Scotland has removed the 12-week limit on how long free-range poultry meat can keep its label during mandatory housing orders. The Free-Range Poultrymeat Marketing Standards (Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2025 took effect on 7 November, inserting the word “temporarily” before “restricting” and deleting the phrase “under no circumstances for more than 12 weeks” in Annex V(e) of Commission Regulation (EC) 543/2008. In practical terms, free-range status can now continue for the full duration of any disease-control housing measure.

Defra and the Scottish Government trailed this approach in a joint consultation published on 2 April 2025. The outcome made clear the policy aim: avoid forced relabelling to “indoor” once a housing order runs past 12 weeks, and let producers market meat as free-range for as long as government restrictions remain in place to protect animal or public health.

For producers and processors, the shift protects the free-range premium and strips out packaging changeovers that previously kicked in mid-order. Ministers told Parliament that the old rule created direct costs from relabelling and indirect losses from downgrading product that still incurred higher free-range rearing costs while birds were indoors on veterinary advice.

Retailers get cleaner execution too. With the rule now live for Scotland ahead of the high-risk winter period, grocers can keep shelf-edge and pack claims consistent, rather than cycling between free-range and indoor labels during lengthy housing orders. The consultation outcome also signals an expectation that industry communicates clearly with customers if housing measures are extended.

The biggest operational impact is on longer-cycle birds. As set out in Lords debates, broiler chickens are typically processed before 12 weeks, so the change matters most for turkeys, ducks and geese-categories where extended housing windows previously threatened label downgrades near peak demand.

The underlying production standards are unchanged. Under normal conditions, free-range birds must have continuous daytime access to open-air runs; what has shifted is the time limit on keeping the claim when access is temporarily removed by a government order. England has already moved in the same direction via its own statutory instrument.

Market alignment across the UK is tightening. Wales laid draft regulations on 30 September 2025 to remove the 12-week cap, while UK ministers have noted similar changes progressing in the EU-with Northern Ireland expected to mirror EU rules under the Windsor Framework once adopted. That reduces frictions for GB–NI movements and helps retailers run a single labelling policy.

The day-to-day commercial read-through is straightforward: fewer emergency artwork changes, steadier pricing architecture for premium lines, and lower risk of contract triggers tied to optional indication claims. For free-range suppliers, especially Scottish turkey, duck and goose producers heading into the festive window, revenue planning becomes less hostage to disease-control timelines.

Recent seasons showed why the cap was brittle. Government records note housing measures during avian influenza outbreaks in 2022 and 2023 that ran beyond 12 weeks in parts of Great Britain. With the cap gone, labels can stay consistent for the entire order, while regulators retain the ability to impose housing where needed to manage disease risk.