The government has confirmed it will change the law to legalise the carrying of chickens by their legs.
The “shocking” decision represents the first dilution of animal welfare practices since Brexit, according to critical animal rights campaigners.
The widespread, but currently illegal and harmful, practice is forbidden under European Transport Regulation 1/2005, which still applies in the UK, according to the Animal Law Foundation. The law states it is forbidden to lift chickens by their legs on farms and during loading and unloading, it claimed.
The UK government had previously argued it was not illegal to handle chickens by the legs and stated this in its codes of practice, which the Animal Law Foundation threatened legal action over.
However, the government has now conceded the widespread practice is currently illegal. In response to a pre-action protocol letter sent by the campaign group, the government has said it will take steps to amend Regulation 1/2005 to permit the carrying of chickens by their legs under the law.
This change in law would be the Labour government’s first known policy around the treatment of animals and the first dilution of EU animal welfare protections post Brexit, it aclaimed.
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The animal rights charity said Brexit had repeatedly been framed as “an opportunity to strengthen the UK’s animal welfare standards” and this legal change is breaking a promise to the people.
“The British people do not want this, they want animal welfare standards high and enforced,” said Edie Bowles, executive director at the Animal Law Foundation. “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.”
Handling chickens by the legs causes significant pain and distress, and injuries like fractures and dislocations, the campaign group said.
Additionally, when chickens are inverted, they can suffocate as their internal organs begin to crush their lungs, which are not protected by a diaphragm.
“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,” said Sean Gifford, executive director at The Humane League. “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.”
This comes as animal campaign group Animal Equality has penned an open letter to Defra, signed by veterinarians, calling for greater protections for farmed animals to be enshrined in law. The government had anounced it was aiming to introduce the “most ambitious programme for animal care and protection in a generation” but the group said it could go further.
“Chickens raised for slaughter endure unimaginable suffering during their brief, agonising lives,” said Abigail Penny, executive director of Animal Equality UK. ”Millions struggle to stand, while others endure painful chemical burns from floors soaked in urine and ammonia.
Instead of addressing these cruel conditions, the Government risks exacerbating the situation by adding further abuses like this to the list. Labour leaders have repeatedly touted the party’s ambitious plans to protect animals – now is the time to put those plans into action.”
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