The Eurovo Group was one of the first companies at a European level to invest in alternative poultry farming and in the modernisation of its farms in compliance with animal welfare regulations.
Every Eurovo farm is regularly monitored, whilst the management and care of the animal is entrusted to competent and trained personnel that constantly check the environmental values, welfare, feeding and health of the laying hens. The hens are bred in respect of their well-being and the regulations in force.
The Eurovo farms:
ORGANIC FARMING
On the organic farms, the hens are bred outdoors and fed exclusively with feed from organic agriculture.
FREE-RANGE FARMING
In the free-range structures, the hens are free to roam and scratch about in a covered environment and lay eggs in the nests on the ground.
OPEN-AIR FARMING
On the open-air farms, the hens are reared in large open spaces with vegetation and covered shelters.
STANDARD FARMING
Comprising this type of farming are the batteries that comply with the legislation in force regarding animal welfare.
The welfare of hens represents a fundamental ethical principle for our Group, always willing to invest in the best farming technologies, in compliance with the Five Freedoms of Animals.
In this regard, for the owned farms, Eurovo Group confirms its commitment in favor of the abolition of cages and the continuous improvements of its farming systems, with new targets compared to what has already been shared and undertaken.
ENRICHED CAGE FARMS
To date more than 98% of Italian owned farms have an alternative system – organic, free range and barn. All Italian owned farms with enriched cage systems will be converted to cage-free systems by 30 June 2023. The light delay compared to the commitment communicated last year is due to delays in closing cycles caused by avian flu.
As for the other European countries in which the Group manages owned enriched cage farms (France, Spain, Romania), their conversion to cage-free systems by 2027 is confirmed.
BARN FARMS
At the end of 2021 the project to improve the welfare of laying hens, launched at the beginning of the same year in collaboration with the Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences of the University of Bologna and the NGO Compassion in World Farming, was completed.
This scientific project provided for the periodic monitoring of indicators specially selected to evaluate the behaviour and the welfare of animals, including their movements, flights and jumping attempts, dust baths, access to nests. The observations of the behaviour at the end of the research show that the animals, when the ramps are present, tend to use them to move between the floors, thus improving the ability of movements of the hens.
The results of the project confirm the commitment communicated to use only open aviary systems, to be carried out in two phases:
- Farms that entered into ownership before 2020 will be adjusted by 2025;
- Farms that entered into ownership from 2021 to the end of 2022 will be adjusted by 2027.
The necessary changes will be made to the structures that need them to increae the freedom of movement and the well-being of laying hens, as alredy foreseen by our commitment. In this regards we confirm that the interventions necessary for these changes are proceeding as planned.
The commitment also involves all the so called “combi systems” directly managed by the Group in the other countries (France, Spain, Poland and Romania) with adaptation of the structures by the end of 2027.
We are proud to be able to confirm our objectives despite the serious difficulties of this time as a demonstration of our commitment.
[Update of June 2022]
