Race for lowest meat prices sees pigs’ tails cut off and chickens dying in pens (2024)

The number of animals held in UK factory farms has reached a record high, with campaigners warning that demand for cheap meat is driving down welfare conditions.

An estimated 280 million animals were living in factory farms in the UK at any one time in 2023, according to research by the wildlife charity World Animal Protection (WAP) – a 23 per cent increase since 2017.

Factory farming is defined by the charity as “intensive indoor systems of rearing large numbers of animals under strictly controlled conditions, to maximise production and profit”.

The WAP found there were 1,821 farms in the UK that met this definition in 2023, up 13 per cent from 1,612 in 2017.

Chickens and pigs are the most likely to be living in these types of intensive conditions. The report found 95 per cent of chickens bred for meat and 73 per cent of pigs live in the lowest possible welfare conditions legally allowed.

Lindsay Duncan, farming campaigns manager at World Animal Protection UK, said the rise of intensive animal farming had been a gradual process that began in the 1950s as a result of “consumer demand and the price of food”.

She added: “We’ve seen an intensification of farms over the last few decades, particularly for chickens and pigs, and this is really fuelled by wanting to produce as much as possible for as little as possible.

“These animals are kept in huge numbers, often thousands, in barns. They are in cramped conditions. They’re incredibly stressful conditions as well. They don’t have a huge amount of space to move around, they don’t get to go outside, they don’t get to feel the grass under their feet.”

In 2023, there were 1,553 intensive chicken units, which hold a minimum of 40,000 chickens, up 12.8 per cent from 1,376 in 2017. There were 268 intensive pig units, up 13.5 per cent from 236 in 2017.

According to the report, 72 per cent of piglets on UK farms have had their tails docked, a process that involves them having the tails cut off “without adequate pain relief”.

This is done because intensively farmed pigs can resort to biting each other’s tails off, which is believed to be a result of boredom or stress.

The WAP report said welfare issues with chickens include organ and limb problems, as well as “hock burns” from living in their own waste. In 2022, more than 80 million chickens died before reaching slaughter weight, according to animal welfare campaign Open Cages – a mortality rate of nearly 7 per cent.

Chicken, which now accounts for around one third of meat production in the UK, is much cheaper today than it was 50 years ago.

Research by the consumer site Which? found that, in 2019, a kg of chicken cost £2.77, compared to an equivalent of £4.87 in 1988 when factoring in inflation.

Poultry consumption in the UK is forecast to increase to 30.55kg per person annually in 2027, a 30.8 per cent increase since 2007. In 1950 consumption was around 0.750 kg per person, per year, according to the NFU farming union.

Consumption of pork has fallen slightly in the UK since 2007, but exports of British pork abroad have increased.

Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, which represents major supermarkets, said: “Retailers source their meat from a variety of farms, small and large, and have led the way in requiring high animal welfare standards from all their farmers, in the UK or abroad, to reflect consumer demand.

“Animal welfare will always be a key part of the production standard for all the meat retailers sell.”

As well as animal welfare concerns, intensive farms have a large environmental impact. A recent i investigation revealed how chicken mega-farms are causing surges in ammonia emissions, a dangerous air pollutant. Intensive agriculture is a major source of river pollution.

Ms Duncan said factory farms are also associated with higher carbon emissions, as large amounts of energy are needed to create an “artificial environment” for animals indoors, including lighting, heating, air ventilation and automatic feeders.

World Animal Protection is calling on the Government to ban the development of new factory farms and the expansion of existing intensive units.

Ms Duncan said she also wanted to see the Government play a role in encouraging less meat consumption: “We’re not saying everybody needs to go vegan, but we do need to eat less.” She encouraged those who eat animal products to “look for the highest welfare you can”, such as free-range, outdoor-reared meat.

A Government spokesperson said: “All farms are closely regulated with more than 4,800 government-funded farm inspections taking place last year. These help farmers improve their practices and reduce environmental impacts, especially on our waterways.

“All farm animals are also protected by comprehensive UK law on animal health and welfare.”