Salmonella control programmes in laying flocks involve interventions that affect hen welfare, and higher welfare housing is associated with lower Salmonella prevalence.
Salmonella control in laying flocks creates a welfare paradox: the primary intervention when a flock tests positive is depopulation — killing all birds in the flock to prevent transmission. This creates an acute, large-scale welfare event to prevent a diffuse food safety risk. Prevention is therefore both the welfare-optimal and practically superior approach: vaccination, early competitive exclusion, rigorous hygiene, and rodent control prevent positive tests from occurring. Higher welfare housing systems — when managed well — can achieve low Salmonella prevalence, demonstrating that welfare improvement and food safety are not inherently in tension. Producer investment in prevention avoids the welfare catastrophe of flock depopulation while delivering safer eggs.