Response to interpellation 2022/23:371 on the phasing out of so-called turbo chickens
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
KD considers that Sweden has strong animal welfare legislation and that it is important to balance animal welfare with competitiveness for food producers 1 2 3. KD emphasizes that a tightening of EU legislation is welcome and that Sweden works to raise the level of animal welfare there 4 2. MP argues that fast-growing broiler chickens involve systematic animal cruelty and require a phase-out in favor of slow-growing breeds 5 6 7. MP proposes that the ECC criteria should be introduced as a minimum level in the legislation and demands increased supervision 5 6 7. MP argues that a transition does not mean the death of the countryside but enables healthy competition 7.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Landsbygdsministern Peter Kullgren (KD)
Madam Speaker! Rebecka Le Moine has asked me what my position is on transitioning from the fast-growing broiler chickens to more slow-growing and healthier breeds.
It is important to safeguard good animal welfare for several reasons. For the first, it is of course important that the animals have it well. Good animal welfare also contributes to good animal health, which in turn reduces the need for antibiotics. These are important factors for achieving a sustainable food system in the future.
The level of animal welfare within the EU needs to be raised, and therefore the review of the EU's animal welfare legislation that the European Commission announced in the Farm to Fork strategy is both long-awaited and welcome. In connection with the review, Sweden, together with Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium, has developed a joint input to the Commission with proposals that should be considered in upcoming legislation. Something that is emphasized is the importance of both animal welfare and animal health being considered in breeding so that there is not an overly one-sided focus on production traits, for example growth.
I would like to conclude by emphasizing that a tightening of legislation within the EU would not only benefit animal welfare but could also contribute to balancing the competitive conditions for Swedish food producers.
Rebecka Le Moine (MP)
Madam Speaker! The chicken is Sweden's most common bird. Every year, around 112 million chicks are born for slaughter. This involves very intensive animal husbandry, where the average flock consists of 100,000 individuals and where the space the chicks have to grow in is less than an A4 sheet of paper per individual. During their 35 days of life, these chicks grow from 40 grams to 2 kilos. This incredibly rapid growth poses a great risk of bone pain and movement impairment. This cannot be regarded as anything other than systematic animal cruelty.
Animal welfare organizations in Europe have developed welfare criteria that companies can use when purchasing chicken. These criteria are called the European Chicken Commitment, ECC, and are based on the latest research. The criteria include factors such as housing, stocking density, stunning, and third-party auditing. More than 350 companies have joined for improved animal welfare for chickens throughout Europe. This will be an opportunity to move away from the systematic suffering within the Swedish chicken industry, and Sweden should also adhere to the ECC criteria as an absolute minimum level in the legislation.
By standing behind ECC, one says yes to more space for chickens and no to the so-called broiler chicken, which grows so incredibly fast that it entails suffering for the chickens from the moment they hatch until they are slaughtered. This breed constitutes approximately 99 percent of the chickens in Sweden.
A phasing out of the turbo chicken in Sweden could, in the same way as occurred with the Belgian blue, be carried out based on the animal welfare legislation's wording regarding breeding that causes suffering for the animals.
My question is: How does the Minister for Rural Affairs view the introduction of these criteria, ECC, as part of the animal welfare legislation and letting them constitute a minimum level for chickens? How does the Minister for Rural Affairs view the transition from fast-growing so-called broiler chickens to slower-growing and healthier breeds?
Landsbygdsministern Peter Kullgren (KD)
Madam Speaker! I must begin by saying that I have a bit of difficulty with the interpellant's expression "turbo-chickens." It is, of course, an attempt to disparage and smear that which one dislikes, in the same way as some say genetically manipulated instead of the correct word genetically modified, and some say dairy industry instead of dairy farm or dairy sector.
Sweden has strong animal welfare legislation that covers all animals kept by humans and aims to ensure good animal protection and to promote good animal welfare and respect for animals. In many cases, Sweden has more detailed animal welfare requirements compared to the EU and other member states. When it comes to chickens, Sweden, unlike the EU, has provisions also for the breeding animals and a ban on beak trimming, for example.
Animals are living, sentient beings, and no animal should have to suffer. Animal welfare rules shall always be complied with, and any deficiencies shall be rectified.
No matter how many controls are carried out, they can never replace the keeper's responsibility and importance for the animals' well-being. It is only the one who is on site every day who can ensure that the animals are doing well and receive the care and attention they need.
During 2022, no deficiencies were noted regarding bedding degree, clean animals, air quality, or stable climate. However, deficiencies were noted regarding the cleanliness of the straw beds, which in the long run can lead to dirty animals and impaired foot health.
Regarding all these checkpoints, there is a variation between the years. Generally, good compliance with the animal welfare rules is seen when it comes to broiler chickens.
Rebecka Le Moine (MP)
Madam Speaker! My question to the Minister for Rural Affairs was whether ECC could be seen as a minimum level to be introduced in our legislation. I received no answer to that, but instead I was explained to that we already have strong legislation. I must interpret that answer as a no and as that the government is not interested in doing more. We are to be satisfied with what we have.
The animal welfare legislation we have looks fantastically good. It states that it is forbidden to conduct breeding with such an aim that it can cause suffering for the parent animal or the offspring. It is only that there is a large gap between these beautiful words and reality. In Sweden, 99 percent of all chickens are of fast-growing breeds, so-called turbo chickens. It violates Chapter 2, Section 11 of the Animal Welfare Act.
What do we need to do then? Yes, see reality for what it is. Various scandals have been uncovered, for example with Kronfågel, and when the Minister for Rural Affairs was asked a question about this in an interview, he answered that the legislation should be followed and that we therefore have supervisory authorities. That is very good. It is just that over the last three years, inspections have been carried out on 13 out of 39 facilities. Let that sink in.
So it doesn't matter how beautiful words we use; we cannot be satisfied with referring to them if we know what reality looks like. It involves suffering from the moment these chicks hatch to when they spend their days on a surface the size of an A4 sheet of paper and until they are slaughtered alive. It is systematic animal cruelty.
It is about a systematic animal cruelty that the Minister for Rural Affairs is responsible for. If the Minister for Rural Affairs is not prepared to introduce ECC as a minimum requirement in the animal welfare legislation, is the Minister for Rural Affairs then at least prepared to increase the supervision?
Landsbygdsministern Peter Kullgren (KD)
Madam Speaker! We must view Swedish animal husbandry in the light of the EU. Sweden has long pointed out the need to review the EU's animal welfare legislation. Examples of priority issues from the Swedish side are compliance with the ban on routine tail docking of pigs, the tethering of sows, and addressing the problems associated with long animal transports. Furthermore, it is important that species-specific legislation is introduced where it is lacking today.
The Commission's evaluation shows that the current regulatory framework does not meet today's needs and challenges. The legislation needs to be updated based on new science, and the unequal implementation and the deficiencies in compliance that we see today need to be addressed. New rules are of no use if they are not applied.
The review is a long-term task in a necessary direction. The need for a stable and long-term sustainable food production in both Sweden and Europe is greater than ever. In that whole, good animal welfare is a piece of the puzzle we cannot do without.
For the government, it is a priority to review the possibility of balancing the competitive conditions for Swedish food producers while simultaneously maintaining high Swedish animal welfare requirements. It is therefore pleasing that the government decided at the beginning of February to appoint an inquiry on strengthened competitiveness and strong animal welfare in accordance with the Tidö Agreement. I look forward to taking part in the inquiry's analyses and proposals when the work is to be reported in just over a year.
Animal welfare issues are a natural part of the Swedish EU Presidency during the spring. Sweden has invited to a conference on animal welfare at the end of June. It takes off from the review of the EU's animal welfare legislation and constitutes an opportunity to highlight current research and the benefits of good animal welfare, and in this way support the Commission's ongoing work.
If we were to set much higher requirements for our Swedish livestock farmers than is done in the countries they compete with, would the result be that the industry is competed out by food that in all material respects is produced in countries with lower requirements than here? I have understood that Rebecka Le Moine does not consider it to be a problem, but for the Swedish countryside and for our common welfare, it would be devastating. A Sweden without livestock farming would be a poor Sweden. Furthermore, it would counteract the Tidö parties' will to improve animal welfare globally.
Rebecka Le Moine (MP)
Madam Speaker! There are many advantages to switching to slower-growing chickens. It does not have to mean the death of the countryside. It can mean that we compete in a good way.
Sweden is being overtaken by many other countries in issues of chicken welfare and animal welfare overall. It is very good that a review is being conducted and initiatives are being taken at the EU level, but as Minister for Rural Affairs, there is also an opportunity to take initiatives in a Swedish context.
I do not feel that I am getting any answers at all regarding whether there is a willingness to introduce ECC as a minimum requirement in the Swedish animal welfare legislation or whether there is a willingness to strengthen the supervision. Just as the Minister for Rural Affairs says, new rules mean nothing if they are not enforced. It was precisely that part – the supervision – that I thought we could make progress on. If there is no good supervision, it doesn't matter what fine words we have agreed upon.
The broilers have a mortality rate estimated at 3-4 percent. It is called waste, but in a Swedish context, it concerns 3 million chickens per year. These are very high figures. It is an enormous suffering entirely unnecessarily that could be avoided by switching to slower-growing breeds. And we have not even mentioned the chickens' parents today. They have been bred to grow as quickly as possible - so quickly that it hurts to live. The problems with getting the parents to reproduce have been solved by subjecting them to starvation.
The entire breeding of the fast-growing breeds involves systematically subjecting them to suffering, and I hope that the Minister for Rural Affairs takes this to heart and translates it into political action.
Landsbygdsministern Peter Kullgren (KD)
Madam Speaker! Animal husbandry is an important part of our food supply, I believe, and a large part of the Swedish population does too. In my opinion, Sweden has, on the whole, well-functioning animal welfare legislation, naturally also for these animals. In addition, the industry runs an official program developed by experts, researchers, and the Swedish Board of Agriculture that the breeders shall follow. It is linked to the fact that there are requirements for annual reporting to the Swedish Board of Agriculture.
We must safeguard our Swedish animal welfare, but at the same time, we need to strengthen the competitiveness of the food producers. That is why the work that the government is now pushing forward within the EU is so important. We shall move in step and get further ahead within the entire union.
Different animals have different advantages and disadvantages in all areas - health, environment, climate, biodiversity, economy and employment - and I believe it is the task of politics to set frameworks by making trade-offs between all these factors.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.