World Animal Protection: animal welfare rules for imports too

Should chicken meat from outside the EU meet the same standards as European chicken meat? World Animal Protection is drawing attention to differences in animal welfare standards. The organization wants European requirements to apply to imported chicken meat as well. The aim is to protect animal welfare and ensure fair competition for producers.

A quarter of chicken breast meat

Around a quarter of the chicken breast meat consumed in the EU comes from outside the bloc. This is according to No Double Standards, a report by World Animal Protection and Eurogroup for Animals. In 2025, imported chicken products came primarily from the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Brazil, and Thailand. The annual total is estimated to represent around 274 million broiler chickens.

Current import rules focus on food safety, animal health, and antimicrobial substances. According to the report, equivalent welfare requirements for housing, breeding, growth, and transport are lacking.

Differences in welfare standards

The European Commission is developing animal welfare rules for livestock farming. The first legislative proposal concerns broiler chicken welfare. According to the report, differences in welfare requirements create an uneven playing field. The organizations say European producers must invest in higher welfare standards. Producers outside the EU, they argue, do not have to meet the same standards.

The organizations also point to the expectations of many consumers. These consumers expect comparable animal welfare standards for all products on the EU market. According to the report, this is currently not the case for imported chicken products.

World Animal Protection is therefore calling for requirements covering all imported chicken products. These include frozen meat, processed products, and ready-to-eat products. The organization says European trade agreements should support these rules.

Worldanimalprotection.nl