Holly Spindler
The Government is failing to enforce a crucial law to prevent suffering.
Would you be surprised if you were told that the laws to protect animals in the UK were being ignored by the very institutions that created them? That the legislation animal advocates have fought so hard for, and that the British public are so proud of, wasn’t even being enforced?
Sadly, this is happening right now to the 3.1 million chickens transported to slaughter each day in the UK.
Transport to slaughter is one of the most stressful times in the life of a farmed animal. They are being moved into new environments with unfamiliar noises, sights and smells, and they are likely to come into contact with humans.
For chickens, additional distress comes from the way they are caught.
How are chickens caught and why is it a problem?
Chickens in the UK are most often caught and carried by their legs, upside down. This seems bad enough, but it gets worse. Chickens don’t have a diaphragm like us, so being carried upside down causes their internal organs to crush their lungs.
On top of that, intensively reared chickens have very fragile legs and joints. Depending on what they are being raised for - meat or eggs - they suffer from health conditions from the way they are intensively bred.
The good news and the bad news
The good news is that chickens are protected by law. The legislation states that animals should not be lifted or handled in a way as to cause them unnecessary suffering.
'No person shall lift or drag, or cause or permit to be lifted or dragged, any animal by the head, horns, ears, feet, tail, fleece or any other part of its body in such a way as to cause it unnecessary pain or suffering.'
What’s the alternative?
There is an alternative to this cruel method of catching. Elsewhere in Europe, companies have started to adopt a progressive catching method developed by Dutch animal charity, Eyes On Animals.
The new method is known as the Upright Catching Method, where chickens are caught one-by-one with both hands placed around the body, holding the wings closed. The chickens are carried to and placed in the transport crate while upright.
The Upright Catching Method is common sense. It’s how the public would want and expect animals to be handled, and how anyone with a pet chicken would pick them up.
~ Nicola Glen, UK Inspector for Eyes on Animals.
We hope that those with the power to enforce this law rethink their position. If legislation can just be ignored by the industries responsible for vulnerable lives, where does this stop?
Update February 2024
In February 2024 the Government's Animal Welfare Committee (AWC) recommended that the carrying of chickens by their legs, despite acknowledging it to be a “welfare compromise” that can cause “pain, discomfort and breathing difficulty” leading to distress and injuries such as fractures and dislocations.
“Rather than encouraging farmers to give their chickens the small dignity of responsible handling when they are dragged off to slaughter, the animal welfare committee has suggested legalising cruel leg-holding and slashing important standards which are already ignored. I am frankly appalled. Chickens are sensitive animals who deserve respectful treatment and should not be hauled around like objects.” ~ Cordelia Britton, Head of Programmes
At the time the UK left the EU in 2020, the Goverment promised not to dilute standards and claimed that the UK would use its freedom to improve welfare standards.
However, this is the first open suggestion of removing an EU animal welfare protection.
What’s next?
We are often said to be a nation of animal lovers. We cannot allow our welfare standards to slip further. We'll continue to put pressure on the Government and companies to ensure a better future for the animals we love.
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