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Questions to EURCAW (Q2E)
Scientific and technical assistance
The centre has been created in the context of the regulation 2017/625 about official controls (art. 95) to support the European Commission and member states in the applications of legislation regarding poultry and other small farm animals’ welfare.
The Centre offers scientific and technical assistance to Competent Authorities (CA), National Reference Centre (NRC), other Supporting Bodies (SB), from the EU Member States and the European Commission, regarding all aspects of welfare legislation implementation. The Centre is covering hatchery, farming, transportation and killing outside of risk assessment and risk management areas.
Webinar: Depopulation methods in cases of Avian Influenza
Organized by EURCAW-Poultry-SFA.
The webinar was held via Teams.
Target audience: Official inspectors from the Competent Authorities of the EU MSs
Attendance through invitation only.
The PDF of the presentation is available here.
The webinar recording is available here.
Description:
The webinar focused on the activity conducted by the EURCAW-Poultry-SFA on the depopulation methods used in the European Union during avian influenza outbreaks. EURCAW-Poultry-SFA presented the key deliverables of the depopulation activity, namely an overview of the main depopulation methods used in the European Union and their ranking based on poultry welfare – following the principles of the selection guide developed to help competent authorities choose the most appropriate depopulation method according to the specific context at stake.
Aim:
The event aimed to help participants understand which depopulation methods should be applied from a welfare perspective depending on the specific context encountered (e.g., depending on the flock size, species at stake, or the available human and technical resources).
The webinar was attended by 103 people, from 15 EU Member States (Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Sweden) and one EFTA country (Norway).
Schedule:
09h00 – 09h15: Welcome & introduction (Virginie Michel & Louise Kremer)
09h15 – 10h00: Presentation of key deliverables (Louise Kremer)
10h00- 10h15: Group exercise (Louise Kremer)
This webinar has been organized within the sub-activity 4.2: Develop course material for specific topics, of the working program 2025-2027.
New guidance available
Animal-Based Indicators for Assessing Welfare Implications Related to Growth Rate in Broilers
We are pleased to share a new Guidance focused on Animal-Based Indicators for Assessing Welfare Implications Related to Growth Rate in Broilers.
This guidance identifies animal-based indicators (ABIs) most suitable for assessing growth rate–related welfare. Walking ability is the most robust indicator, with strong evidence that faster growth impairs gait and is associated with pain, health issues, and reduced behavioural expression. Indicators of prolonged litter contact (e.g., footpad dermatitis, cleanliness) add context but depend on environmental conditions. Leg straightness reflects structural effects of growth, while activity measures (e.g., standing vs. immobile) complement mobility assessment. Other ABIs (e.g., mortality, behaviour, integument) provide broader context but are less specific to growth rate. Fear-based tests are unreliable. Overall, mobility- and activity-related ABIs should be prioritised, supported by standardised, multi-indicator assessments.
Take a look here: https://lnkd.in/eZE3HY9T
See our Broiler chicken web-page here.
EURCAW-Poultry-SFA Spanish Roadshow
27.05.2026
In agreement with DG SANTE the European Animal Welfare Reference Centres will visit veterinary inspectors in the different Member States in their own countries to be able to better support their work as inspectors in the field of husbandry, transport and slaughter. Amongst the consortium members it was agreed to deliver the second EURCAW-Poultry-SFA Roadshow in Spain.
The Spanish competent Authority expressed their interest in the topic: turkey welfare from farm to fork.
On May 27 2026, 20 participants (veterinarians and competent authority representatives) from the main turkey producing regions plus seven observers from the central competent authority attended the event. Turkey outputs from the Centre were presented and case studies from the participants were discussed.
New indicator factsheet avaialble
We are pleased to share a new Indicator Factsheet focused on the use of enrichment in broiler.
Take a look: https://zenodo.org/records/20717156
See our Broiler chicken web-page here.
New Q2E answer availalble
A new 'Question to EURCAW' (Q2E) has been published on “ Broiler fasting”.
To see more, take a look at https://zenodo.org/records/20266826 and at our Question to EURCAW's subpage!