American Humane Society, the United States’ first national humane organization and the world’s largest certifier of animal welfare practices, today announced new welfare standards for pullets, young laying hens not yet in egg production, as part of its comprehensive farm animal welfare certification program.
These standards provide clear guidelines, scientifically backed welfare improvements, and outcome-based assessments to help ensure a high level of care for pullets.
The American Humane Certified™ program utilizes rigorous, science-based, and comprehensive animal welfare criteria, reviewed by an independent Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) comprised of world-renowned leaders in the fields of animal science, veterinary medicine and animal ethics. The independent, third-party audit program helps verify that certified farms and processors are implementing management practices that promote animal welfare.
“Science and compassion must go hand in hand when it comes to animal welfare,” said Dr. Robin Ganzert, President and CEO of American Humane Society. “These new pullet standards bring greater transparency, accountability, and science-based improvements to farm animal welfare—ensuring a brighter future for millions of birds.”
The new pullet standards were informed by the latest pullet scientific research, evaluation of industry best practices, feedback from animal welfare experts, and tests that applied the new measures in farm settings.
“This initiative marks a significant step forward in our commitment to science-based animal welfare improvements,” said Dr. Tom Edling, Chief Veterinary Officer, Animal Ethicist and Head of the Science and Standard department at American Humane Society. “By incorporating the latest research and expert insights, we are strengthening our certification program and working to ensure that pullets receive a high standard of care.”
The new standards provide greater clarity for auditors and producers by establishing pullet-specific welfare guidelines, helping ensure that audits accurately assess this stage of poultry production. They also introduce lower light level requirements in accordance with scientific recommendations, including reducing stress and promoting overall well-being.
The following leading experts in animal welfare standards in farming have reviewed the new Welfare Standards and Audit Tool for Pullets and provided their thoughts:
“The new American Humane Certified Pullet Standards are a robust addition to the AHS platform of welfare standards for poultry and livestock. In particular, the inclusion of an outcome-based metric for feather quality is a significant step toward ensuring a high welfare environment for layer pullets,” said Dr. Don Hoenig, VMD, MIM Veterinary Consulting.
“The establishment of pullet standards is vital for everyone. These standards allow farmers to increase the trust between them and the consumers. The consumers can have more confidence that the eggs they purchase come from systems that prioritize ethical and responsible care,” said Dr. Darrin Karcher, Ph.D. Associate Professor and Extension Poultry Scientist with Purdue University.
To further enhance welfare assessments, an outcome-based feather condition scoring system has been implemented, helping to ensure that bird condition is directly evaluated at the time of the audit. Additionally, flock performance metrics have been incorporated to allow producers and auditors to objectively evaluate pullet health and identify potential concerns.
The new standards will take effect starting January 1, 2026. For more information on the American Humane Society Farm Program, please visit: americanhumane.org/humane-heartland.
About American Humane Society
American Humane Society is the United States’ first national humane organization and the world’s largest certifier of animal welfare, helping to verify the humane treatment of more than one billion animals across the globe each year. Founded in 1877, American Humane Society has been at the forefront of virtually every major advancement in the humane movement to rescue, care for and protect animals. For more information or to support our life-changing work, please visit www.AmericanHumane.org, follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram and subscribe to our channel on YouTube for the latest breaking news and features about the animals with whom we share our Earth.
