Earlier this month (2 November) at the Egg and Poultry Industry Conference, Farming Minister Stephen Morgan reiterated the Government's support for the industry-led Poultry Sector Growth Plan. For the sake of animals and our planet, we are continuing to call on the Government to ensure the Plan does not lead to more chickens or further expansion of industrial chicken production.

A damaging industry

The forthcoming Poultry Sector Growth Plan will shape the future direction of an industry that is already highly damaging. 95% of the chickens farmed for meat in the UK are reared in industrial poultry units. The vast majority are so-called ‘Frankenchickens’, bred to grow so big and so fast they can suffer from serious health impacts, including heart disease, lameness, pain, stress and skin lesions. These fast-growing breeds simply don’t have a life worth living.  

If the Plan leads to further expansion and concentration of intensive chicken production, this could also increase environmental harms, including nutrient pollution from excess manure that can damage rivers and sensitive habitats. Increasing industrial chicken production would be a harmful move that would lock millions of sentient animals in an unsustainable system.

Changing the direction

We have joined with over 20 organisations, including River Action, the RSPCA, Soil Association, The Wildlife Trusts and Nature Friendly Farming Network, to call on the Government to ensure the Poultry Sector Growth Plan does not expand intensive poultry production.

Earlier this year, the coalition sent a letter to the Environment Secretary calling for a Regenerative Poultry Sector Growth Plan. This plan would support profitable farming, while:

improving animal welfare
restoring nature
improving water quality
reducing air pollution
strengthening long-term food security.

Undermining commitments 

The Government has separately committed to improving water and air quality, restoring nature and moving towards more resilient farming. All of which would be undermined by expanding industrial poultry production.

The Farming Roadmap 2050 commits to moving towards more sustainable and resilient farming and embedding higher animal welfare in everyday farming practice. Crucially for chickens, it specifically supports industry moves away from fast-growing breeds. 

As part of its wider programme of water reform, the Government is developing the Clean Water Bill. This creates an important opportunity to tackle agricultural pollution, the leading source of river pollution across the UK.

To achieve these commitments, the Government must support a transition towards a regenerative, high-welfare poultry sector where all chickens are kept in higher-welfare systems.

A crucial test 

Ultimately, poultry farming should not be considered in isolation. The Government must look beyond the growth of individual sectors and consider how the future of chicken farming fits within its wider ambitions for resilient farming, higher animal welfare, nature recovery and a healthier environment.

 Anthony Field, Head of Compassion in World Farming, said: 

The Poultry Sector Growth Plan is a crucial test of the Government's ambitions for the future of farming. The Plan cannot lead to more chickens kept in intensive systems. We need a transition towards better welfare and farming systems that work with, rather than against, nature. 

The Government has already committed to improving farmed animal welfare and supporting moves away from fast-growing chicken breeds. That direction is important: fast-growing chickens can suffer painful lameness, heart problems and other serious health issues because their bodies are pushed to grow too quickly. The Government’s poultry plan must build on its wider commitments and support a regenerative, high-welfare sector that delivers for animals, farmers and the environment.

Explore how free-range chicken farming can be part of a nature-friendly future in our Planton Farm case study.

Government Urged to Rethink Plans for Poultry Sector Growth

Government Urged to Rethink Plans for Poultry Sector Growth 