New investigation finds ‘higher welfare’ chickens deformed at supermarket supplier farms
A new investigation of six chicken farms, conducted by The Humane League UK, has found chickens with bad burns, acute lameness and deformities linked to overbreeding.
Tim Ridgway
A new investigation of six chicken farms, conducted by The Humane League UK, has found chickens with bad burns, acute lameness and deformities linked to overbreeding.
The Humane League UK has investigated six chicken farms in five different counties, including two farms from each of the major supermarket chicken suppliers - 2 Sisters, Moy Park and Avara Foods.
The welfare problems we discovered are typical of fast-growing chicken breeds, dubbed ‘Frankenchickens’, which we’re asking supermarkets to ban.
Crucially, two Avara Foods farms, in Herefordshire and Gloucestershire, were confirmed to be raising their birds with extra space: 30kg/m² rather than the legal limit of 39kg/m².
Despite this, the harmful effects of overbreeding were significant, with some birds suffering from severe conditions like ascites, an abnormal build-up of fluid inside the chest, as well as leg deformities and lameness.
Most UK supermarkets are selling fast-growing chickens with this added space under brand names like ‘happier and healthier’, ‘room to thrive’ and ‘higher welfare promise’.
A survey of 2,004 people conducted by Research Without Borders found nearly half of those surveyed (46%) incorrectly believed that such supermarket labels for conventional ‘frankenchickens’ represented healthier, slower-growing breeds.
Alex Mayers, Managing Director of The Humane League UK said: “We have always warned that changing the breed of these birds is essential to improving their lives. In our footage, you see birds who can’t stand up, corpses rotting in corners, and the bleary, suffering eyes of thousands of feeling beings. More space is only good when your legs work. Without stopping overbreeding, supermarkets’ “higher welfare” claims are meaningless. There’s no humane way to farm a Frankenchicken.”
Investigations for The Humane League UK also saw poor welfare from overbreeding on farms in Herefordshire, North Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire.
As well as calling on retailers to adopt healthier, more robust breeds, we’re also calling on the UK Government to deepen their support for a transition away from Frankenchickens and introduce mandatory animal welfare labelling on food products.
Alex Mayers said: “The current system is completely broken, and customers are being actively fooled. Supermarkets hide behind labels like Red Tractor, whose basic certification allows Frankenchickens. Labels should be crystal clear and mandatory. Britons deserve to have an informed choice about what kinds of farming they support."
The Humane League UK is campaigning for an end to cruelly-bred Frankenchickens. Add your voice by signing our petition.
