AN ANIMAL welfare charity says it has uncovered evidence of “Frankenchickens” in poor health at a farm working for Avara Foods – the supermarket and restaurant supplier which is the subject of legal action over alleged River Wye pollution connected to poultry production.

The Humane League said it walked into the farm at night and recorded birds with so-called hock burns from faeces, acute lameness and deformities linked to “overbreeding”.

Huge chicken farms have sprung up in the Wye catchment, leading to claims that farming waste has polluted waterways.

While retailers have committed to improving space for birds, which are no longer caged, the fast-growing Ross 308 breed dominates production.

Chickens were seen closely packed together
Chickens were seen closely packed together (The Humane League)

The Better Chicken Commitment requires producers to adopt “breeds that demonstrate higher welfare outcomes”, but its take-up in retail and hospitality has been limited.

“Changing the breed of these birds is essential to improving their lives,” Humane League UK managing director Alex Mayers said.

“In our footage, you see birds who can’t stand up, corpses rotting in corners, and the bleary, suffering eyes of thousands of feeling beings.

‘No humane way to farm a Frankenchicken’

“More space is only good when your legs work. There’s no humane way to farm a Frankenchicken.”

A spokesperson for Hereford-based Avara Foods said THL’s clips “mostly show healthy chickens”, adding: “The only welfare concern here has been caused by activists illegally breaking-in to farms at night, and potentially spreading disease.”

They added that “legal, regulated and audited” British businesses work hard to meet consumer demand “with fresh, high-quality chicken at standards above those required for imported produce”.

A Tesco spokesperson said: “All our fresh chicken is British, and we work closely with UK farmers to ensure it meets higher welfare requirements.

“This includes exceeding government standards by providing chickens with 20 per cent more space than the industry norm.”

Avara Foods and its subsidiary Freemans of Newent currently face a High Court group lawsuit regarding alleged pollution in the Wye, Lugg, and Usk.

Avara calls the claims "unsupported by any proper scientific basis," and denies legal liability.