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The Animal Welfare (Layer Hen) Code of Welfare 2005
The Layer Hen Welfare code was released by the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) under the Animal Welfare Act (1999) and signed off by the Minister of Agriculture Jim Sutton on the 22nd of December, 2005. This Welfare Code sets out specific detailed recommendations and minimum standards for the welfare of layer hens.
Comparative Welfare Assessment
This report was commissioned by MAF to assess welfare in the three layer hen production systems in New Zealand, i.e. conventional cage, barn and free range. This report will be part of the information considered by the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee in their review of the Animal Welfare (Layer Hens) Code of Welfare 2005.
Colony System Research Project
Although colony system, which provides nesting, perching, scratching opportunities and more space per hen are being used in egg production systems in the European Union, there are currently no such housing systems in New Zealand.
The EPF has contributed funding towards a $1 million pilot project trialling the new enriched colony system in a New Zealand setting, with a view of long term implementation. The pilot project was in collaboration with MAF and the University of Bristol in UK, international experts in animal welfare.
This project aims to evaluate colony systems for laying hens under New Zealand conditions. The study will evaluate the systems in the context of animal health & welfare, genetic strains of hens, economics, practicalities of management and product quality.
You can read a copy of the project summary here.
In this three years' project, the colony systems have demonstrated their capability in the New Zealand environment and have given the wider industry the confidence to consider transitioning to their use.
More information on the new colony system and a schematic diagram of it can be found in Farming Types page.
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