Court judgment could result in seismic change for billions of meat chickens 

A Court of Appeal judgment could have critical implications for the future of fast-growing chickens and lead to seismic change for billions of animals. 

Ruling today (13 December), the court delivered its judgment in an appeal case against Defra, brought by The Humane League UK, and supported by vital scientific evidence from the RSPCA demonstrating the suffering of fast-growing breeds of chickens.

Although the appeal was dismissed on technical grounds, the judgment clearly stated that it is unlawful to farm animals who suffer because of their genes. While the court declined to rule on whether ‘frankenchickens’ are unlawful, the clarification has wide-reaching implications for the legality of 95% of all chickens used in the UK today. 

Emma Slawinski, Director of Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns at the RSPCA, said:

“We are delighted to hear that the court judgment has overturned the Judge’s approach in last year’s Judicial Review and agrees with the RSPCA that the law states it is illegal to farm animals who are bred to suffer. We believe that for the first time, we have clarity that the keeping of fast-growing chickens is very likely to be unlawful where they suffer from significant health and welfare problems - which the weight of evidence clearly shows they do. 

“This is a significant and vital step in improving the lives of meat chickens who currently live short, brutal lives, who can often struggle to stand, suffer from heart defects, and even sudden death, and should lead to a seismic change for billions of meat chickens. 

“As interveners in this case, we wish to applaud The Humane League UK for taking forward this landmark Judicial Review, which was underpinned and made possible by the RSPCA’s publication of a seminal report examining the welfare of fast growing breeds: Eat. Sit. Suffer. Repeat: The life of a typical meat chicken report.”
 
The judgment by Lord Justice Underhill, Vice President of the Court of Appeal Civil Division, Lord Justice Males and Lord Justice Snowden brought welcome clarity on the law concerning the keeping of fast-growing breeds of meat chickens. Essentially, it agrees with the view of the RSPCA, that fast-growing chickens can only be kept if there is ‘no detriment’ to their health and welfare - no matter how profitable or convenient a breed might be for a farmer. It also states that keepers must take steps to inform themselves about how breeding impacts welfare and specifies that improved productivity is not a defence against causing suffering. 

The evidence clearly shows that the most commonly used fast-growing meat chickens can struggle to stand and walk, develop painful lesions on their legs, suffer from heart defects and even experience sudden death - in unacceptable numbers. They can also struggle to carry out natural behaviours that are important to them, such as foraging and perching. These chickens account for around 95% of the chickens on supermarket shelves. The birds are bred to grow very quickly - to produce the most amount of meat in the shortest possible time - and this rate of growth would be equivalent to a human child reaching 28 stone by three years of age. 

Although the appeal case was dismissed, the judgment has supported the RSPCA and The Humane League UK’s arguments - stating for the first time - that farm animals who suffer due to their genes would most likely be unlawful under Paragraph 29 of the Welfare of Farmed Animals Regulations (England) 2007. This section of the legislation states that an animal ‘may only be kept for farming purposes if it can be reasonably expected, on the basis of their genotype or phenotype, that they can be kept without detrimental effect on their health and welfare.’ 

Emma added: “As well as our own report, which was the catalyst to bring about this case, there is also a large and ever-growing body of corroborative evidence which shows that a significant proportion of fast-growing chickens suffer, often for prolonged periods, as a result of their breed.

“The court was clear that the issue of how this judgment may be applied in practice remains unresolved and the judges did not take a definitive opinion on the science presented to them, however, we believe action needs to be taken to improve the welfare of these sentient animals. In light of today’s ruling, the question remains whether Defra will leave this to individual farmers or local magistrates’, or whether the UK Government will show leadership on this profoundly important issue and rightfully protect the welfare of these animals that are reared in their millions every year.”

Sean Gifford, Managing Director of The Humane League UK, said: “This historic ruling exposes the UK Government’s failure to address the biggest animal welfare crisis of our time. Over one billion thinking, and feeling chickens are leading lives of misery because of their fast-growing genes, and the court has ruled that this type of suffering should be prohibited by law. We call on Defra to now work with farmers to end the use of Frankenchickens.”

For more information on the RSPCA’s chicken welfare work, visit: https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/farm/meatchickens

To support the charity’s Better Chicken Commitment campaign - which calls for better standards for meat chickens including moving to slower-growing breeds - visit: https://www.rspca.org.uk/getinvolved/campaign/betterchicken