The focus of a new video available for viewing today is Aviagen’s animal export operation, which ships day-old chicks to farms in more than 120 countries and is broadly recognized as one the world’s most extensive and welfare compliant animal shipment networks.

Created to educate customers, airline staff, and workers at various transit points on how to quickly and safely transport live birds with the utmost concern for their comfort and well-being, the video depicts a range of Aviagen’s standardized best practices, such as maintaining comfortable temperatures and airflow levels for birds at all stages of transit. It also illustrates how Aviagen meets or exceeds international airline shipment standards for live chick transport.

"To ship millions of healthy chicks a year while meeting global regulatory and animal welfare requirements, we have to pay extraordinary attention to planning, logistics, safety and timing," said Don Hachen, Aviagen’s director of global planning and distribution. "Different countries have different delivery requirements, but every customer expects a clean and healthy bird, from incubation to final delivery. It’s the right thing to do for the birds, for the customers, and for the food supply chain itself. That’s why Aviagen has established a flexible and reliable infrastructure that delivers every day, while always putting the welfare of the birds first."

The video shows how Aviagen has established an intricate and carefully monitored export network built to accommodate the realities of transport today. Twenty-four commercial hatcheries are strategically located in the United States, Brazil, Europe, Australia and New Zealand to minimize transportation time to breeder farms around the world. Each shipment has multiple routing options, which gives the Aviagen export team the flexibility to avoid shipping chicks through countries that may be experiencing a disease outbreak, and lets them reroute around severe weather which could impact bird safety as well as customer delivery schedules.

A Leader in the Safe Shipment of Animals

Aviagen is a member of the Animal Transportation Association, a non-profit international organization devoted to the safe handling and transportation of all animals worldwide. In addition, Aviagen’s export team members have served as officers of the ATA, as well as speakers at the annual conferences (see related releases 7 June 2011 and 5 April 2012). Through the organizational involvement and collaboration with other ATA members, the Aviagen export team has gained additional insight and information to ensure best practices in the shipment of live chicks.

"Aviagen is proud to be a long-time member of the ATA and acknowledges the important role this organization plays in the international community to ensure that best practices are promoted in animal transport regardless of species or mode of transport," added Kelly Wheeler, export manager at Aviagen and current past president and executive board member of the ATA.

"As part of Aviagen’s commitment to the well-being of our birds, a number of our employees have been trained by the Professional Animal Auditors Organization (PAACO). These PAACO certified employees, along with the company’s Animal Welfare Coordinator, conduct annual training sessions for all personnel; including those involved in our export/shipping operations," said Dr Phillip Eidson, Animal Welfare Coordinator for Aviagen North American.

The new video from Aviagen is viewable here.