Marks & Spencer signs up to new poultry welfare campaign
Marks & Spencer (M&S) has become the first retailer to pledge to meet welfare requirements for meat chickens across Europe drawn up by animal protection groups including RSPCA.
According to M&S, under the campaign’s requirements, it has committed to “even more space in barns (a move to 30kg/m2) and to farming a new, higher welfare breed of bird by 2026”.
Marks & Spencer has signed up to new poultry welfare campaign.
In a blog post, head of agriculture and fisheries sourcing, Steve McLean, added: “All other requirements (for example natural daylight, enriched environment, gas stunning and third-party auditing) are already met by Oakham standards.
“But we will go further and work with all our suppliers, not just our Oakham chicken suppliers, to ensure they can meet the ‘ask’ by 2026. This will mean every piece of chicken sold by M&S, be it fresh or as an ingredient, will meet the new standards called for by welfare organisations. We’ll report on progress annually.”
The campaigning organisations across Europe that signed the “European Broiler Ask” have stated that by 2026 they will require their suppliers to meet a number of requirements for 100% of the [fresh, frozen and processed] chicken in their supply chain.
The requirements include compliance with “all EU animal welfare laws and regulations, regardless of the country of production”, along with the implementation of a maximum stocking density of 30kg/ m2 or less; thinning is discouraged and if practiced must be limited to one thin per flock.
In addition, suppliers will be required to meet “improved environmental standards”, including at least 50 lux of light, including natural light, at least two metres of usable perch space, and two pecking substrates, per 1,000 birds, on air quality, at least the requirements of Annex 2.3 of the EU broiler directive, regardless of stocking density and no cages or multi-tier systems.
What’s more, they have to adopt “controlled atmospheric stunning using inert gas or multi-phase systems, or effective electrical stunning without live inversion.
They also have to demonstrate “compliance with the above standards via third-party auditing and annual public reporting on progress towards this commitment”.
Sophie Elwes, farm animal welfare specialist, at the RSPCA, stated: “This move by M&S is a giant leap in the right direction for chickens and consumers, and we commend their decision to kickstart this movement and lead the field.”
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