Compared to farming cows for meat and dairy, poultry farming can seem like a better choice, at least from an environmental point of view. But the reality is that all factory farms are polluters of water, land, and air, not to mention rife with significant animal welfare issues.

What is poultry farming?

Poultry farms raise birds: chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, and others. As with other types of animals, the farming industry's marketing would have you believe that these birds live free range, over miles of rolling pastures, resulting in plump, happy birds.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for the vast majority of farmed birds. Instead, many are jammed into cages with barely enough space to stand, while others are force-fed in the name of gastronomic delicacies.

What types of poultry are farmed?

Any type of bird raised on a farm is considered poultry. Some of the most commonly raised are chickens (both for meat and eggs), along with ducks, geese, turkeys, and quail.

Chickens

Chicken farms are the most common type of poultry farm with millions of chickens being farmed in the UK and around the world at any one time.

Broiler chickens (those raised for meat) are sometimes described as “Frankenchickens” because they grow so quickly, genetically selected over decades to maximise productivity. This swift growth rate leads to painful health conditions of their heart, legs, and bones.

Turkeys

Turkeys raised on factory farms suffer from similar overcrowded conditions as chickens. Turkeys have their beaks trimmed, and develop numerous other painful conditions.

Ducks

Ducks are mainly farmed for eggs and meat. Their welfare suffers terribly on factory farms, primarily due to a lack of meaningful access to water. Being able to access water is important for making ducks feel safe, and for allowing them to carry out the cleaning which is very important to their wellbeing. Ducks and geese are also raised to produce foie gras, a food considered one of the cruelest currently available.

Foie gras translates to “fat liver” as it is made from the excessively fatty liver of ducks or geese. To fatten their livers, ducks and geese are force fed several times a day. Tubes are forced down their throats which can cause damage and injury. Additionally, the birds are kept confined in small cages to prevent them from moving and burning calories. These conditions also prevent them from engaging in natural behaviours.

While the production of foie gras by force feeding is illegal in the UK, the import of this horrific product is still allowed.

Geese

Have you ever wondered where the down in coats, pillows, and blankets come from? While much of it comes from broiler chickens, higher quality down comes from geese or ducks; in particular the soft feathers grow as an undercoat, called 'down'.

Some down is plucked while birds are alive; this is also known as “live-plucking”. The more times a bird is plucked the finer their down becomes, so they can endure being plucked several times before being slaughtered.

While live-plucking is illegal in the UK, imports from live-plucked birds are still allowed. A lack of clear labeling makes it hard for consumers to determine which products do and do not come from live-plucked birds.

Quails

Quail are farmed for both meat and eggs. Most are farmed in battery cage systems, where these delicate bird are overcrowded in filthy conditions. Quails are reared in mixed-sex housing and this results in the females often developing wounds and feather loss of their backs because they are unable to escape the pursuit of males trying to mate. Because they are so small, huge numbers must be farmed to meet demand with over 140 million reared annually in the EU. In the UK quail are typically farmed in small sheds or aviary systems. Free-range farming is not economically viable because they are so susceptible to predators in such systems. Guinea fowl and squabs (a type of young pigeon) are raised in much smaller numbers than other types of poultry. While guinea fowl are slaughtered between 14 and 16 weeks, squabs are killed after only 28 days.

What are the issues with poultry farming?

Poultry farms are fraught with problems, especially on factory farms where the vast majority of farmed birds spend their lives.

Animal welfare

Animal welfare is a major concern on poultry farms. Not only are the birds’ lives cut short, but while they are alive they endure horrific conditions and painful health issues.

Due to stress caused by a lack of enrichment (things that allow them to do what is natural to them like pecking and scratching for food) and overcrowding, birds on factory farms can peck at each other, causing injury. Instead of resolving the issues by improving welfare, the industry often trims the birds' sensitive beaks causing pain and often decreasing what a bird will eat.

Birds such as chickens and turkeys are also bred to grow rapidly, causing health issues leading to increased suffering.

Food safety

Poultry is one of the major culprits for food-borne illnesses including salmonella and E. coli. Both bacterias are found in animal feces, and cause food poisoning, which can in some cases lead to death.

Antibiotic resistance

Poultry farms are perfect breeding grounds for bacteria and, as such, antibiotics are significantly overused. This in turn encourages bacteria to mutate against the antibiotics being used, becoming antibiotic-resistant.

When analysed, an alarming 71% of chicken products from Germany’s Lidl grocery brand contained antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Economic issues

It's no secret that agriculture receives a lot of government funding. The government awarded farmers £42 million of taxpayers’ money in compensation as part of the ongoing bird-flu crisis which is responsible for the death of around 300 million birds globally.

Disease outbreaks

Poultry farms, especially chicken farms, have recently come under scrutiny as the likely source of the next global pandemic.

Millions of birds in countries around the world have already been wiped out due to bird flu and it is now considered an existential threat to biodiversity. While currently the risk of the disease spreading to humans is low, there have been some cases of bird flu spreading to people.

Poultry farms are of particular concern as they provide the perfect environment for the disease to mutate and spread, not only among the birds but potentially to the farm staff - and then the greater community.

Predators

Poultry do have numerous predators, including cats and foxes. However, due to over-breeding in order to maximise productivity, the oversized birds are typically rendered defenseless. This inability to avoid predators on their own is often leveraged by producers as a justification for extreme confinement.

Does chicken farming affect the environment?

Though often touted as an environmentally friendly choice, chicken production does use a lot of water and impact the surrounding environment.

Does chicken production use a lot of water?

Yes, producing a single kilogram of chicken requires 4325 litres of water, far more than is required to produce most plant-based proteins.

Do chickens need a lot of food to grow?

Not compared to other animals, which is part of the problem. A major focus of companies such as Cobb-Vantress and Aviagen, huge broiler breeders, is to minimise feed intake while maximising growth rate. Or, to use their words, hit growth rates that achieve "cost-efficient performance."

Does poultry farming contaminate local water sources?

Factory farms are severely damaging to the environment, and poultry farms are not an exception. All animals produce waste - tons of it - and that waste can escape and pollute local waterways. Poultry waste is commonly used as fertiliser, however because factory poultry farms produce so much waste it’s often overapplied, running off of fields when it rains and causing land and water pollution. The spreading of manure has also been linked to antibiotic resistant bacteria being found in the soil where crops for human consumption are grown, and in our waterways.

Once teeming with salmon, the River Wye’s waters have fallen victim to the waste of the millions of chickens near its shore. The phosphorus from their feces has seeped into the water and destroyed its biodiversity.

How does the chicken industry claim to limit energy use?

One way is by swapping out traditional lights for eco-friendlier LEDs. Unfortunately, regardless of the type, lights are still being used to manipulate the natural growth cycle of the birds.

Egg laying hens are sensitive to how long the days are, so by keeping the lights on for most of the day throughout the year, hens consistently lay a large number of eggs without the break they would naturally receive during the winter. The increase in eggs laid on factory farms compared to naturally causes hens numerous health conditions.

How much do chicken farms contribute to greenhouse gas emissions?

Eating just one 100 gram serving of chicken is equivalent to driving a car 9.3 kms.

How do animal welfare regulations work?

The Government provides chicken, geese, ducks, and other poultry birds only minimum protections.

For example, while traditional battery cages are outlawed, so-called enriched cages, which provide only marginally more space and welfare, are still prolific on chicken egg farms. And while there are some types of welfare certifications that require higher standards than are required by law, they’re not all created equal; sometimes even the farms awarded the most stringent certifications fall short.

What can I do to help?

To ensure you're not supporting an industry that causes so much suffering to animals, simply swap products derived from animals for those that aren’t. You could switch your morning eggs for a delicious tofu scramble or opt for blankets made from natural or recycled fibres rather than down-filled.

To make even more impact, you can support our campaigns. The Humane League UK is working hard to relieve some of the worst suffering experienced by animals on factory farms. Join us as we push toward our vision of ending the abuse of animals raised for food.