| In August 2005 an order was issued in the Netherlands for free range poultry to be kept indoors to prevent the introduction of avian influenza. The Animal Sciences Group of Wageningen UR (Wageningen University and Research Centre) conducted a telephone survey at the start of this indoor confinement regime to establish its effects on the wellbeing of laying hens and to chart the economic consequences for the poultry keepers. The survey revealed that, according to the poultry keepers, the impact on the wellbeing of the birds was not serious, thanks to the introduction of enrichment material such as extra litter and extra feeding. And the economic consequences were confined to an increase in the amount of work associated with the special enrichment measures.... |
