This is Frank
Frank's life was short and miserable
He lived in a crowded, filthy shed and was bred to grow unnaturally fast, suffering debilitating injuries and being unable to walk under his own weight. He was slaughtered for his meat when he was just five weeks old. But Frank’s not the only one to suffer this way. He’s just one of the 1 billion chickens raised for meat in the UK, the vast majority of whom suffer the very same fate in factory farms around the country.
Chickens raised for meat on factory farms are:
Bred to
Suffer
Trapped
In Filth
Designed
To die
Chickens raised for meat represent the greatest number of land animals raised and killed for the UK food supply. Their short lives and deaths are full of suffering.
Their breeding predisposes them to significant health issues. They have been made into genetic monsters that grow unnaturally fast and often cannot even walk. Their environment is crowded, filthy and devoid of anything related to a natural life.
The 1 in a Billion Campaign is focused on alleviating the suffering of these chickens by improving the baseline standards companies comply with. We are asking companies to adopt progressive welfare standards that eliminate the worst health issues, reduce overcrowding, provide a better living environment and end the worst slaughter practices.
It's time for change
for Frank
and the 1 billion chickens like him
A new set of standards — the Better Chicken Commitment — will drastically improve the lives of chickens raised for meat by eliminating the causes of their worst suffering. It’s time for the farming and food service industries to sign up to change their practices.
Call on The British Poultry Council (BPC), the UK's national trade group representing the poultry meat industry, to back the Better Chicken Commitment standards.
What the industry is saying
About Frank
and the 1 billion chickens like him
“
[The poultry sector has a] higher than average proportion of welfare non-compliances.
“
[Slower growing breeds reared on pasture] don't develop the same problems as fastgrowing broilers like ascites, sudden death, legs that can't support their growth and calcification.
“
Green Muscle Disease is becoming more common in “meat-type broiler chickens selected for high breast meat yield.”
“
The major welfare concerns identified and associated with [fast-growth chickens] were skeletal disorders leading to problems such as lameness, contact dermatitis, irregular body shape and sudden death syndrome.
“
Tremendous progress has been made by geneticists over the last 50 years in increasing the growth rate of broiler chickens. [...] However, the rapid growth has been linked to leg weakness as well as the culling and downgrading of lame birds.
Track progress
For Frank
and the 1 billion chickens like him
Together, we are making a difference for chickens. These are just some of the companies that have already committed to change the way chickens are treated.
Media Hub
If you’d like further information, or to interview a spokesperson, contact Hannah Yates on 07580293686 or hyates@thehumaneleague.org.uk
All photos on this page are courtesy of Andrew Skowron and Open Cages. Photos are representative of a typical farm and are not taken directly from farms supplying the named company.