RSPCA: UK turkeys kept in cramped conditions
Most of the 17 million turkeys reared in the UK are subjected to poor welfare standards, the RSPCA warned today.
The poultry industry’s minimum standards are not good enough, according to the animal rights charity.
It says birds are often kept in cramped conditions which hampers their movement.
The majority of turkeys reared in the UK are kept under very low lighting levels.
This enables the birds to put on weight more quickly – but also puts them at risk of eye problems and even blindness, the RSPCA said.
Turkeys are typically reared in stark surroundings without access to things to perch on, investigate or peck.
Leigh Grant, chief executive of the RSPCA’s Freedom Food label, says: “The RSPCA has real concerns about the way in which the majority of turkeys in the UK are reared.
“The industry’s standards simply aren’t good enough and we would like to see all turkeys farmed to the RSPCA’s higher welfare standards.”
The Freedom Food scheme guarantee that birds have been reared according to a set of RSPCA welfare standards.
Those standards include providing a minimum amount of space for birds to move around.
