Beak trimming


Beak trimming, or beak conditioning, is the partial removal of the beak of poultry, especially layer hens and turkeys, although it is also performed on some quail and ducks. When multiple birds are confined in small spaces, they are more likely to hurt each other through pecking. Beak trimming aims to avoid damage done by pecking, although the practice is criticized by animal welfare organizations and banned in several European countries. Beak trimming is most common in egg-laying strains of chickens. In some countries, such as the United States, turkeys routinely have their beaks trimmed. In the UK, only 10% of turkeys are beak trimmed.
In close confinement, cannibalism, feather pecking and aggression are common among turkeys, ducks, pheasants, quail, and chickens of many breeds kept for eggs. The tendency to cannibalism and feather pecking varies among different strains of chickens, but does not manifest itself consistently. Some flocks of the same breed may be entirely free from cannibalism, while others, under the same management, may have a serious outbreak. Mortalities, mainly due to cannibalism, can be up to 15% in egg laying flocks housed in aviaries, straw yards, and free-range systems. Because egg laying strains of chickens can be kept in smaller group sizes in caged systems, cannibalism is reduced leading to a lowered trend in mortality as compared to non-cage systems. Cannibalism among flocks is highly variable and when it is not problematic, then mortalities among production systems are similar.
Opponents of beak trimming state that the practice reduces problem pecking by minor amounts compared to the trauma, injury, and harm done to the entire flock by beak trimming. Several countries have banned the practice, including Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden ; analysts expect other European countries such as the UK to follow in the near future. Alternatives to beak trimming include enrichment or providing more space for the birds.

History

Twentieth century

Beak trimming was developed at the Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station in the 1930s. The original technique was temporary, cutting approximately 6 mm off the beak. It was thought that the tip of the beak had no blood supply and presumably no sensation. The procedure was performed by hand with a sharp knife, either when deaths due to cannibalism became excessive, or when the problem was anticipated because of a history of cannibalism in the particular strain of chicken.
Cannibalism is a serious management problem dating back to the periods before intensive housing of poultry became popular. Poultry books written before vertical integration of the poultry industry describe the abnormal pecking of poultry:

Chicks and adult birds' picking at each other until blood shows and then destroying one another by further picking is a source of great loss in many flocks, especially when kept in confinement... The recommendation of the Ohio Experiment Station of cutting back the tip of the upper beak has been found to be effective until the beak grows out again.

Cannibalism has two peaks in the life of a chicken; during the brooding period and at the onset of egg laying. The point-of-lay cannibalism is generally the most damaging and gets most of the attention. The temporary beak trimming developed at the Ohio Experiment Station assumed that cannibalism was a phase, and that blunting the beak temporarily would be adequate.

Twenty-first century

In the twenty-first century, the aim has been to develop more permanent beak trimming, using electrically heated blades in a beak trimming machine, to provide a self-cauterizing cut. By 2012 there were four widely used methods of beak trimming: hot blade, cold blade, electrical and infrared. The latter two methods usually remove only the tip of the beak and do not leave an open wound; therefore they may offer improvements in welfare. Other approaches such as the use of lasers, freeze drying and chemical retardation have been investigated but are not in widespread use. The infrared method directs a strong source of heat into the inner tissue of the beak and after a few weeks, the tip of the upper and lower beak dies and drops off making the beak shorter with blunt tips. The Bio-beaker, which uses an electric current to burn a small hole in the upper beak, is the preferred method for trimming the beaks of turkeys. The Farm Animal Welfare Council wrote regarding beak trimming of turkeys that cold cutting was the most accurate method, but that substantial re-growth of the beak occurred; although the Bio-beaker limited beak re-growth, it was less accurate. It was considered that the hot cut was the most distressing procedure for turkeys.
In the UK, beak trimming of layer hens normally occurs at 1-day of age at the same time as the chick is being sexed and vaccinated.
The US's UEP guidelines suggest that in egg laying strains of chickens, the length of the upper beak distal from the nostrils that remains following trimming, should be 2 to 3 mm. In the UK, the Farm Animal Welfare Council stated: "The accepted procedure is to remove not more than one third of the upper and lower beaks or not more than one third of the upper beak only" but went on to recommend: "Where beak trimming is carried out, it should, wherever possible, be restricted to beak tipping; that is the blunting of the beak to remove the sharp point which can be the cause of the most severe damage to other birds."

Legislation

There is a trend towards prohibition of beak trimming in Europe over the course of decades. Analysts expect the practice to be gradually banned across the continent.
EU law allows member states to debeak poultry according to two regulations: Directive 1999/74/EC for laying hens allows beak trimming, while Directive 2007/43/EC for broilers permits beak trimming only in certain cases. As of April 2019, 80% of laying hens in the EU were estimated to be beak-trimmed.
CountryLegalSinceNotes
Australiapartial

Australia

As of July 2019, beak trimming is only banned in the Australian Capital Territory by means of the Animal Welfare Act 1992 s 9C. It is currently debated in parliament whether debeaking should be banned in Victoria and New South Wales. A 2019 Voiceless report recommended the NSW Parliament to prohibit debeaking and instead ' enriched environmental conditions, such as litter and suitable range areas encourage interaction and mental stimulation for hens. Better nutrition, lighting and parasite management may also help reduce injurious pecking.' In a 2015 survey conducted by the Humane Society International Australia, 91% of respondents stated that free range egg boxes should display whether the hens had undergone beak trimming.

Canada

Beak trimming is legal but regulated in Canada. The National Farm Animal Care Council's 2016 Poultry Code of Practice urges to 'make every effort to manage breeders so that physical alterations, such as beak trimming, are not necessary'; should it prove necessary, however, infrared treatment is recommended over hot blade treatment.

China

There are no regulations on beak trimming in the People's Republic of China. Some companies have decided to voluntarily phase out debeaking, such as Ningxia Xiaoming Farming and Animal Husbandry Co. Ltd.

France

In France, clipping beaks of poultry chickens is authorised only when it preserves the health and wellbeing of animals, meaning to limit the risks of cannibalism and pecking. It is only authorised on chicks less than 10 days old intended for laying eggs and must be carried out by qualified personnel. It can therefore be carried out by breeders and agricultural workers.

Germany

Agriculture Minister Christian Meyer announced that Germany would phase out beak trimming by 2017 due to animal welfare concerns.

Netherlands

A ban on beak trimming in the Netherlands was first announced in 1996, but due to objections from the poultry sector it was delayed for years. In June 2013, the government struck an agreement between poultry farmers and animal welfare groups to phase out debeaking and prohibit it in 2018. The prohibition on trimming eventually went into effect on 1 January 2019.

New Zealand

Beak trimming, officially known as 'beak tipping' in law, is legal but regulated in New Zealand. The Layer Hens Code of Welfare notes that the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee "encourages the industry to develop management systems to protect against all forms of injurious pecking without the need for beak tipping". The Code recommends that "lternative strategies for managing injurious pecking that minimise the need for beak tipping should be employed e.g. use and availability of different foraging resources." In case that beak tipping is deemed necessary, however, it requires competent trained operators, must be carried out within 3 days of hatching and may not remove more than one-quarter of the upper or lower beaks.

Nordic countries

Norway was the first country in the world to outlaw beak trimming in 1974, followed by Finland in 1986 and Sweden in 1988. Beak trimming was subsequently phased out in Denmark in two stages: in 2013 for the enriched cage system and in 2014 for aviary and free range systems.

Switzerland

Beak trimming in Switzerland is legal but regulated; it is expected that the practice will be prohibited in the near future. Although the use of cages for layer hens was prohibited in 1992, by 2000 still 59% of flocks was still debeaked.

United Kingdom

Beak trimming is legal but regulated in the UK; it is expected that the practice will be prohibited in the near future. In 2011, the British government set up the Beak Trimming Action Group to review the matter with representatives from different stakeholders, including the industry, the government, animal welfare groups and veterinarians. A late 2015 BTAG report endorsed by Farming Minister George Eustice concluded that banning it in January 2016 would be too early as the sector needed more time to change its management techniques in order to avoid feather pecking, but that beak trimming should be phased out in the future. Laying Hen Welfare Forum chairman Andrew Joret stated in March 2020: 'A ban is coming. In my opinion, we have five years at most to prepare for this. We need to work out ways of keeping birds well-feathered, and if we can, eventually do that without beak trimming.'