Risk assessment on welfare in turkeys. Opinion of the Panel of Animal Health and Welfare of the Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food Safety

Abstract

The Norwegian Food Safety Authority (NFSA) asked the Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food Safety (Vitenskapskomiteen for mattrygghet, VKM) for a risk assessment on turkey welfare. The VKM report will be used by NFSA in assessing the need for amending the existing regulations, competence requirements, and guidelines for surveillance and control related to keeping turkeys. Inspectors from NFSA have reported that there are serious animal welfare challenges in today’s turkey production, despite the fact that producers largely comply with the existing species-specific legislation for turkeys. Compared with the legislation on broilers, current legislation on turkeys is limited and has not been revised since 2001. VKM was asked to describe the physiological and behavioural needs of turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) in general, to assess welfare risks related to living area, animal densities, air quality, bedding, feeding and watering, and lighting regimes in turkeys kept for meat production. Description of risk-reduction measures was requested specifically with regards to living area, bedding, and feeding and watering. Relevant welfare indicators for turkeys were also to be described. Additionally, assessment of welfare risks related to semen collection (SC) and artificial insemination (AI) in parent stock were requested, together with a description of relevant risk-reduction measures. Organic production of turkey meat and the genetic constitution of the hybrids kept for meat production were not included in the request. Handling and transport of day old turkeys from hatchery to farm was excluded, as was handling related to transport and slaughter of turkeys kept for meat production. Welfare aspects of parent stock other than with respect to SC/AI were also excluded from the request. Nine detailed Terms of Reference were presented to VKM. VKM appointed a project group consisting of two external experts and two members of the Panel on Animal Health and Welfare to answer the request. The Panel on Animal Health and Welfare has reviewed and revised the draft prepared by the project group and finally approved the risk assessment. In the risk assessment, the main physiological and behavioural needs of farmed turkeys are identified and described. Today’s Norwegian turkey production environment may present obstacles to the fulfilment of several of these needs, regardless of compliance with existing legislation. Wet bedding is a major hazard to turkey welfare and is a cause of foot pad lesions and other skin lesions. As these skin conditions are widespread in Norwegian turkey production, wet bedding seems to represent a high risk to turkey welfare. An important riskreduction measure would be to minimise the likelihood of the litter becoming wet, by preventing leakages from the drinking system, by ensuring good gut health, replacing wet litter, and by establishing optimal ventilation and heating. Additionally, several moderate welfare risks are identified, including low temperature for poults, inappropriate diet or poor quality of drinking water, failure of the drinking system, as well as too high or too low light intensities or inappropriate lighting regimes. Also, the incorrect use of recovery pens is considered to be a moderate welfare risk related to living area, which may be reduced by introducing appropriate management guidelines. Animal welfare risks of lesser significance are associated with high temperatures, and failure of the feeding system. In addition, several hazards for turkey welfare were identified and characterised. However, due to lack of data with regards to the exposure of Norwegian turkeys to and/or the welfare consequences of these hazards, they were not fit for a complete risk assessment. These hazards include lack of environmental enrichment, insufficient space for movement, resting, and avoidance, inappropriate stocking densities and different air quality parameters. It should be noted that the welfare hazards related to insufficient space are of increasing relevance with progressing age and size of the animals, and that hazard characterisation of different stocking densities would further be complicated by their interaction with other factors in the production unit. High levels of dust, ammonia, and other noxious gases are potential hazards for turkey welfare related to air quality, but sufficient data for risk characterisation lack. The “transect walk” method represents a promising method for systematic on-farm registration of welfare in turkey flocks. Foot pad lesions, breast skin lesions and air sacculitis are valid animal welfare indicators, that are feasible and appropriate for recording at the slaughterhouse. Implementing systematic recording of these indicators would assist in generating an evidence-based document of the turkey welfare situation. With regards to artificial insemination of parent stock, moderate welfare risks are associated with damage/haemorrhage inflicted by the AI procedure, as well as routine feed deprivation prior to AI. Haemorrhage caused by the SC procedure, as well as stress or injuries caused by herding/catching and handling the turkeys in connection with both SC and AI, are characterised as low welfare risks. To reduce the welfare risks when performing SC and AI, the knowledge and skills of the responsible workers are of key importance.