Zaragoza, 4 June 2025. The Alternative Poultry Farming Association (AviAlter) welcomes the recent amendment to Law 2/2025 on Family and Social Farming in Aragon, considering that it “removes regulatory barriers that disproportionately penalised small poultry farms. It is finally possible to open a holding in your own village without unjustified obstacles,” underlines its president, Carlos Terraz.
AviAlter, the association driving alternative poultry farming in Spain, stresses that the amendment does not lower health or environmental standards; it simply aligns regional regulations with the profile of diversified farms oriented towards alternative systems — such as free-range and organic egg production — that consumers identify with codes 0 and 1.
Terraz sums up the sector’s philosophy:
“Alternative poultry farming does not compete on volume, but on values.”
Among the most significant changes are the repeal of Article 8, which removed the limit of 720 LU (144,000 hens) and the minimum distance of 1 km between holdings. The national framework set out in Royal Decree 637/2021 on the Organisation of Poultry Farms will now apply, which — in AviAlter’s words — “corrects a covert regulatory discrimination” that rendered many family farming projects unviable.
“The new flexibility will allow us to design farms tailored to the needs of alternative poultry farming and to the actual availability of land, without artificial barriers. We are committed to quality, animal welfare and territorial integration, not necessarily to the highest volume,” Terraz insists.
Regarding Article 25, the law will allow Minimum Cultivation Units (MCU) to be set by order, based on agronomic and socio-economic criteria. Likewise, Article 7 prioritises support for young farmers, organic production, differentiated quality production, or production located in areas with natural constraints.
Promotion and direct sales
A few days ago, the AviAlter board of directors held meetings with representatives of PP, PSOE, VOX, CHA and IU in the Cortes of Aragon to present proposals to consolidate “a regulatory framework that guarantees competitive equality; although there is still much to be done,” Terraz notes.
The association calls for:
- Administrative and health requirements proportionate to the size and actual risk of each holding.
- Firm support for short supply chains and direct sales, which are key to the profitability of the models they advocate.
- A public differentiated quality label, with institutional backing, to add value to the product and open new markets.
“We have the C’Alial label practically abandoned, and it could become a powerful promotional tool for small and medium-sized farms,” the president points out.
Finally, Terraz sums up the sector’s philosophy: “Alternative poultry farming does not compete on volume, but on values. This law can be the starting point for Aragon to lead a more humane model, more deeply rooted in the territory and aligned with what the informed consumer demands.”
For more information:
-. AviAlter