Changing the way our food is raised.
As the poultry industry has pushed for greater meat yields and lower cost, these efficiencies have created unintended consequences for the health and welfare of the modern day broiler chicken. So, where do we go from here?
Introducing the Better Chicken Project. A collaborative project initiated by G.A.P. to establish a research-based framework for reinventing the modern day broiler chicken. G.A.P. has always been a leader in farm animal welfare, so we knew it was time to take the necessary steps to drive change for the chicken industry.
What is the Better Chicken Project?
G.A.P.’s Better Chicken Project is a collaboration of scientists, broiler chicken breeding companies, producers, buyers, and animal welfare advocates with a common purpose: the development of a research-based framework for assessing animal welfare of broiler chicken breeds.
Why are we doing this?
G.A.P. wants to positively impact the lives of animals raised for food. In this case, we want broiler chickens to be able to actively engage with their environment and “act like chickens”. We believe that breed is the foundation to ensuring good welfare.
Did someone say “research”?
Yes, we did. G.A.P.’s standards have always been based in science so when it came to testing broiler breeds for animal welfare outcomes, we let the science do the talking. G.A.P. initiated the project by funding an independent, large-scale research study at the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario Canada, one of the foremost research facilities on farm animal welfare. The study was the largest of its kind, covering broiler chicken health, welfare, and production, including over 7,500 broiler chickens from 16 different genetic strains. The study was designed and conducted independently at the University of Guelph and was the first multi-disciplinary research project of chicken welfare to include carefully chosen indicators such as behavior, physiology, immunology, production, and meat quality together into one research project. If you’d like to view a summary of the study, click here.
The study was completed in 2020, after which we formed a multi-stakeholder Technical Working Group, including breeding companies, producers, scientists, and animal advocates, to assist us in taking the research results from the Guelph study, and using those to help us develop a protocol. Breeds tested at a G.A.P. accredited research facility that pass the protocol will be eligible for certification under our standard (G.A.P.’s 5-Step® Standard for Broiler Chickens v4.0).
Please note that this list is not meant to be exhaustive. We invite all producers and breeding companies to test any breeds they believe will meet our Better Chicken Project protocol. The only requirement is that the breeds must be tested using G.A.P.’s Broiler Chicken Assessment Protocol at a G.A.P. accredited research facility. See below for more details.
Eligible Broiler Breeds
Once we established a protocol that allowed us to score the breeds across a variety of parameters, we utilized the results from the University of Guelph study to evaluate the test breeds using our protocol to establish the first list of eligible breeds.
It’s important for you to understand that we scored and analyzed the strains blindly. At no point in our analysis did we know which specific breeds were associated with which results. All strains submitted were assigned a letter and we performed our analysis blindly so as not to introduce bias into the results.
Below is a list of broiler chicken breeds that meet G.A.P.’s minimum eligibility score. The first column below details the approved broiler breeds. Approved breeds are the result of a specific male and female parent stock combination (second and third columns). Please note that it is the specific cross as listed below that is approved – not the individual female and male parent lines and not the reverse combination.
| G.A.P. Approved Broiler Breeds |
| Aviagen Ranger Classic |
| Aviagen Ranger Gold |
| Aviagen Ranger Premium |
| Aviagen Rowan Ranger |
| Cobb-Sasso 200 (CS200) |
| Cooks Venture Pioneer |
| Hubbard JA757 |
| Hubbard JA787 |
| Hubbard JACY87 |
| Hubbard REDBRO |
| Hubbard Redbro M |
| Excepted Breeds* |
| Sasso Ruby C451 |
| Sasso Ruby C431 |
| RSPCA Approved Breeds** |
| Hubbard JA 757 |
| Hubbard JA 957 |
| Hubbard JA 787 |
| Hubbard JA 987 |
| Hubbard Norfolk Black |
| Hubbard JACY57 |
| Hubbard Redbro |
| Aviagen Ranger Gold |
| Aviagen Rambler Ranger |
| Aviagen Ranger Classic |
| Aviagen Rustic Gold |
Please Note:
We welcome breeding companies to submit their breeds for testing to determine if they meet our G.A.P. breed protocol requirements. You can view the breed protocol document here.
Please Note:
If a primary breeding company has a breed NOT on the list, and are interested in having a breed tested, it must be tested at a G.A.P. accredited facility, using the G.A.P. protocol.
Universities, colleges and research facilities interested in becoming a G.A.P. accredited facility are asked to complete a pre-application form. This pre-application will assess the facility against the requirements of the protocol. If the facility is deemed to have the essential requirements necessary to complete the protocol in full, completion of G.A.P.’s full facility accreditation application will be requested.
Click the button below to access and submit the facility pre-application.
I’m a producer. What does this mean to me?
If you are a new supplier or producer interested in getting your operations certified, please email us at info@globalanimalpartnership.org and a G.A.P. Team member will be in touch. We look forward to working with you!
If you are a current G.A.P. partner raising a breed which is NOT on the list, talk to your breeding company to have their testing facility complete the testing pre-application here. If you are currently raising a breed which is NOT on the list and you’re not sure what to do, email the G.A.P. team to set-up a call.
Please note: we understand that changes like this take time and effort. We will be publishing a more formal implementation plan when our new Broiler Chicken Standards v 4.0 are released in 2022.
The Simple Way to Meet Corporate Better Chicken Commitments (“BCC”).
Background of High Welfare Poultry
The Global Animal Partnership is a world-leading animal welfare standard-setting body. G.A.P.’s 5-Step Animal Welfare program sets some of the highest standards for poultry welfare in the world. To continually improve poultry welfare, G.A.P. initiated the slow-growth chicken commitment with a multi-year research program called the Better Chicken Project. (“BCP”). The BCP research findings were adopted and promoted by welfare advocates all over the world.
An innovative and successful sign-on campaign was undertaken to increase corporate adoption of G.A.P. certified poultry, and to draw attention to the welfare benefits of the slower-growing, BCP-approved poultry breeds. The sign-on campaign known as the Better Chicken Commitment (“BCC”) had two versions. Via the
BCC, many businesses informally committed to G.A.P. poultry welfare requirements, the slower growing BCP-approved breeds and third-party certification of farming and handling practices by the end of the decade.
A New Certification Meets all BCC Commitments
To help businesses meet their BCC commitments, G.A.P. has developed a single certification. The certification is being piloted now and will be part of a phase-in of revised poultry welfare requirements. The certification provides each business with a BCC commitment to direct their poultry suppliers to a single place for all their core BCC requirements: BCP-approved breeds, controlled atmosphere stunning and third-party verification via G.A.P. The certification comes with the right to use the high-profile label that demonstrates the corporate commitment. The adoption timeline for full compliance with BCC commitments can be adjusted for each company’s commitment.
I’m a consumer. What does this mean to me?
If you’re a consumer, your support for better chicken matters! Lots of companies are committing to sourcing G.A.P. Animal Welfare Certified chicken so that’s great news for chicken lovers! Please help us spread the word! Join our mailing list below, follow us on social media – Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram, and tell a friend. Thank you for shopping for the G.A.P. label and helping us #MakeitGAP!
Check out our Blog!
We continue to post about different aspects of the Better Chicken Project and the challenges associated with the modern-day broiler. If you’re interested in learning more, check out these blogs on the history of broiler chickens, the difference between slow-growing and fast-growing chickens, and the activity levels of the birds in our study.
