Chickens raised for Morrisons have been filmed in “extreme” pain caused by breeding designed to make them unnaturally large.
The chicks, whose meat is sold as “welfare-assured” on the supermarket’s “butcher on Market Street” range, were seen with deformed legs. This means some “frantically flapped their wings before collapsing in pain,” according to investigators for the animal rights group Open Cages, whose work was first reported in the Mirror.
The average broiler chicken — bred for meat, not eggs — has at least doubled in weight since the 1950s to meet spiralling human demand. This makes it harder for them to support their own weight and leads to painful deformities and conditions such as heart disease. Similar treatment was reported by The Times in 2019 when Open Cages investigated companies supplying Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Aldi.
The Morrisons supplier Cranswick rears chickens for its slaughterhouse in Yaxley, near Ipswich. They are killed at about 35 days old to maximise production and profit, and in their final days are typically kept to floor space the size of an A4 sheet of paper.
During filming at four farms in Norfolk and Suffolk investigators saw a bird with an open wound on its chest and wounds crusted with blood covering its back, probably the result of being trampled by other birds.
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Rotting carcasses surrounded by insects were found at several sites, with chickens suffering chemical burns from laying in their own waste.
Campaigners accused Morrisons of hypocrisy over its claims to prioritise animal welfare. The Springwatch presenter and welfare campaigner Chris Packham said the investigation had shown “without any ambiguity” that “extreme suffering is rampant in the supermarket’s chicken supply chain”.
Connor Jackson, head of Open Cages, told the Mirror that the “Franken-chickens” were doomed to misery. “Morrisons cannot sell them, profit off their deformed, weak bodies, and then claim to take animal welfare seriously,” he said.
Packham is campaigning for Morrisons to sign the Better Chicken Commitment, a host of welfare measures including a pledge to stop selling fast-growing chickens in fresh produce. Marks & Spencer is due to do so by next autumn; Waitrose and KFC are among those signed up to follow suit by 2026.
Packham said: “These poor animals are forced to endure pain, deformities, heart attacks and filthy, overcrowded conditions. It keeps going on and on.
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“Morrisons’ marketing is contrived to put us at ease, to generate ideas of quality food, of friendly local farmers and to trust their claims of high welfare standards. But the ugly truth of Market Street is undeniable. Yet, Morrisons continues to ignore, deny and delay whilst companies like M&S have taken swift and decisive action.”
Cranswick said: “We take the welfare of chickens at our farms very seriously and it is always our first priority. We are conducting an urgent and thorough investigation.”
A Morrisons spokeswoman said: “We care deeply about animal welfare and require all our suppliers to maintain the highest standards. We have asked Cranswick to conduct a full investigation and report back to us.”
