Lion Training Passport: BFREPA reviews progress

Published on : 15 Jul 2026

The Lion Training Passport was reviewed at BFREPA's June board meeting, with an update on how the scheme is being taken up, where non-compliances are arising, the value it brings to producers, and the training that should be in hand before the housing season.

The passport is administered by Poultec, who are one of the three partners in the project with Lantra and the BEIC. There are currently 4,591 members registered, and 14,669 courses have been delivered since the scheme began five years ago. The true number of people working on laying and rearing farms is not known — the intelligence is not yet there to pin it down — but the registered figure is thought to be close to the mark.

On compliance, LTP non-conformances are categorised as minor, with visits assessed against a veterinarian prescribed biosecurity protocol. First aid remains a significant source of non-compliance, and the board discussed the situation with single-staff rearing farms. While one person cannot easily administer first aid to themselves, this training is for the benefit of others, whereby such farms will have visits from, for example, company representatives, catching gangs, feed, chick and gas delivery drivers, technicians (e.g. electricians), and many others. This qualification will also enhance the ability to administer first aid outside of working hours. Those farms found at audit not to have a qualified first aider will be required, at audit, to show evidence of a booked and paid for course which will be closed off with evidence of attendance. The requirement therefore stands. The number of members with no training at all stood at just 34 — around three-quarters of one percent — which is regarded as a strong result and a sign that the scheme is working. Welfare training is currently under review, which may lead to more people being trained and to a higher level in that subject.

The real value of the passport lies in a better-trained workforce. The more staff understand about what is happening in the shed — bird health, welfare and day-to-day management — the better run the unit, and the courses are there to build exactly that knowledge. The passport also gives producers a straightforward means of meeting the Lion Code's training requirements and of demonstrating that their people are competent. Not every provider offers the same depth of course — five or six are listed on the passport website — and while some do no more than meet the minimum, the aim is for providers to offer staff more than a box-ticking exercise, so that the training delivers genuine benefit on the farm rather than simply satisfying an audit.

The most timely message concerned biosecurity training ahead of the housing season. A worked example of the biosecurity course criteria was shown, alongside an explanation of the Defra-funded vet visits now available. Site managers should ideally be trained before October, ahead of the AI season, and producers were advised that applying early for a vet visit may save a separate flock health-and-welfare review visit later. That message sits alongside the wider push on the poultry biosecurity review (PVR), where members are being urged to sign up while the Defra-funded visits are on offer.