The quality of welfare inspections in poultry facilities depends critically on inspector training, standardisation, and access to birds across the production cycle.
Inadequate inspector training leads to missed welfare violations and normalisation of poor practices. Poultry welfare is particularly at risk because birds are present in large numbers, are less individually recognisable than mammals, and are processed rapidly. Standardised, validated assessment tools and regular inter-observer reliability testing are essential for consistent, effective welfare inspection.