The food quality authority of East China's Shandong Province recently published standards for chicken slaughter techniques, a pioneering step toward improving the welfare of the birds in China, local media reported on Sunday.
The standards drafted by Shandong's Qingdao Agricultural University aim to promote humane slaughter and the safe processing of chickens in the province and beyond, Shandong's Qilu Evening Post reported.
Improving the chickens' welfare relies on using the standards to create an environment that meets the natural needs of a chicken before and during the slaughter process, said the report.
The guidelines require abattoirs to reduce chickens' stress during the process of capture, with devices or workers grabbing the chicken by both wings rather than just one; during their transport, with recommended temperature and hygiene levels specified; and by stunning the animals before slaughter to reduce the pain they experience.
Animal welfare was first identified as a priority in the World Organization for Animal Health's (WOAH) Third Strategic Plan 2001-05 and many countries have worked on the issue, WOAH said on its official website.
"The Chinese Ministry of Commerce led the drafting of standards on the slaughter of live pigs in 2008," Sun Quanhui, a senior scientific advisor at international NGO World Animal Protection, told the Global Times via a phone call on Monday.
"This act also gears the industry to international best practice with regard to the possible trade barriers."
Sun noted the Chinese livestock slaughter industry has improved a lot in terms of its awareness of animal welfare, and similar moves to make slaughter more humane have been also made in regards to cattle and other livestock.
