Several towns and cities in Belgium have been gifting their residents chickens. However, recipients have to promise not to eat the animals immediately and to take good care of them.
Chickens have been handed out to residents for free in the cities of Antwerp, in Mouscron in the province of Hainaut, and in the province of Limburg, the BBC reported.
In Limburg, more than 2,500 families adopted hens in one year alone. Meanwhile, in Mouscron, 50 pairs of chickens were given out in the second round of the scheme, after a successful initial giveaway.
However, there are some strings attached: in most places, people receiving the animal for free had to sign an agreement not to eat the chickens for at least two years. Residents also had to prove they had sufficient space in their gardens to keep the birds and were given basic instructions on keeping the poultry.
Less waste and free eggs
The scheme is not unique to Belgium. Residents in various towns and villages in France have been given the animals for years. The aim both in France and Belgium was to reduce food waste, which contributes more methane emissions to the atmosphere than any other landfilled materials.
Chickens are fed kitchen scraps which would otherwise be thrown away and end up in landfill. The animals can consume 150 g of bio-waste per day, massively reducing this type of waste.
A small north-western French town called Pincé first started the concept in 2012, offering two chickens to each household to help them cut down on organic waste. The idea to do so on a larger scale was hatched by the waste collection department in the French town of Colmar, located in the Grand Est region of northeastern France, near the border with Germany. The first chickens were handed out in 2015.
Credit: Unsplash/Nick Fewings
Here, participating households had to sign a pledge committing to raising the chickens. They were also warned that the waste department could conduct welfare spot checks on the animals at any time. Additionally, henhouses were not provided, meaning it was up to the residents to build or buy their own.
Hesitant residents were encouraged to think of the free eggs they would get by adopting a chicken, with authorities arguing the effort put into raising a chicken would pay off quickly.
The scheme was a success – and is still underway. All 20 municipalities have participated, and to date, 5,282 hens have been distributed to residents. Applications are currently open for the next round of distribution in June 2025.
Avian flu concerns
While reducing emissions from food waste and the prospect of free eggs at a time when the price of this product is skyrocketing makes the scheme seem like a good idea on paper, in reality, there are some concerns. These are mainly related to one of the factors contributing to high costs: bird flu.
One professor at the University of Oxford focusing on food systems, Paul Behrens, warned that bird flu is an ever-present worry. "Current regulations [in the UK] mean you have to keep birds in fenced areas or indoors – this may again be a problem for animal welfare, or even disease spread if people don't do this."
In Belgium, the spread of avian influenza is mainly limited to the north of Flanders. In the past month, the virus has been found on three poultry farms (one in Stekene and two in Sint-Gillis-Waas). Here, there is no general obligation to keep pet poultry (which includes chickens) indoors, but private owners are advised to protect their poultry and birds as much as possible.
"This can be done by housing the animals indoors or by preventively spanning the run to avoid contact with wild birds," the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (AFSCA/FAVV) said.
Meanwhile, Mark Bomford, director of Yale University's sustainable food programme, argued that few people realise any net cost savings on eggs by the time the costs of feed, water, housing, space and free time are factored in.
