Morrisons Market Street chicken campaign accused of ‘humane washing’
Protesters occupied the entrance of a Morrisons supermarket accusing the chain of “humane washing” over alleged fake promises around how its chickens are reared.
The protesters from animal welfare organisation Open Cages occupied the front entrance of the store in The Broadway, Wimbledon, holding images of sick and injured chickens in crowded sheds.
The retailer is being accused of “humane washing” customers with its Market Street marketing campaign which promises “local” farms with high standards of animal welfare.
In 2021, animal protection charity Open Cages published undercover footage from four farms supplying Morrisons’ Butcher’s on Market Street chicken label.
The birds were allegedly found “deformed and dying” in heavily-crowded, intensive farms, said Open Cages.
Nearly 100 protests have taken place at Morrisons stores nationally, demanding the retailer improves its chicken welfare standards.
South London activists created a “Cruelty Street” in front of the store, inviting customers to see the conditions the birds are allegedly raised in.
Connor Jackson, co-founder of Open Cages, said: “It’s very simple, Morrisons is not telling the truth.
“Most chicken sold in Morrisons comes from industrial factory farms. These animals are made to grow so fast they can often barely even walk because it’s all about money. But you’ll never see any of this on the label, in the meat aisle or a TV ad.”
“Seventy eight per cent of Brits oppose cruel farming practices, so I believe it’s not fair for a customer to unknowingly fund animal cruelty.
“That’s blatant humane washing. Brits deserve to make informed choices, and so we’re happy to provide some honest advertising free of charge. We’ll continue to do so until Morrisons commits to ending these cruel practices.”
The protest group said a typical chicken sold in Morrisons is a fast-growing breed known as a “Frankenchicken”.
These birds are allegedly selectively bred to “grow 400 per cent faster” than natural chickens, which leads to welfare problems.
The birds get less space than an A4 sheet of paper in their final week of their 35-day life, according to Open Cages
Morrisons is being asked to follow M&S, Waitrose, KFC, Subway and more than 550 companies across the globe in committing to adopt better chicken welfare standards by 2026.
A spokeswoman for Morrisons said: “We care deeply about animal welfare. All our regular chicken is raised to above Red Tractor standards; we are also the only retailer in Europe to ask our fresh chicken suppliers to require chicken to be born into the barn in which it will be raised by 2025.
“80 per cent of our fresh chicken meets this standard already. We also actively monitor for any malpractice in our supply chain; we will never tolerate it or look the other way and if we ever find it, we will act swiftly and decisively.”
Pictured top: Protesters occupy the Wimbledon Morrisons (Picture: Ian Stratton)
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