Poultry farmer holds back using battery cages over welfare concerns

A poultry farmer in the Bono region is reportedly holding back with plans of using battery cages provided by the government for his poultry farming, highlighting concerns for the welfare of the animals.

When they visited his farm, the poultry farmer told the Animal Welfare League, an animal advocacy nonprofit organisation.

This follows his participation in the organization’s flagship “Improving Poultry Productivity and Welfare” workshop held immediately by Sunyani earlier this year.

There are growing concerns over the usage of battery cages by some veterinary doctors as they believe it could affect the health of the animals.

Dr Emmanuel Nyamekye from the Animal Welfare League highlights some detrimental effects of battery cage usage on poultry.

“Chickens housed in these ‘prison cells’ undergo severe suffering as they are unable to walk and fly but stationed at one place their entire life. As a result, these chickens become more prone to calcium deficiencies leading to paralysis and leg fractures,” he said.

He continued, “Studies have associated battery cages with zoonotic diseases such as Salmonella infections.

“Animals in these pages are mostly injected with antibiotics since the farmers fear losing their investment over disease outbreaks contributing to antimicrobial resistance.”

Director at Animal Welfare League and Veterinary Doctor, Dr Daniel Abiliba, also questioned the government’s move in providing battery cages to support poultry production.

“Most poultry farmers use deep litter systems in Ghana. Why didn’t the government provide training and support for local production in deep litter systems in its aid to bolster production?

“Several farmers have reported the usefulness of workshops for them. They said they need more training and support to expand their production to meet the demand. We don’t agree to the introduction of cruel systems like the battery cages by government,” he said.