuous and 16 light, just like humans, some others do three and three-type circulation."īrooks also said the industry seldom reached the 38kg per square metre maximum stocking density in New Zealand. "We've seen what's happening overseas and decided we need to get on to this one now." He said New Zealand companies had been lagging behind Europe in adopting chicken commitments. Macdonald had been pushing for New Zealand companies to sign up to a New Zealand Chicken Commitment, which is almost identical to the Better Chicken Commitment, which Domino's Pizza New Zealand and Australia has adopted.Īnimals Aotearoa last week updated the New Zealand Chicken Commitment to match the Better Chicken Commitment.Īmong other things, both commitments call for a switch to slower-growing breeds, fewer chickens per square metre, at least six hours of continuous darkness a day and for the birds to be given perches.ĭomino's Pizza general manager Cameron Toomey said by 2026 all 142 Dominos stores in New Zealand would be buying chicken from suppliers that met, or exceeded those voluntary standards. He said if there were welfare issues the Ministry of Primary Industries would investigate. She knew people could be shocked at the footage, but said it was important for the public to see the reality of the poultry industry. With around 40,000 chickens per shed, and with some struggling to walk, she doubted whether some of them ever went outside. Macdonald believed the shed in the video footage was a free-range shed because it had "pop holes" in the side walls where chickens could exit during the day.
CHANGING BREEDS SKIN
The ammonia causes chemical burns on their bodies, that's why a lot of them have got red raw skin and missing feathers." "They're living in their own excrement and because of the lameness they're sitting most of the time. "Chickens are kept in the same litter throughout their lives," said Macdonald.
Lameness, and the top-heavy build of the fast-growing chickens, which have large breasts, but short legs, is thought to contribute to another issue: the amount of time some birds spend sitting on litter. "The chickens that can't reach food and water, unless they're lucky enough to be found by a worker and killed, they're going to die on the floor of the shed," said Macdonald.Īround 120 million chickens are raised for meat in New Zealand each year and roughly a third experience lameness, according to a 2011study completed by the Ministry for Primary Industries.
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