Scottish Ministers have approved regulations removing the long‑standing 12‑week cap on describing poultrymeat as “free‑range” during disease control housing measures. The Free‑Range Poultrymeat Marketing Standards (Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2025 were made on 6 November and took effect on 7 November 2025, following affirmative approval by the Scottish Parliament.
The instrument updates Annex V, point (e) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 543/2008 as it applies in Scotland. It inserts the word “temporarily” to clarify that only temporary health measures qualify, and deletes the phrase that previously limited free‑range marketing to “no more than 12 weeks”. In practice, poultrymeat may continue to carry free‑range terms for the full duration of any qualifying restriction.
The policy change addresses problems seen during recent avian influenza outbreaks, when mandatory housing measures lasted beyond 12 weeks, forcing re‑labelling to indoor systems mid‑season. The joint UK–Scottish consultation concluded that removing the cap would allow consistent labelling while controls remain in place, without altering on‑farm production standards.
Legally, the amendment interacts with “assimilated” EU‑derived food law. Earlier in 2025, UK consequential regulations replaced references to “retained direct EU legislation” with “assimilated direct legislation”. The Scottish text mirrors that terminology, making clear that qualifying housing orders made to protect public or animal health under assimilated law trigger the free‑range labelling protection.
Scope is unchanged for the production systems themselves. The optional marketing indications in Regulation 543/2008-“free range”, “traditional free range” and “free range - total freedom”-still apply only where the farming method meets Annex V criteria; the amendment solely removes the time limit when access to open air is temporarily restricted by official measures.
Day‑to‑day compliance continues to rely on record‑keeping and official controls set out in Article 12 of Regulation 543/2008. Producers using free‑range systems must retain records, including the date birds first had access to range; slaughterhouses using special marketing terms must remain specially registered and keep separate records available for inspection.
Enforcement in Scotland remains under the Poultrymeat (Scotland) Regulations 2011, which designate enforcement authorities, confer entry, seizure and compliance‑notice powers on authorised officers, and make breaches of applicable poultrymeat provisions an offence punishable on summary conviction by a fine up to level 5 on the standard scale. Businesses should be ready to evidence any period of officially mandated housing to inspectors.
The change aligns Scotland with measures in England, where a separate statutory instrument has removed the 12‑week limit by disapplying the relevant subparagraph and confirming that free‑range marketing may continue for the duration of qualifying restrictions. Ministers indicated in Parliament that the principal impact is on longer‑cycle species such as turkeys, ducks and geese.
A second proposal consulted on-removing an unused certification requirement for imports bearing optional indications-has been deferred for further work and is not part of this Scottish instrument. For producers and retailers, the immediate operational effect is stability in labelling during any future avian influenza housing orders, with no change to welfare or husbandry standards required to use free‑range terms.