Labour is using its first animal welfare policy since entering government to dilute standards by legalising the harmful practice of carrying chickens by their legs, charities have said.
European transport regulation 1/2005, which still applies in the UK, prohibits lifting chickens by their legs on farms and during loading and unloading, but the government is going to change the law to permit the widespread but illegal method, according to the Animal Law Foundation.
This comes despite the animal welfare committee of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) having previously said that it caused distress and injuries such as fractures and dislocations.
Edie Bowles, the executive director at the Animal Law Foundation, said: “It is shocking that the Labour government has chosen a dilution of welfare protections as its first animal welfare policy. It is especially surprising given it is the first dilution of an EU animal welfare protection since Brexit.
“The British people do not want this. They want animal welfare standards high and enforced. The decision to legalise the inhumane handling of chickens in the UK is a stark reminder of the lack of care for animal welfare at the highest level.”
During and after the Brexit campaign, leaving the European Union was repeatedly framed as an opportunity to strengthen the UK’s animal welfare standards. During the general election campaign, the environment secretary (then shadow), Steve Reed, said: “The Conservatives are on the side of animal cruelty. Labour will end it.”
Despite the EU regulations, the government had until recently argued that it was not illegal to handle chickens by the legs and Defra’s codes of practice explicitly permitted “leg-catching”.
However, the Animal Law Foundation threatened Defra with legal action, prompting the government to concede that carrying chickens by their legs was currently prohibited. At the same time it informed the charity that it would be changing the law so that it was no longer forbidden.
Kipster, a Dutch poultry farm that produces carbon-neutral eggs, has calculated that the additional cost of handling chickens upright is €0.0004 (£0.0003) per egg.
Sean Gifford, the executive director of the Humane League, said: “Chickens are thinking, feeling animals. Some are shy, some are playful, and they all want to live their lives free from harm. Grabbing them by their legs, which are often already sensitive and painful due to being bred to grow so quickly to maximise profit, then carrying them upside down, causes intense suffering.
“This outrageous decision by the government will ensure that millions of animals continue to needlessly suffer and is completely at odds with Labour’s pledge to introduce the biggest boost in animal welfare for a generation.”
The Humane League will be at the court of appeal on Tuesday to challenge the government for allowing fast-growing broiler chickens, known as “Frankenchickens”, which suffer a wide range of health problems. The high court rejected the initial challenge last year.
Defra declined to comment.