The offer will be successively extended to further locations. Customers can thus be sure to choose products that meet significantly higher animal welfare standards. The changeover in the service area is part of the new BILLA initiative "Fair zum Tier", which has set itself the goal of further improving the living and husbandry conditions of domestic farm animals with what will be Austria's largest animal welfare range in the future and establishing standards that are significantly higher than the legal level.
"The decisions we make with our product range and our customers make with their purchases have a significant impact on the form of agriculture and animal husbandry that will dominate in Austria in the future. We want to promote committed farms and the further development of domestic agriculture towards better living and husbandry conditions for farm animals and at the same time enable our customers to buy fresh meat, including chicken and turkey, with a clear conscience, because they know the conditions under which the animal grew up," explains Erich Szuchy, BILLA CEO responsible for category management and purchasing.
Sufficient space, GMO-free feed, daylight and fresh air for the animals
Already about 35 own-brand products from conventional animal husbandry - from milk and eggs to meat and sausage - are labelled with the "Fair zum Tier" animal welfare seal and thus stand for significantly higher standards than the Austrian animal welfare laws prescribe for the keeping of farm animals. The criteria were determined with the help of an advisory board of experts from science, agriculture and veterinary medicine and are regularly monitored by independent bodies. The 170 local farms with which the BILLA family cooperates guarantee more space for the animals, improved comfort in the barn through littered lying areas, species-appropriate exercise material as well as daylight and fresh air through additional windows, runs or pasture. Furthermore, attention is paid to high-quality and GMO-free feed as well as short transport routes for the benefit of the animals and the climate.
"Conventional farming still makes up a large part of the common forms of husbandry in Austria. In order to give it a forward-looking impetus and to sustainably improve the conditions for conventionally kept animals, we have launched our animal welfare programme "Fair zum Tier". After all, it is about the welfare and protection of farm animals and about responding to their different needs. For example, pigs have 100 percent more space in a barn with constant access to the outdoors and lying areas with straw. And our laying hens are allowed to roam freely all year round, and there are raised seating levels and laying nests with natural bedding in the barns," says Tanja Dietrich-Hübner, Head of Sustainability at REWE International AG and patron of the "Fair zum Tier" initiative.
100 percent fresh meat and poultry from Austria
In addition to species-appropriate animal husbandry, the origin of fresh meat, including chicken and turkey meat, also plays a decisive role when it comes to animal and climate protection. Since spring 2020, BILLA customers have been able to rely on the fact that 100 percent of the fresh meat, including chicken and turkey meat, comes from Austria. For about a year now, the serving areas and refrigerated shelves at BILLA PLUS have been stocked exclusively with turkey, chicken, beef and pork from local farms. This makes BILLA the only food retailer in the country to source all fresh meat, including turkey, from Austrian farms, regardless of the price segment.
The importance of origin is particularly evident in turkey farming. Here, Austria's poultry producers work with very high animal welfare standards compared to the EU: The animals have up to 70 percent more space available, which contributes significantly to their health. The stocking density per square metre for turkeys in Austria is limited by law to 40kg, while this value is significantly higher in almost all other EU countries and is usually not regulated by law at all.
The "Fair zum Tier" standards at a glance
The "Fair zum Tier" laying hens have free range all year round, and in bad weather they have a winter garden at their disposal. In their barns, there are raised seating levels and laying nests with natural bedding. They are fed GMO-free feed and soya from Europe. Their brothers are raised in the rooster rearing.
The "Fair zum Tier" broiler chickens have about 20 percent more space in their coop, with natural bedding, than required by law and this even though Austrian legal standards are much more demanding than in the EU anyway. Straw bales are used for occupation or as an elevated resting place. The chickens have natural light through windows in the barn and are fed GMO-free feed.
The "Fair zum Tier" dairy cows are not tethered and live in loose housing. In the barn, there are littered lying areas and chafing facilities. They spend at least 120 days a year on pasture or have 365 days a year at their disposal. They are fed mainly fresh grasses and hay as well as GMO-free feed.
The "Fair zum Tier" fattening pigs have 100 percent more space in the barn than required by law. They can always go outside, can occupy themselves with straw and have strewn lying areas. They are fed GMO-free feed. Piglets are castrated only under anaesthesia, analgesia and pain relief. The removal of curly tails is prohibited.
You can find more information in the sustainability section of our website.
