02 January 2008, 17:50 PM
  • The RSPCA is challenging retailers to sell only higher welfare chicken by 2010 in a new campaign starting today.

Full-page adverts are appearing in several national newspapers containing an open letter to retailers asking them to consider the quality of the meat they source. Additionally, a new website has been created with a petition calling on shops to stock only higher welfare chicken. People are also being urged to make it a New Year’s resolution to only buy these products.

Dr Marc Cooper, RSPCA farm animal scientist, says, “If people knew how the average chicken was treated before it ended up as their Sunday roast, they would probably be disgusted. Currently, some supermarkets are selling chicken meat for as little as £2 per kilo - this can be less than it costs to produce the bird. Selling chicken so cheaply doesn’t provide farmers with enough money to enable or encourage them to rear their birds to standards the RSPCA finds acceptable.

“Everyone has a responsibility to ensure chickens are reared to high standards - the retailer, shopper and farmer. We are asking supermarkets to stop selling standard chicken and shoppers to stop buying it. Chicken labelled Freedom Food, free-range or organic is a better welfare alternative. We are asking shoppers to demonstrate to supermarkets that there is a demand for higher welfare chicken by signing our petition and by showing they are willing to pay a little bit more money for a bird that has had a better life.”

This initiative comes as two new Channel 4 programmes featuring Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingtall will focus on chicken farming.