Transporting poultry and birds - Department of Primary Industries

Transporting poultry and birds
Animal welfare requirements
A caring society ensures good animal welfare standards. It promotes responsible animal care
and use, and helps ensure animal welfare standards meet public expectations. Consumers are
increasingly seeking reassurance from primary producers that poultry and birds used in the
production of food and fibre products are treated humanely.
All poultry and birds transported to or from sale must be:
• healthy and fit for sale
• transported in a way that does not cause injury or undue suffering
• transported in an appropriate cage or crate that provides adequate room, ventilation, shade
and shelter.
Birds must NOT be transported or sold in bags or with their legs tied.
Birds being presented for sale should be provided with water.
Birds purchased at the sale must be placed in a cool shady area if not being
transported immediately.
Birds must NOT be placed in vehicles in the hot sun or in the boot of a car.
Excessive or rough handling of birds is NOT acceptable.

Appropriate cages and crates
Adequate room
Cages must be of sufficient height to allow birds to sit comfortably during transport (turkeys are
prone to injury if allowed to stand in crates).
There should be sufficient space to allow all birds to rest on the floor at the same time and remain
evenly distributed.
Consider weather conditions when determining loading densities. Allow additional space on hot
or humid days.
Cages and crates should be designed to prevent injuries, and cage doors should be as large
as practicable.
Adequate ventilation
All cages or crates should be well ventilated.
Adequate shade
All birds should be provided with adequate shade during transport to and from the sale, and
while at the sale.
Adequate shelter
Birds should be protected from adverse weather conditions (e.g. direct sunlight, heat, wind, rain
and hail).
Duty of care
The Animal Care and Protection Act 2001 (ACPA) is administered by the Department of Primary
Industries and Fisheries (DPI&F).
The ACPA promotes the responsible care and use of animals, and places a legal duty of care on a
person in charge of an animal to provide for the animal’s needs in an appropriate way.
The ACPA makes it an offence for a person to fail to comply with their duty of care. A breach of duty
of care carries a maximum fine of $30 000 or one year’s imprisonment.
National codes of practice
The ACPA adopts national codes of practice that provide detailed information on acceptable
animal welfare practices for individual species and guidance for determining the duty of care
responsibilities of individuals.
The codes most relevant to the poultry industry are the Poultry code (fourth edition) and Land
transport of poultry code (second edition).
Please note: compliance with these codes is monitored by DPI&F inspectors.
More information
For more information call DPI&F on 13 25 23 or visit www.dpi.qld.gov.au
PR09-4223