Benchmark for broiler chicken 2021

For each country there is a Benchmark-value both for national production and national consumption. The two values may differ because chicken meat is both exported and imported. In all countries, except for the Netherlands, the Benchmark-value is lower for consumption than for production of broilers. This is because, even though national consumers consume most of the national production made for animal welfare labels, large amounts of chicken meat are still imported from abroad, for example from Eastern Europe, produced with only minimal provision of animal welfare. One could say that the retail and catering sectors, in collaboration with a large group of consumers, end up pulling the welfare of the national consumption of chicken meat down to a level below the standard of national production. The contrast is most stark in the country with the highest national standards of broiler chicken welfare, i.e., Sweden.

The exception to this picture is found in the Netherlands. Here, there is a higher benchmark national consumption compared to the national production of broilers. This is due to two factors: Firstly, in the Netherlands the supermarkets, with backing/pressure from animal welfare NGOs, have agreed that all fresh broiler meat sold should be from slower growing breeds of birds with improved animal welfare. Secondly, the Netherlands have a large export-oriented production of standard broilers.

The horizontal line in the figure indicates the minimal requirements for broiler welfare as defined by the EU. This is stated in a directive with requirements for broiler welfare that must be implemented in each country’s national animal welfare legislation. Where the production in all countries in 2021 had a higher Benchmark-value compared to the EU’s minimal requirements for broiler welfare there are two different explanations:

1. In the case of Denmark and Sweden, the primary explanation is that the two countries have legal requirements that go beyond the EU’s minimal requirements for broiler welfare. For example, both the Swedish and the Danish legislation regarding broiler welfare requires assessment of the level of food pad dermatitis (and follow-up activities if the values are too high) while this is not required according to the EU directive on broiler welfare.
2. For the three other countries the explanation is primarily from high numbers of market driven initiatives, since the legally defined requirements for broiler welfare in the three countries is equal to, or only slightly above, the requirements made by the EU.

Market driven animal welfare typically materializes through specialty products, many of which are sold with an animal welfare label. These can make a large difference on the Benchmark-value. Thus, a Danish standard-broiler has a Benchmark-value of 40, while a broiler produced according to the most demanding animal welfare label in Denmark in 2021 had a Benchmark value of 67 (maximum achievable is 73).

Here you can read about the Benchmark method.

As with all other methods for making larger comparisons of animal welfare the Benchmark-method has several general limitations. The most important of these are described here: Benchmark method.