‘Frankenchicken’ protests hit Lidl with protesters ‘appalled’ by hen welfare
Disturbing photographs of chickens had been seen as clients entered the grocery store, courtesy of passionate protesters advocating for increased animal welfare requirements. These activists urged clients to signal a petition demanding that Lidl decide to the Better Chicken Commitment.
The protest, organised by Bristol supporters of animal charity The Humane League UK, aimed to influence Lidl to affix the ranks of tons of of meals shops, together with KFC, Nando’s, Greggs, and Lidl France, who’ve already pledged to satisfy particular necessities of their hen provide chain.
So, what precisely does the Better Chicken Commitment entail? According to campaigners, it promotes the usage of slower-growing breeds, offers more room, pure gentle, and enrichment for the chickens, adopts much less painful slaughter strategies, and implements third-party auditing. While Lidl GB claims to take animal welfare significantly, they’ve but to enroll in this dedication.
Lidl isn’t the one grocery store going through the wrath of protesters. The demand to finish the period of ‘Frankenchickens’—a time period coined by campaigners to explain fast-growing chickens bred within the factory-farmed meat business—has additionally reached Morrisons in Bristol.
Jack Slater, who was among the many Bristol protesters yesterday, spoke of feeling “appalled” concerning the alleged circumstances of chickens farmed for Lidl, and accused the chain of “profiting from their suffering”.
The librarian and tutorial added: “Lidl is a huge retailer with very, very deep pockets. Improving their animal welfare needs to be an immediate priority.”
In response to The Humane League’s protest, a spokesperson for Lidl GB told Express.co.uk in November: “At Lidl GB, we take the matter of animal welfare extremely seriously and have long been committed to increasing welfare and traceability standards throughout our supply chain.
“All of our chicken complies with nationally recognised third-party standards, including Red Tractor Assured, RSPCA certification and Soil Association Organic, whilst our free-range RSPCA Assured chicken meets and exceeds the requirements of the Better Chicken Commitment.”
Lidl also mentioned that they actively participate in the Red Tractor poultry board and strive to continually improve their animal welfare standards. In 2019, they became the first retailer to introduce production labelling for their fresh poultry range, providing customers with information about the rearing conditions of the animals. This labelling initiative has since been extended to other products as well.
However, it’s worth noting that several Red Tractor-approved farms have faced closure following undercover investigations that exposed instances of animal cruelty that had gone unnoticed by Red Tractor inspectors.
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