‘Frankenchicken meat being sold at Morrisons stores’
FIRM SAYS IT ‘CARES DEEPLY’ ABOUT WELFARE
PROTESTERS in Derbyshire have joined forces with other groups around the country in accusing supermarket giant Morrisons of selling meat from what animalrights activists call “Frankenchickens”.
They claim that the supermarket is selling meat from birds that have been genetically engineered to grow 400 per cent faster than natural chickens.
In Derbyshire, a protest was held outside the Morrisons store in Chapel-en-le-Frith. Campaigners were demanding the removal of the birds in question from Morrisons’ shelves.
Morrisons told the Derby Telegraph that it cares deeply about animal welfare and does not tolerate malpractice in its supply chain.
As well as the Derbyshire protest, animal activists held rallies at sites in Hull, London, Glasgow and Morrisons’ headquarters in Bradford.
Morrisons has launched a small range of chicken reared to higher welfare standards, but the campaigners say that is nothing more than a “cheap” gesture as the retailer continues to stock the vast majority of its chicken from what they call “Frankenchickens”.
Connor Jackson, chief executive officer of protest group Open Cages said: “Don’t be fooled by the cheap gestures and PR spin.
“For years now, Morrisons has sat on their hands and done the absolute minimum possible to improve chicken welfare, whilst peddling out feelgood marketing campaigns and wearing only the costume of a company that cares about animals.
“Morrisons say they never tolerate malpractice in their supply chain, but this has nothing to do with malpractice.
“Around 30 per cent of Frankenchickens can barely walk because of painful lameness and deformities.
“Millions of these monstrous birds die from heart attacks because they can’t handle growing 400 per cent faster than natural.
“Millions more have their necks broken to simply put them out of their misery.
“Morrisons tolerates this daily because the scenes we filmed are the norm in their supply chain.
“These are the expected consequences of the poor welfare standards that Morrisons has chosen.”
Following the protest on Saturday, a spokesperson for the supermarket told us: “We care deeply about animal welfare. All our regular chicken is raised to above Red Tractor standards.
“We are also the only retailer in Europe to ask our fresh chicken suppliers to require chicken to be born into the barn in which it will be raised by 2025. Eighty per cent of our fresh chicken meets this standard already.
“We also actively monitor for any malpractice in our supply chain – we will never tolerate it or look the other way, and if we ever find it we will act swiftly and decisively.”
But Mr Jackson said: “Let’s remember what we’re asking for – we simply want Morrisons to follow the hundreds of other companies who have already committed to taking Frankenchickens off the shelves.
“These practices are opposed by the vast majority of the British public, and Morrisons could make this pledge overnight if they spent as much time on their welfare standards as they did playing PR games.”