Scotland has scrapped the 12‑week rule that used to force free‑range poultry meat to be relabelled during long housing orders. The Free‑Range Poultrymeat Marketing Standards (Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2025 were signed by minister Jim Fairlie on 6 November and took effect on Friday 7 November 2025, according to legislation.gov.uk. The change means ‘free‑range’ can stay on packs for as long as any temporary disease‑control restriction is in place.

Producers on both sides of the Border say the move should steady contracts and pricing when avian influenza hits. “These moves will be welcomed by the sector as they ensure that poultry producers are not left at a competitive disadvantage,” NFU Poultry Board chair James Mottershead said when the policy was confirmed earlier this year. For farms in the Borders and suppliers into Northern supermarkets, that clarity matters.

Technically, ministers have amended Annex V, point (e) - the ‘Free range - total freedom’ section - of Commission Regulation 543/2008. The Scottish instrument inserts the word “temporarily” before “restricting” and deletes the line “but under no circumstances for more than 12 weeks”, so the label can remain for the full duration of an official restriction aimed at public or animal health.

This follows a joint consultation from Defra and the Scottish Government, which logged 14 responses and confirmed the plan to remove the cap across England and Scotland ahead of winter 2025–26. Officials pointed to recent bird‑flu seasons where housing measures outlasted the old time limit, creating costly relabelling and confusion for shoppers.

Holyrood’s Rural Affairs and Islands Committee backed the draft regulations on 24 September before they were made by ministers in November. With the rules now live, Scottish producers can keep free‑range labelling during any temporary housing order, rather than switching to “indoor reared” part‑way through an outbreak.

England is moving in step. Legislation.gov.uk indicates the English instrument has since been made as The Free‑Range Poultrymeat Marketing Standards (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2025 (SI 2025/1029), removing the time limit south of the border too - important for retailers serving the North who buy from both Scottish and English plants.

Eggs set the precedent. Scotland removed the 16‑week limit for free‑range eggs in November 2024, and England followed in January 2025. Aligning poultry meat with egg rules means fewer packaging changes and more consistent claims across breakfast and Sunday‑roast staples alike.

For producers and processors, the immediate jobs are straightforward: keep husbandry records tight, maintain audit trails on outdoor access, and speak to trading standards if a housing order lands this winter. The underlying free‑range standards - stocking densities, age at slaughter and access requirements - remain exactly as set out in the EU‑derived framework.

Shoppers across the North should notice fewer sudden label changes during outbreaks, and fewer surprises at the till. For a supply chain already under pressure from feed, energy and staffing costs, the rule change removes an avoidable wrinkle and keeps trusted “free‑range” branding in place when birds are temporarily kept indoors to protect their health.