Open Cages Activists protesting against chicken abuse.
A chicken unable to stand on a Tesco farm.

Open Cages are demanding Tesco to take action for chickens in their production chain. Two months into our #StandWithChickens campaign, we have gathered almost 5,000 petition signatures and talked face-to-face with hundreds of Tesco customers around the country. Our brave activists even made it to Evening Times with their demonstration in Glasgow!

As Tesco is the largest UK grocer with huge influence on the market, we’re asking them to sign the European Chicken Commitment, a policy that would introduce major improvements to broilers in their production chain. But why are these improvements so important? Why are we doing this?

Here is a striking fact: in modern intensive farms, many chickens can’t even survive the six weeks that they’re supposed to spend there. They grow so quickly that it is common for them to be unable to stand and so, starve, if not suffering heart attacks from their huge bodies. Carcasses are expected on intensive chicken farms.

But surely it’s unacceptable to grow chickens in conditions so bad that many of them literally can’t stay alive?

 

We think so too, but Tesco doesn’t seem to agree. On intensive farms, one bird has no more than the size of an A4 paper of space, with practically no possibility for exhibiting natural behaviour. Due to decades of selective breeding, the poor animals grow at an unnaturally fast rate. The conditions and the rapid growth rate lead to health problems like organ failure, ascites and ammonia burns.

On top of facilitating extreme cruelty, these practices mean that Tesco is wasting valuable resources. Tesco CEO Dave Lewis has given noble speeches calling the food industry to take action on food waste – so what will he think of millions of chickens lives being wasted every day on intensive farms?

Getting Tesco on board with the European Chicken Commitment would spare a massive amount of animal suffering. This is why we urge Tesco to Stand With Chickens with us.

Please help us by taking action now:

  1. Email Tesco CEO Dave Lewis at [email protected] and ask why Tesco hasn’t signed the European Chicken Commitment. Be uncompromising but polite.
  2. If you haven’t already, sign our petition demanding Tesco to take action.
  3. Make a donation to keep our campaign for the chickens running. Every pound matters!