In an interview with Uppdrag granskning, Svensk fågel says that hens and roosters in the Swedish breeding industry are healthy and prosperous. But videos from inside Aviagen Swechick AB’s breeding facility in Skåne show wounded, partially featherless animals eating other injured animals. A result of stress due to being kept on strict feed restrictions, researchers say.
– I can’t comment on this film because I don’t know where it was filmed and for what purpose, says Anna Silvera, Ph.D. ethology and animal protection Swedish bird.
Small amount of feed
Mission review has verified the videos recorded by a person from the Animal Rights Alliance who has taken up employment with Aviagen.
The company dominates breeding production and is behind basically all the chicken we buy. The breeders are of the fast-growing Ross308 variety and are given very limited feed to control growth.
Can you say they starved?
– Yes, they get to eat so incredibly little of what they would actually like to eat, so they starve. After all, it is not the case that they are starving to death in terms of nutrition, says Jenny Yngvesson, lecturer at SLU Sweden’s University of Agriculture.
Swedish bird: The animals are doing well
Within the scientific world, the problem with feed restrictions is known, but the industry organization Swedish Poultry does not agree that it causes suffering for breeding animals. The animals are doing well and are not starving, they say.
– They receive a carefully balanced feed to keep them healthy, well-fed, and in good health, says Anna Silvera, Ph.D. in ethology and animal welfare at Swedish Bird.
The company Aviagen has not wanted to comment on the films, which researchers believe show animal suffering. The day before the Uppdrag review’s publication, they acknowledge in an email shortcomings in their animal husbandry and announce that the Swedish CEO is resigning.