Don’t buy cheap factory-farmed chicken, RSPCA tells shoppers

The RSPCA is launching a campaign calling on all retailers to stop selling factory-farmed birds that are raised in cramped and poorly-lit conditions.

The charity has said that it would like supermarkets to replace standard chicken, which has sometimes been sold at £2/kg, with free-range and organic varieties. It is asking shoppers to pay slightly more for their poultry meat to ensure that it has been bred in humane conditions.

Dr Marc Cooper, animal scientist for the RSPCA, said: “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/kg – this can be less than it costs to produce the bird.”

The RSPCA’s campaign coincides with the launch of Chicken Run, a Channel 4 series to be broadcast from 8 January and presented by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, where the celebrity chef tries to persuade residents of Axminster, Devon, to boycott cheap chicken.