Animal welfare group Compassion In World Farming (CIWF) has withdrawn its Good Chicken award from British supermarket chain The Co-operative, in response to its decision to allow higher stocking rates in some fresh poultry lines.
In 2010, the Co-op won the award in recognition of the fact that it had committed to only stock chicken reared at up to 30kg/sq m of live birds, compared to Red Tractor's maximum 37kg/sq m.
The Co-operative this month confirmed that they increased the stocking density for its indoor chickens from 30kg/sq m (the maximum permitted to be eligible for a Good Chicken Award) to 34kg/ sq m, which is still below the UK “standard” maximum of 38kg/sq m.
Dr Tracey Jones, Compassion’s Director of Food Business, says, “The Co-op has traditionally been a leader in higher animal welfare but in this case we’re left with no choice but to withdraw its Good Chicken Award. We cannot ignore that the company is now reneging on the promises it made in 2010.”
“Approximately 900 million chickens are reared for meat in the UK each year and a staggering 86 million are wasted – that’s almost 10%. It’s crazy then to think we cannot afford to provide them with a little more space and give them a little more freedom of movement to benefit their short lives," said Tracey.
“The move is said to be for economic reasons, meaning animal welfare is seemingly being sacrificed to pay for the organisation’s poor business performance,” a CIWF statement read.
© 2014 - European Supermarket Magazine by Enda Dowling
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