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At a time that the Government finally decided that battery cages for laying hens should be outlawed by 2012, celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall fronted a series of hard-hitting programmes about the unacceptable conditions in intensive chicken broiler units, campaigning to improve the living conditions of meat birds as well.

In his "Chicken Out" campaign, Hugh wants to replace the cheap chickens sold by supermarkets at less than a price of a pint of beer for ethically-reared free-range chicken but he is also trying to persuade consumers to reject the cheap "2 chickens for £5" and vote with their pocket for the more environmentally-friendly reared free-range birds.

To highlight the different ways in which broiler poultry are reared an "experiment" was carried out by buying 4,000 day-old commercial chicks and rearing half in an intensive unit and the other half in an environmentally-enriched free-range unit, with access to fresh air, grass and sunshine.

Although an experienced poultry stockman was helping to look after both units, no-one could fail to be astounded at the difference in the birds' welfare and behaviour between the two systems. It was also noticeable that a hardened chef, used to killing and gutting many different species during his work, found the culling of lame and underperforming birds found on the daily inspection of the intensive unit extremely difficult to handle.

The broilers are bred to put on weight rapidly and each passing day showed a noticeable increased growth rate. This is assisted by having artificial lighting for around 23 hours a day, with little to do but eat, drink and defecate. There is dimmed lighting in the shed because too much light would bring about bullying and even death with so many birds in such a confined space. After 39 days the birds are slaughtered and sold on supermarket shelves very cheaply, as Standard chicken.

The free-range birds on the experiment obviously enjoy a fulfilled life but were more at risk of disease and take 56 days to reach their slaughter target. The extra seventeen days to keep these birds, therefore, incurs extra cost, however, this is offset by the birds having a better quality of life during their short lifespan and producing more flavoursome meat.

Hugh is not alone in his mission. Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay are also backing the campaign to buy free-range poultry. Whether it is a success or not does not lie totally with the supermarkets. If consumers care sufficiently about how the birds are reared and are willing to buy free-range birds then the demand for the standard chicken would drop, supermarkets then commission less number and in order to survive producers would have little option than to adapt to free-range.

Producers are defending the industry. NFU poultry board chairman Charles Bourns says, "Low prices are a problem for poultry farmers now but they are not a problem for the chickens. Their welfare is safeguarded by legal requirements, industry standards and the stockmanship of poultry producers which will be the same regardless of the price of eggs or chicken. The irony of this situation is that there is a very real danger that, in their well-intentioned attempts to encourage consumers to trade up to higher welfare chickens, the celebrity chefs will end up compounding the economic problems of the industry. If fewer British chickens are produced, this will suck in imports from competitor countries where welfare standards are lower. The net effect would therefore be to damage chicken welfare overall."

Farm animal welfare organisations though are backing the chefs' efforts. Both Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) and the RSPCA are not only supporting the Chicken Out campaign but also exposing the poor conditions of intensively reared broiler birds themselves. A recent investigation by CIWF found that this type of production has inherent animal welfare issues. Because of the specialist breeding to produce maximum meat yield the birds are more prone to lameness, sudden death syndrome and respiratory disorders than free-range poultry.

According to a new survey commissioned by the RSPCA-monitored Freedom Food, 91 per cent of Britons admit they know little or nothing about chicken farming. The survey also revealed that 85 per cent of people don't realise that most indoor-reared chickens we eat are actually allocated less space than an A4 piece of paper per bird, a point graphically made in Hugh's programmes.

What do you think? Comment below.

10:37am Friday 18th January 2008

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