Minimum rights for chickens

EU agriculture ministers on Monday agreed minimum rights for chickens, aimed at ending the worst examples of battery farming.

They set a maximum density of 33 kg (73 lbs) of live chickens per square metre, rising to 39 kg if extra measures are put in place, such as special ventilation.

If exceptionally high welfare standards are met over a continual period, stocking density can edge up by another three kg per square metre, the European Commission said. The measures must be implemented by all 27 EU member states by June 2010.