Sri Vijaya Puram, November 7: Commercial hatcheries and poultry chick suppliers in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands have been advised to move away from routine hot-blade beak trimming and adopt infrared treatment, following concerns that the conventional procedure causes pain, tissue damage and long-term complications in birds. The advisory cites provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, which prohibit animal mutilation.
Hot-blade trimming involves cutting the beak using a heated blade. The practice is used in poultry farming to control injurious pecking and cannibalism, but the advisory identifies it as a violation of Section 11(1)(1) of the Act, which prohibits mutilation of animals. It calls for the procedure to be discouraged as a routine management practice because of its potential effects on bird welfare, including chronic pain and impaired feeding.
As an alternative, the advisory recommends Infrared Beak Treatment (IRBT) at the hatchery level wherever beak treatment is considered necessary, subject to applicable legal requirements. The method uses automated machinery to direct a focused infrared beam at the beak tips of day-old chicks. The treated tips gradually slough off naturally over two to three weeks without leaving an open wound.
The advisory states that birds receiving infrared treatment show better body weight, feed intake and feed conversion than those subjected to hot-blade trimming. It also links humane beak treatment with improved weight gain and overall flock performance, while seeking to minimise avoidable pain and suffering.
However, the recommendations extend beyond the treatment used at hatcheries. Poultry farmers are also to be sensitised to address the conditions that contribute to injurious pecking and cannibalism through better husbandry and farm management.
The prescribed measures include providing adequate space, maintaining appropriate stocking density, ensuring balanced nutrition, regulating lighting conditions and managing the birds’ environment properly.
The advisory asks commercial hatcheries and chick suppliers to ensure compliance with the guidelines and promote poultry farming practices that place greater emphasis on animal welfare. It identifies both the choice of beak-treatment method and farm-level management as measures to reduce injury and suffering among poultry birds.
