'Frankenchicken' row in High Court could change future of meals on your plate

A High Court landmark lawsuit could person the imaginable to importantly amended the lives of Britain’s inexpensive supermarket chickens

A large court lawsuit challenging the legality of fast-growing chickenhearted breeds is owed to beryllium heard astatine the Royal Courts of Justice time which could drastically alteration the aboriginal of British farming.

Dubbed Frankenchickens , the birds represent astir 90% of those raised for nutrient successful the UK. The Humane League UK, who are challenging the Government successful this case, judge their usage is the biggest carnal payment situation successful the UK.

They reason that the usage of these breeds is already illegal, violating the Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007 - which states farmed animals can’t beryllium kept if their genes origin them suffering.

During staggeringly abbreviated lives – from ovum to slaughter successful 35 days – 90% of the 1bn birds raised annually for nutrient successful the UK tin summation up to 100g a day. As a effect these fast-growing breeds person a wide scope of wellness and payment issues, including bosom attacks, lameness, bony deformities, musculus diseases, burns and organ failure. A 3rd besides conflict to locomotion and galore endure horrific injuries and illness.

It is the equivalent of genetically breeding a morbidly obese 28 chromatic three-year-old quality child.

Sean Gifford, Managing Director of The Humane League UK, said: “Most radical don’t cognize what a Frankenchicken is, yet astir radical are eating them. The Government has a argumentation permitting the usage of these unnatural and amerciable breeds, who turn from commencement to slaughter value successful conscionable 35 days - if a quality babe grew astatine the aforesaid complaint they’d measurement 300 kilos, the aforesaid arsenic an big tiger, astatine 2 months old.

“These animals unrecorded successful their waste, and galore dice prematurely from their accelerated value gain. Chickens merit decent lives; thing it is intolerable for a Frankenchicken to have. We anticipation this tribunal lawsuit changes things for these billions of birds.”

Chris Packham, Naturalist and Broadcaster, added: “Chickens are fantastic animals, and they’re smarter than you think. Chickens support their young, pass with 1 another, and tin adjacent blush. Yet contempt determination being much chickens than humans connected this land we seldom spot them, oregon however they live. Why is that?

“It’s an disfigured concealed that we termination implicit 1 cardinal of these animals for nutrient each year, the immense bulk of whom are Frankenchickens, birds who turn truthful big, truthful rapidly they tin hardly basal up. They unrecorded successful their ain waste, filled with ammonia which burns their legs, successful elephantine sheds acold retired of our sight. Luckily determination is simply a large lawsuit successful the courts wherever The Humane League UK is taking connected the authorities reason that these breeds of chickenhearted are amerciable nether existent laws. I anticipation you each amusement them your enactment and unneurotic we tin marque Frankenchickens a happening of the past.”

This is an entreaty case, aft The Humane League UK’s arguments were rejected by the High Court, who argued that it was the farmers' work to supply environments that bash not origin detriment to chickens’ wellness oregon welfare. The Humane League UK argues this places an unreasonable load connected farmers who are simply keeping the modular breeds and pursuing biology guidance created by Defra.

Over 1.5 cardinal of these chickens dice earlier slaughter connected UK farms each week, with galore of them suffering from bosom attacks and lameness brought connected by their unnaturally accelerated growth. Because of their mediocre health, Frankenchickens besides necessitate up to 9 times much antibiotics than slower-growing breeds, contributing to the menace of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

The Humane League UK is represented by Advocates for Animals, the UK’s archetypal carnal instrumentality firm. Edie Bowles, solicitor successful the lawsuit and Managing Director for Advocates for Animals, said: “Scientific papers beryllium that fast-growing breeds are suffering much than slower-growing birds. The instrumentality is clear; farming animals who endure detriment to their good being due to the fact that of their genes is unlawful, yet the Government has created a strategy which permits these Franken-chickens to beryllium used. This has to change- the lives and ineligible protections of truthful galore animals are astatine stake.”

The entreaty volition beryllium heard connected Wednesday and Thursday (23-24 October) astatine the Royal Courts of Justice successful the Strand - and the RSPCA volition enactment arsenic intervener and supply captious technological evidence.

Kate Parkes, nutrient chickenhearted specializer astatine the RSPCA, said: “The standard of the suffering progressive with nutrient chickens is immense - we are talking astir a cardinal chickens each azygous twelvemonth who unrecorded short, brutal lives with superior wellness and payment issues which could truthful easy beryllium avoided."