Tesco has come under fire from environmental campaigners for sending its Scottish chicken on a 1,000-mile trip to be slaughtered and packaged.

The chain's Scottish chickens are slaughtered in an abbatoir in Scotland, driven 500 miles to Essex to be packaged, before being driven back to Scotland for distribution in Scottish stores, according to the Daily Mail.

Tesco said the process was only a short-term measure because its usual packing facility in Scotland had closed in November. However, a new packing plant was due to open in Fife at the end of this month and the chicken would be sent there in future.

“Considering the significant contribution of the food industry to the UK's greenhouse gas emissions, this kind of practice should be the first to go if companies such as Tesco are serious about their overall responsibility in relation to the climate change crisis,” Richard Watts, campaign director for Sustain told the paper.

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