Industrialized chicken farming in China has grown dramatically in scale and intensity. Almost 90% of egg-laying hens are held in conventional cages that fail to meet their welfare needs, and similar housing systems have been adopted for broiler chickens as well. In contrast, the European Union (E.U.) heavily restricts the use of such cages for laying hens largely on animal welfare grounds, while broiler chickens are typically raised on the ground inside barns with littered floors.

More recently, however, cage-free systems in China are becoming increasingly common. This shift is largely driven by consumer demand for cage-free eggs.

To better understand these changing dynamics, researchers explored the views on housing systems and animal welfare among Chinese business leaders in the farmed chicken industry. They interviewed 15 egg producers and 15 broiler producers, spanning cage and cage-free systems on medium- and large-scale commercial farms in mainland China. Participants included key workers responsible for selecting the type of housing systems used by the companies. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed for themes related to producer knowledge and definitions of animal welfare, choice of housing systems, and importance placed on animal welfare.

Understanding Of Animal Welfare

All participants had heard of the Chinese phrase for animal welfare (“dongwufuli”). Among the egg producers, the word “fuli” (welfare) was used synonymously with “cage-free,” while the broiler producers didn’t use the term “animal welfare” or “welfare” to describe their practices or experiences in farming.

Participants’ understanding of animal welfare tended to fall into three categories:

1. Good health and productivity: This was the most important aspect of welfare for most broiler producers and some egg producers.
2. Positive affective state: Several participants mentioned that things like happiness and comfort were important for good welfare.
3. Behavioral freedom: This was considered crucial for good welfare by most egg producers and a few cage-free broiler producers, though some participants felt that genetic selection has made certain behaviors less important to today’s breeds.

Importantly, a number of producers emphasized the view that animal welfare should be considered from the animal’s perspective not only in production but also in breeding, depopulation, transport, and slaughter.

Link Between Animal Welfare And Housing Systems

In most cases, producers’ views of animal welfare aligned with their housing system of choice. For instance, producers who emphasized good health favored cages, while those who placed importance on behavioral freedom preferred cage-free systems.

Despite this, the study also found inconsistencies between specific producers’ animal welfare views and choices for housing systems. Some producers acknowledged the animal welfare benefits of cage-free systems, but felt they were less cost-effective. In other cases, producers didn’t equate cage-free systems with good animal welfare, but followed along because the decision to go cage-free came from company leadership.

Importance Of Animal Welfare

The researchers discovered that, with the exception of a few egg producers, choices to go cage-free were predominantly motivated by market demand and profitability rather than animal welfare concerns. In the broiler chicken industry, animal welfare was not reported to be important and the housing systems were designed to achieve maximum meat affordability.

Producers expressed that Western views of animal welfare and housing systems didn’t necessarily fit the Chinese context. For instance, the researchers noted that Chinese views of animal welfare were significantly impacted by the pressure to ensure food security and human welfare for a large population. In keeping with this, most broiler producers viewed chickens as production tools, equating them just to protein or comparing meat production to growing crops. In fact, some broiler producers saw Western animal welfare standards as a political tool to restrict the development of China’s poultry industry.

In the researchers’ view, a significant hurdle in enhancing animal welfare in China includes specific cultural values such as the paternalistic management style and acceptance of hierarchy, which may limit corporate engagement with animal welfare. Similarly, the researchers suggest that at the government level, the lack of national animal welfare laws represents an additional challenge. While the Chinese government is willing to promote animal welfare, it limits public engagement on the topic due to its association with animal and human rights and concerns that public activism might jeopardize political stability.

Encouragingly, the researchers report that exposure to animal welfare practices adopted by the European market are motivating the Chinese government to enhance their focus on animal well-being. These efforts include research projects, conferences, training, and workshops aimed at promoting better welfare practices. The researchers further mention that common belief systems in China such as Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism intrinsically promote compassion towards animals, suggesting a significant potential to develop these efforts more extensively.

For animal advocates, these results highlight the need to be sensitive to the Chinese context when working towards practices that improve animal welfare. In particular, it may be strategic to:

• Focus on consumer demand for higher welfare practices to help grow the market for cage-free production;
• Prioritize egg producers as they’re more inclined towards cage-free systems than broiler producers and use these learnings to engage broiler producers later on; and
• Focus on the commercial advantages of improving animal welfare when engaging with business leaders.

Ultimately, it will be important to identify links between animal welfare, food safety, marketability, and profitability to promote cage-free production in China.