Laying hens
Supplementary decisions and interpretations
Following the conclusive formal adoption of these criteria, the supplementary decisions and interpretations below have been drafted in conjunction with the Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals. These decisions/interpretations have not yet been formally adopted and, in the event of exceptional circumstances, are subject to change before being included in the established BLL criteria. In anticipation thereof, certification will be carried out on the basis of these supplementary decisions and interpretations.
Supplementary decisions adopted in criteria
Update 1 November 2024
We are pleased to inform you about the updated criteria list for BLk laying hens, which implies the incorporation of the supplementary decisions and interpretations:
Several practical questions are raised about the criteria of the Better Life label. These practical questions, also called interpretation questions, have regularly led to the adoption of additional decisions on these previously established criteria. Additional decisions serve to clarify and/or relax the criteria and are shared per animal category and published online in a separate list called ‘Additional decisions and interpretations’.
The Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals decided to “incorporate” the additional decisions from the separate list for laying hens integrally into the document containing the established criteria for laying hens. Thus, all applicable requirements and clarifications for that animal category can again be found in one document; the separate list of additional decisions will be “cleaned up”.
“Processing” the additional decisions in this way does not mean “revising” the current criteria. The content of the criteria is not upgraded. It merely creates updated versions of the already established criteria; For clarification purposes they are given a new version number, namely laying hens 1 star version 3.2, laying hens 2 stars version 3.2 and laying hens 3 stars version 2.2.
After “processing” the additional decisions into the criteria, the inspector of a Certification Body can carry out his/her work much more practically and every stakeholder or interested party will have a more compact and manageable “updated set” of Beter Leven keurmerk criteria of a given animal category and scope.
The changes compared to the original version are made clear through the use of colours:
- Red: A change in the description of the criterion by incorporating an Additional Decision;
- Blue: A textual and/or explanatory change to the criterion that cannot be traced back to an additional decision.
As usual, the amended version is indicated by means of the so-called ‘Version criteria including latest changes’.
Covered outdoor run between two existing buildings
The criteria for BLL laying hens stipulate that there must be a free, unrestricted view from the covered run. This is not always feasible with existing buildings. The Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals has therefore established supplementary conditions which a covered run between two buildings can still comply with.
These conditions only apply to existing buildings, not to new buildings. In addition, the lower storey of a two-storey building can never satisfy these supplementary conditions. The lower story of a poultry shed or house with two storeys is therefore not eligible.
Download the supplementary conditions and diagram of a covered run between two buildings below.
GMP+ equivalent animal feed systems
The Better Life label criteria for livestock farms include the provision that feed must demonstrably originate from a GMP+ certified feed supplier or a supplier with an equivalent quality assurance system. The Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals accepts various quality assurance systems as an alternative to GMP+ certified animal feed.
The ‘Equivalent systems’ page lists quality assurance systems accepted by the Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals as an alternative to GMP+ certification within the Better Life label scheme.