Housing and Biosecurity
We are committed to providing the animals under our care with comfortable and safe housing that protects and improves their health and well-being. No matter the animal type or stage of production, our facilities meet or exceed industry guidelines to make sure our animals are comfortable and safeguarded from extreme weather events, predators and vermin.
Our Regional Approaches:
Australia:
Cattle in our JBS Australia feedlots are housed in groups in open-pen, dirt lots. Pen stocking rates meet or exceed industry standards and are based on the animal’s expected final weight...
Australia:
Cattle in our JBS Australia feedlots are housed in groups in open-pen, dirt lots. Pen stocking rates meet or exceed industry standards and are based on the animal’s expected final weight. Cattle have access to an unlimited supply of clean water and are fed twice daily. The pens are sloped for proper drainage during winter months and wet periods to provide cattle a dry place to lie down and reduce mud in the pens. For feedlots that are located in regions with extreme weather, shade is provided to prevent heat stress, and bedding is supplied to provide a dry and warm place to lie down when temperatures drop.
Our Australian hog operations have indoor housing systems with naturally ventilated / tunnel ventilated sheds and Ecoshelters and adhere to Model Code of Practice-Pigs. All sows are provided with nest building material pre-farrowing, and 65% of our growing pigs are raised in deep-litter group housing systems. Rivalea’s gestating sows are group-housed in gestation-stall free systems.
In our Huon hatchery systems, fish are housed in specifically designed tank or pond systems that meet RSPCA standards. Water quality parameters are monitored and managed to maintain levels within required ranges and feed systems are designed to optimize distribution of feed to the population. In marine systems, fish are housed in fortress pens with double netting designed to keep predators away from stock. Pen volumes are large to ensure plenty of room for schooling behavior and allow stocking densities to be kept within suitable ranges.
Huon’s stocking density is the lowest in the world. When salmon are relaxed and allowed to behave normally in a clean, healthy environment, they feed better, they grow quicker and when it comes time to harvest our fish, the benefit is seen in the quality of our products. Across all our leases, we aim to keep stocking density under 10 kg per cubic meter which is well below the density recommended by the RSPCA for compliance with its Approved Salmon Farming Scheme (15 kgs per cubic meter).
Brazil:
In our poultry breeding operations, 38.4% of animals are housed with stocking densities of less than 30 kg/m². Our average density of 35 kg/m² is well below our policy limit of 39 kg/m²...
Brazil:
In our poultry breeding operations, 38.4% of animals are housed with stocking densities of less than 30 kg/m². Our average density of 35 kg/m² is well below our policy limit of 39 kg/m². Bedding is made of dry, soft material that provides adequate comfort for the animals, and light exposure is controlled, ensuring dark periods of at least six hours per day. All laying hens, which provide fertile eggs for broiler farms, are bred in cage-free systems.
In pig breeding operations, we have policies to encourage farms to adapt their facilities and gradually replace individual gestation crates with collective gestation stalls. These adaptations are designed to ensure that sows spend a maximum of 28 days in individual gestation crates. The new systems and all new projects use a pre-implantation transfer system that allows sows to be housed in collective systems after artificial insemination. Nurseries are temperature-controlled to offer piglets optimal comfort. Environmental enrichment projects that encourage and enable natural behaviors such as rooting are also currently being implemented.
Europe:
At Moy Park, our family farm partners who raise our breeder hens, which produce hatching eggs, use fresh shavings as bedding material in hen houses. These shavings are clean...
Europe:
At Moy Park, our family farm partners who raise our breeder hens that produce hatching eggs, use fresh shavings as bedding material in hen houses. These shavings are clean, absorbent, free of sharp objects and resistant to fungal growth. Our service technicians visit our breeders weekly to monitor chicken health. At our hatcheries, the temperature in the chick-holding room is targeted for chick comfort based on their internal temperature. We monitor and document ambient temperatures on an hourly basis, making any needed changes as soon as possible. We make sure our chicks have enough space to prevent overheating and that they are not placed under direct air flow that could cause them to become chilled. Before placing any chicks at a farmer’s broiler farm, we go through our pre-placement checklist to make sure the farm and houses are neat and orderly, ventilation and temperature are ideal for brooding, ammonia levels are below threshold levels, and lighting and bedding are in line with program requirements.
In addition, we are pioneering industry-leading initiatives to continually improve the housing of poultry by providing environmental enrichment, windows and provision activities, such as perches and bales.
Pilgrim’s UK has higher welfare supply chain contracts with farmers who raise all sows according to the RSPCA higher welfare outdoor bred standards as a minimum. Sows are free from confinement during gestation and farrowing. Pigs are born outdoors and are provided with shelter, where they remain until they are weaned at approximately 28 days of age. All of our hogs in our higher welfare supply chain have permanent access to environmental enrichment. Pilgrim’s UK also sources hogs from independent farm partners. Those partners meet, and often exceed, the requirements of the Red Tractor or QMS assurance schemes and must provide hogs with permanent access to environmental enrichment. Pilgrim’s UK also requires that sows are housed in open pen systems during gestation.
Mexico:
At Pilgrim’s Mexico, our family farm partners who raise our breeder hens, which produce hatching eggs, use fresh shavings as bedding material in hen houses. These shavings are clean, absorbent...
Mexico:
At Pilgrim’s Mexico, our family farm partners who raise our breeder hens, which produce hatching eggs, use fresh shavings as bedding material in hen houses. These shavings are clean, absorbent, free of sharp objects and resistant to fungal growth. Our service technicians visit our breeders weekly to monitor chicken health. At our hatcheries, the temperature in the chick-holding room is targeted for chick comfort based on their internal temperature. We monitor and document ambient temperatures on an hourly basis, making any needed changes as soon as possible. We make sure our chicks have enough space to prevent overheating and that they are not placed under direct air flow that could cause them to become chilled. Before placing any chicks at a farmer’s broiler farm, we go through our pre-placement checklist to make sure the farm and houses are neat and orderly, ventilation and temperature are ideal for brooding, ammonia levels are below threshold levels, and lighting and bedding are in line with program requirements.
United States:
The hogs we raise in the U.S. are housed indoors where health and welfare are prioritized. Our sows are provided with unlimited access to clean water and are fed a nutritionally...
United States:
The hogs we raise in the U.S. are housed indoors where health and welfare are prioritized. Our sows are provided with unlimited access to clean water and are fed a nutritionally balanced diet based on life stage and individual body condition. Weaned and growing hogs in the nursery and finishing stages of production are provided with unlimited access to clean water and feed. Specific standard operating procedures for maintaining animal comfort and housing are further defined in the Live Pork Production Manuals. Climate-controlled ventilation systems are expected to be maintained to promote animal comfort, control humidity, deliver quality air and maintain desirable temperatures according to hog size and life stage.
At Pilgrim’s U.S., our family farm partners who raise our breeder hens, which produce hatching eggs, use fresh shavings as bedding material in hen houses. These shavings are clean, absorbent, free of sharp objects and resistant to fungal growth. Our service technicians visit our breeders weekly to monitor chicken health. At our hatcheries, the temperature in the chick-holding room is targeted for chick comfort based on their internal temperature. We monitor and document ambient temperatures on an hourly basis, making any needed changes as soon as possible. We make sure our chicks have enough space to prevent overheating and that they are not placed under direct air flow that could cause them to become chilled. Before placing any chicks at a farmer’s broiler farm, we go through our pre-placement checklist to make sure the farm and houses are neat and orderly, ventilation and temperature are ideal for brooding, ammonia levels are below threshold levels, and lighting and bedding are in line with program requirements.
Biosecurity
Each of our live animal facilities has a comprehensive biosecurity program that has been designed and implemented to prevent the introduction of infectious diseases to animals through human and animal vectors or contaminated equipment. Our biosecurity protocol addresses every aspect of our facilities: feed mill operations, feed delivery, transportation, vaccination and health management, visitors and auditors. Items such as protection barriers, bird protection netting, water monitoring and treatment, and compliant waste disposal all contribute to enhance the biosecurity of our livestock, poultry and aquaculture.
All team members and contract partners are trained according to our biosecurity protocols, and all visitors and vendors must be prescreened and approved before arriving at any of our locations. Sign-in logs are also required and maintained at all locations.
Case Studies:
- Application of vaccines upon outbreak and as a preventive method in all broiler breeder flocks.
- Implementation of a preventive vaccination program in broilers across our three complexes.
Reinforcement of biosecurity measures:
- Restriction personnel, product, and byproduct movement between unaffected and affected complexes and farms.
- Cleaning, disinfection, and sanitary quarantine of affected farms prior to their repopulation.
- Focused construction of breeding farms in areas of the country better protected against these agents.