Millions of chickens sold in U.K. supermarkets have skin burns from living in their waste, according to a recent BBC investigation. These burns — seen on upward of one-third of birds in some stores — point to animal welfare concerns on British poultry farms.
What's happening?
The BBC recently published an independent investigation on the quality of chicken sold in U.K. supermarkets. The news outlet reported finding skin burns, also called "hock burn," on millions of pieces of poultry sold in chain supermarkets.
Hock burn, according to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, is caused by ammonia in chicken excrement, which results in distinctive brown or black ulcers or "burns" on poultry.
"Hock burn is often associated with a high-stocking density of birds and is a result of prolonged contact to moist, dirty litter," the BBC study reported.
Though chicken with hock burn is safe to eat, the amount of hock burn within a flock is an "industry-accepted indicator of welfare standards on farms," according to the BBC.
To collect data, the BBC asked the 10 biggest UK chain supermarkets to self-report on hock burn presence on their store shelves. The markets contacted were Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Morrisons, Aldi, Co-op, Lidl, Waitrose, Iceland, and Ocado.
Co-op and Aldi reported hock burn on about one-third of their in-store poultry. Sainsbury's and Tesco reported that about one in five chickens on their store shelves displayed hock burn. Waitrose had the lowest reported incidents of hock burn with 2.7% of in-store poultry displaying the condition. Waitrose told the BBC it reduced the presence of hock burn by 80% between 2014 and 2022 by monitoring conditions on farms and training farmers.
Five supermarkets — Asda, Morrisons, Lidl, Iceland, and Ocado — refused to release data to the BBC, presenting a further issue of consumer transparency.
Why is monitoring hock burn on supermarket poultry important?
Seeing hock burn on poultry can indicate poor animal welfare on farms. The U.K. government's code of practice for the welfare of meat chickens says the overall health and welfare of farmed poultry is linked to litter quality, or adequately cleaning a flock's environment.
According to the RSPCA, hock burn is also linked to "inactivity caused by overcrowding, lack of daylight, bare environments, and health problems linked to fast growth rates."
The high rate of hock burn on supermarket chickens highlights the food system's overreliance on poultry factory farming. Research shows that factory farms are linked to planet-warming pollution and massive land and water consumption, as reported by Sentient Media. Unmanaged chicken excrement can also lead to human health impacts, contaminating the air, soil, and water with pesticide residues, pathogens, antibiotics, hormones, metals, and other pollutants.
According to World Animal Protection U.K., the most severe hock burn lesions are often cut off during processing, meaning the actual presence and severity of hock burn is likely underestimated.
What's being done to improve living conditions on U.K. poultry farms?
When presented with the BBC's data, the British Retail Consortium told the news outlet the high prevalence of hock burn in UK supermarkets was being taken "very seriously." But what is specifically being done to address the condition is unknown.
To address the welfare of factory-farmed chickens on an individual level, World Animal Protection U.K. recommends that consumers eat less meat and poultry to help drive down demand. If you want to continue eating poultry, choose high-welfare options and small farm suppliers to shift away from factory farming.
But not everyone sees a problem with the BBC's investigation. The British Poultry Council — which represents suppliers, processors, and farmers — refutes the BBC data, saying its methodology has the potential to "mislead and misinform." The National Farmers' Union of England and Wales also told the BBC that U.K. farmers have "some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world," citing ventilated, dry barns and accessible perches as adequate in preventing hock burn.
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