EF Working Groups

WG 11 was established at Helsinki in 1984. Chairman was Dr. F.W. Klein, and Secretary was Ir. H.H.M. Zeelen. In 1990, during the WPSA congress at Barcelona, Dr. Klein resigned as chairman, Dr. Zeelen acted as chairman and secretary. It was decided to organize the EDP symposium in cooperation with WG 1, however, it was cancelled due to lack of interest. In 1992, the planned 1 day conference was also cancelled and it was discussed that there was a lack of enthusiasm for the WG11 because education and extension are integrated in other aspects. During the period 1992 – 1998, Ir. J.L. Leidekker has acted as chairman and Ir. H.H.M. Zeelen as secretary.

The “European Symposium on Transfer of Knowledge in Poultry Production”, held in Utrecht, during VIV in 1997, enrolled 50 participants. During the symposium, the future of WG 11 was discussed. The conclusion was that it is very advisable to combine WG1 and WG11 and to draw up a programme for the new Working Group that covers the activities of both working groups. Efforts to find a new chairman and secretary to form the new Working Group failed.

Until the WPC2004 in Istanbul there were no activities of WG11. In 2004, Prof. Servet Yalçın agreed to serve as the chairman and Dr. F. Leenstra as secretary. The group restarted with 10 new members. Aims and objectives of the WG11 were set out.
The WG decided not to organise specific symposia but organise sessions during the WPSA congress and symposia. During the EPC2006 in Verona, Italy, a workshop on “Education and Technology Transfer” was organised. The workshop consisted of 5 invited speakers and 7 posters. The workshop had about 80 participants with stimulating discussions. In the annual group meeting of WG11, Prof Servet Yalcin was re-elected as chairperson of the Working Group for the next term.

In 2007, WG11 was asked whether and in which way they could help to promote the activities of the Mediterranean group. A “Mediterranean Poultry Network Group” which will act under the management and control of the WG11, was established and the goal and structure of the group was approved by WPSA. The aim of the group is to coordinate the events of the next Mediterranean Summits of WPSA that would be held in any of the countries facing the Mediterranean Sea with an official WPSA branch and spread scientific and technical knowledge, to create its own mailing list and generate Newsletters. The First and Second Mediterranean Summits of WPSA were held in Greece and Turkey, respectively, and the third summit will be held in Egypt in 2011.

WG 11 aimed to overview of courses in poultry science of European universities. A database was prepared and completed surveys were received from 5 European countries and Australia, Lebanon, Turkey, Greece and USA. To summarize the survey’s results two papers were prepared by the group; one for First Mediterranean Poultry Summit of WPSA, held in Greece and one for WPC2008, held in Australia.
WG11 members have contributed to EPC 2010 programme (Tours, August 2010) by presenting three invited papers as following: (1) "Introducing the Mediterranean Poultry Network of WPSA", (2) "Poultry Science Education and its Interaction with Research and Industry" and (3) "Building a Skilled Workforce in Poultry Industry through Lifelong Learning Programmes". Moreover, group members presented four oral presentations during the Conference.

During the WG11 General Meeting held during the EPC2010, Dr E.N. Sossidou (Greece) has been elected as the new Chairperson of the WG11 for the next term.

By 2010 WG11 has 19 members from 12 countries.

Further details of WG 11 activities can be obtained from the chairperson:
Dr Evangelia N. Sossidou
E-mail: 

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

2005-2013

Arnold Elson, United Kingdom

2013-2017

Valentina Ferrante, Italy

2017-

Virginie Michel, France

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:

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:
Mrs Virginie Michel (France)
E-mail:  

History of Working Group 10

The exact history of the Working group 10 (WG 10) is really not known to me. In 1999, I was asked by Piet Simons, if I was willing to revive the activity of the WG10. At that time, we had organized several International Symposia on Turkey Diseases in Berlin, so my answer was yes.
From 2000 until now, the WG 10 has held 9 scientific symposiums on a regular basis in Berlin, Germany.

The 1st symposium with the title ‘Turkey production in Europe in the New Millennium’ was held from 23rd - 25th in November 2000 with 22 oral presentations and attracted 103 delegates from 15 European countries, in addition some participants from Canada.
ISBN 3-8001-3850-6. 2001 Verlag Eugen Ulmer GmbH & Co.

The 2nd symposium with title ‘Turkey production: Balance act between consumer protection, animal welfare and economic aspects’ held between 27th February to 1st March 2003 with 27 oral presentations and attracted 187 participants from 22 countries. Since then the meeting got an international character and attracted colleagues from several countries around the world. ISBN: 3-8001-4630-4. 2003 Verlag Eugen Ulmer GmbH & Co.

The 3rd symposium with the title ‘Turkey production: Prospects on future developments’ held between 9th to 11th June 2005 with 39 oral presentations and attracted 176 participants from 27 countries. ISBN 3-89820-993-8

The 4th symposium with the title ‘Turkey production: Current changes’ held between 21st to 23rd June 2007 with 40 oral presentations and attended by 171 of participants from 24 countries. ISBN-10: 3-86664-356-X - ISBN-13: 978-3-86664-356-7. mbv 2007 mbv, 13156 Berlin

The 5th symposium with title ‘Turkey production: Toward better Welfare and Health’ held between 28th to 30th May 2009 with 40 oral presentations and attended by 191 of participants from 21 countries. ISBN 978-3-8664-701-5. Institute of Poultry Diseases, Free University Berlin

The 6th symposium with the title ‘Turkey Production and Health: An update’ was held between 16th to 18th June 2011 with 41 oral presentations and attracted 191 scientists and experts from 24 countries. ISBN: 978-3-86387-094-2. Institute of Poultry Diseases, Free University Berlin

The 7th symposium with the title ‘Continuous Improvement of Turkey Production and Health: Never-ending Story’ was held between May 30th to June 1st 2013 with 39 oral presentations and participate by 137 scientists and experts from 21 countries.
ISBN: 978-3-86387-400-1. Institute of Poultry Diseases, Free University Berlin

The 8th symposium with the title ‘Turkey Production and Health: Current and future perspectives’ was held between 28th to 30th May 2015 with 34 oral presentations and participate from 142 scientists and experts from 21 countries. ISBN: 978-3-86387-692-0. Institute of Poultry Diseases, Free University Berlin.

The 9th symposium with the title ‘Turkey Production and Health: Challenges and opportunities’ was held between 18th to 20th May 2017. At the symposium, 29 oral presentations were held and 92 scientists and experts from 19 countries attended the symposium. ISBN: 978-3-86387-785-9. Institute of Poultry Diseases, Free University Berlin

In each symposium well known keynote speakers from several countries around the world were invited beside several oral presentations chosen from submitted papers were included. Neither parallel nor poster sessions were included.
In total over the last 19 years, 221 papers were published in 9 proceeding books with 2186 pages.
The papers covered the history, development and current situation of the turkey industry, aspects of nutrition, turkey health, diseases, management, genetics, legislation related to turkey production and welfare. These papers provided useful economic and commercial details for anyone tracking the changes in turkey production.
Although, or perhaps especially because, the turkey business and research on turkey production and health are very small compared to chicken, it is important for poultry minor species like turkey to have such a symposium dealing only with turkey production and health. The number of participants is steady over the years and ranged between 93 and 191 delegates from 16 to 27 countries, with slightly decrease in 2017, however, the symposium and the activity of the Working group 10 of the WPSA seem to be important for everybody involved in turkey production chain.

The 10th symposium with the title ‘Turkey Production and Health’ will be held from 6th to 8th June 2019 in Berlin.
We hope to see you in Berlin soon.

Prof. Dr. H.M. Hafez
Chairman of the Working Group 10
E-mail: 

The name of the group was the Incubation Research Group (IRG) up to 1995 when it was decided to expand the remit of the group to include fertility and so the name was changed to the Incubation and Fertility Research Group (IFRG). In 1998, an association was made between the World's Poultry Science Association when the IFRG adopted the European Branches' Working Group 6 - Reproduction.
In 2023 the name of WG 6 changed to Incubation and Fertility

The Chairs of Working Group 6 – Incubation and Fertility have been:

1998-2009

Dr Glenn Baggott

2009-2012

Dr Nick French

2012-2020

Marleen Boerjan

2020-

Ampay Nangsuay

Each annual meeting has had a local organizer. Meeting dates, locations and organizers are given below.

Further details of Working Group 6 can be obtained from the website www.ifrg.be or by contacting the current Chairman:
Mrs Ampai Nangsuay (Thailand)
E-mail: