First EURCAW-Poultry-SFA Roadshow
The first EURCAW-Poultry-SFA Roadshow took place in Italy on 02 and 03 July 2025. The event was organized by the three Italian members of EURCAW-Poultry-SFA. The Italian central competent Authority (CCA) expressed its interest in the topic: animal welfare indicators collected at slaughter to assess welfare on farm, as this is key to the implementation of the Italian animal welfare annual control plan for poultry. The focal point of the CCA and a representative group of 23 veterinary officials responsible for official controls in poultry slaughter plants from the main poultry producing regions participated to the event. After welcoming and introduction of all participants the organizers gave an introduction and update of EURCAW-Poultry-SFA activities followed by a presentation of the EU Partnership activities related to the topics on indicators at slaughter for assessment of welfare on farm with particular focus on FPD (footpad dermatitis). The focal point of the Italian CCA presented the Italian National animal welfare annual control plan (PNBA 2024) and gave updates on related national poultry welfare legislation. Later, an icebreaker exercise on FPD scoring was administered to the participants and the results were discussed the following day. Two of the participants presented a report on data collection and evaluation at a slaughter-plant in their district (ASL Cuneo 1) which stimulated very interactive discussions on the type of welfare data collected at slaughter and how these are collected and analyzed. Other topics discussed were the verification of stunning equipment and fitness for transport. Finally, there was a debate on the use of EURCAWs outputs, how to improve dissemination and suggestions for future activities or topics for the EURCAW Work Program.