Working Group No. 9
Poultry Welfare and Management
This WG was originally proposed in 1972 during the WPSA European Poultry Conference (EPC) in London when Nils Olof Lindgren of Sweden was asked to form a WG on Bird Welfare in Intensive Poultry Production(WPSJ 1973 29(2): 171-172). Fourteen members, including the present chairperson, were appointed from 7 European country branches. Its inaugural meeting was held in Dortmund during 1973 under the chairmanship of Dr Lindgren, who set out its aims and objectives (WPSJ 1974 30(2): 143-145). He remained chairman for 16 years and was following by the following persons:
| 1973-1989 | Dr Lindgren, Sweden |
| 1989-1997 | Ragnar Tauson, Sweden |
| 1997-2005 | Martina Gerken, Germany |
| 2005- | Arnold Elson, United Kingdom |
By 1980 WG9 had 16 members from 10 countries and its title was generally shortened to Poultry Welfare. The WG has continued to expand, indicating the increasing importance of this subject, and currently has 37 members from 22 countries. In 2005 the group’s name was changed to Poultry Welfare & Management to better reflect the range of its activities. Its research activities were reviewed by Elson and Sossidou (2008, Proceedings 1st Mediterranean Summit of WPSA: 525-528).
WG9 has organised a variety of events to exchange the latest information on scientific and management developments in poultry welfare. These have taken the form of symposia, the first of which was held during EPC 1976 in Malta (WPSJ 1975 31(4), WPSJ 1977 33(1): 53-56). This was followed by one held in Koge on Poultry Welfare in Egg Laying Cages organised by the Danish National Committee for Poultry and Eggs with the support of WG9. A quadrennial series of European Symposia on Poultry Welfare then commenced, being held in:
| 1st | 1981 | Koge, Denmark |
| 2nd | 1985 | Celle, Germany |
| 3rd | 1989 | Tours, France |
| 4th | 1993 | Edinburgh, UK |
| 5th | 1997 | Wageningen, The Netherlands |
| 6th | 2001 | Zollikofen, Switzerland |
| 7th | 2005 | Lublin, Poland |
| 8th | 2009 | Cervia, Italy |
| 9th | 2013 | Uppsala, Sweden |
The 9th European Poultry Welfare Symposium will be held in Sweden in 2013; the programme is in the early stages of planning and will deal with the welfare of most species of poultry. The French branch of the WPSA is likely to host the 10th Symposium in 2017.
WG 9 holds a regular annual meeting, as well as additional intermediate ones held during major poultry science events. The latest one was held during EPC2010 in Tours, France, where there was also a session on poultry welfare.
Further details of WG 9 activities can be obtained from the chairperson: Arnold Elson (United Kingdom), arnold.elson@adas.co.uk.