Australia's newest chicken factory, a $600m facility in Tamworth, is designed to look like a modern art gallery, but questions remain about its impact on animal welfare. At full capacity, the plant will process 3 million chickens a week, accounting for almost 20% of all chicken consumed nationwide.
A Striking Design for a Major Facility
The sleek, rust-coloured saucer-shaped building settles into the earth, mirroring the surrounding hills. It resembles an art gallery or a high-end conference centre, an architectural masterpiece designed to sit lightly on the land, until you see the shed behind it. The sweeping lines are the gateway to the new poultry processing plant, owned by Baiada, one of Australia's two largest chicken producers and the owner of household brands Steggles and Lilydale Free Range.
At its height, two lines will process 15,000 birds an hour, with chickens moving through state-of-the-art chilling systems and automated packing machines en route to supermarkets across the state. The new plant will support more than 1,000 jobs, with workers able to spend lunch breaks at an on-site cafeteria, a gym, or in landscaped gardens.
Community and Industry Reactions
Jeff Budd, deputy mayor of Tamworth regional council, has toured the facility, which opened last week. He says the unusual design creates a gem for the city and will attract the skilled workers and technicians needed to run kilometres of conveyor belts and systems. “I think it’s massive for the entire region,” he said. “The Baiada company … certainly made it look that way. Once you’re inside that main building at the front, it’s like a five-star hotel.”
Australians consume an average of 55kg of chicken meat per person per year, and more than 800 million chickens will be slaughtered this financial year to meet demand. Once fully operational, the Oakburn facility will account for almost 20% of that. Prof Stephen Walkden-Brown, interim director of Poultry Hub Australia at the University of New England, said, “We’re happy to see a commitment from a Sydney-based company to one of their regional hubs, to put in such a sophisticated [facility]. It’s a pretty big development, one of the most modern plants in the world.”
Welfare Concerns Persist
In a media release, Baiada said the company had “grown alongside” the Tamworth community for six decades, and the facility reflected the company’s commitment to the city. Managing director Simon Camilleri said, “This is a long-term investment in Tamworth and the people who have supported Baiada for generations. Our history in this region stretches back to the 1960s, when Charlie Baiada first established operations here, and this facility reflects our confidence in the future of Tamworth.” However, the company did not answer questions about whether the new facility would also deliver improved animal welfare outcomes.
Jed Goodfellow, director of policy and government relations at the Australian Alliance for Animals, said while the Baiada building may be state of the art, he believes “the welfare model behind it is anything but”. He highlighted the speed at which meat chickens grow as a leading welfare issue. “Chickens are still being selectively bred to grow at extraordinary speeds, with their bodies paying the price for ever greater efficiency,” he said. “Healthier, slower-growing breeds are now being used in many parts of the world, particularly Europe, with Norway, the Netherlands, and France producing higher welfare breeds at scale. It may cost slightly more, but as their experience shows, the increase is not prohibitive, as European consumers increasingly opt for the healthier option.”
Melina Tensen, senior scientific officer for farm animals at the RSPCA, said about 97% of chicken meat sold in Australia abides by the organisation’s welfare standards. “It’s a pretty big deal to have most of industry achieving standards to go well above the legal minimum,” she said. “Wherever animals are farmed for food – and they’re going to be farmed for food for a long time to come – we want to be in there making sure that animals are raised and handled and transported and slaughtered in ways we find acceptable.”
Future Standards and Consumer Role
Welfare standards were updated this month to promote lower stocking density, variable light intensity in sheds – to allow chickens to choose between brighter and darker areas – and the phasing out of a slaughtering method called electrical water bath stunning. Those changes must be enacted by 1 January 2031 for businesses to keep their RSPCA certification. The RSPCA has also released a new category of “enhanced” welfare standards, primarily focused on encouraging producers to rear slower-growing breeds. Most of Australia’s commercial chickens are two fast-growing breeds, the Ross 308 and the Cobb 500, which reach slaughter weight at between four and six weeks of age.
Tensen said the RSPCA would ultimately like to see chicken meat producers replace fast-growing breeds with ones associated with higher welfare standards, but consumers would have to help achieve that transition. “The longer it takes to grow, the greater cost,” she said. “We definitely encourage consumers to be vocal about supporting this transition … because every dollar you spend is a message to the retailer.”
