What are Frankenchickens? Activists slam Morrisons for refusing to remove ‘monstrous’ chickens from shelves

Animal welfare campaigners have criticised Morrisons for continuing to sell deformed ‘Frankenchickens’ and are demanding their removal from the retailer’s shelves.

Campaigners dressed in butcher outfits descended on 21 Morrisons stores across the country over the May bank holiday weekend displaying images of the “monstrous” chickens.

The protests came after the supermarket chain recently launched a small range of chicken reared to higher welfare standards, which protestors called a “cheap” gesture as Morrisons continues to source the majority of its chicken from intensive farms.

Marks and Spencers, Waitrose, KFC and Subway are among hundreds of companies to have pledged to stop selling them - and campaigners are calling on Morrisons to do the same.

What are ‘Frankenchickens’?

Open Cages, an animal welfare charity, claim ‘Frankenchickens’ are birds that grow 400% faster than those farmed in 1950.

They said the new birds are bred to feed consumers’ wants and demand for cheaper chicken.

The organisation filmed in four intensive chicken farms in May and June last year.

Those farms supply the Cranswick chicken factory which provides meat for Morrisons, labelled Red Tractor approved.

The campaign said the undercover filming “found ‘monstrous and deformed’ chickens collapsing in their own waste.”

“On every farm, birds were surrounded by rotting bodies, suffering chemical burns from laying in their own urine and faeces and barely able to spread their wings amidst the crowded conditions,” the campaign added.

Connor Jackson, CEO of Open Cages, said: “As many as 30% of Frankenchickens can barely walk because of painful lameness and deformities.

“Millions of these monstrous birds die from heart attacks because they can’t handle growing 400% faster than natural, millions more have their necks broken to simply put them out of their misery.”

The Human League UK, another animal welfare charity, said: “In the UK, over one billion chickens are being raised for meat - the vast majority on factory farms in crowded, often filthy sheds until they are slaughtered at just five weeks old.

“For these five weeks they grow unnaturally fast, causing debilitating injuries.”

The campaign added: “They are bred for profit, so the priority is getting the most breast meat in the shortest time.

“These young chickens often struggle to walk, because of their weight, and can suffer heart disease due to too much pressure on their organs.”

What happened during the protests?

In 21 UK cities and towns across the May bank holiday weekend protestors dressed up like the supermarket’s butchers and demanded the removal of ‘Frankenchickens’ from Morrisons shelves.

As part of the #morrisonsmisery campaign, activists from Open Cages and The Human League UK held signs saying "engineered" with an image of a distressed chicken.

Former chicken farmer Doug Maw led the protests in West Sussex following his dismissal from the company as a warehouse worker after he urged for better welfare standards.

The campaigners protested against Morrisons’ “cheap gestures and PR spin”, Mr Jackson from Open Cages said.

Mr Jackson said: “We simply want Morrisons to follow the hundreds of other companies like M&S, Waitrose, KFC and Subway who have already committed to taking Frankenchickens off the shelves.

“These practices are opposed by the vast majority of the British public, and Morrisons could make this pledge overnight if they spent as much time on their welfare standards as they did playing PR games.”

He added: “For years now Morrisons has sat on their hands and done the absolute minimum possible to improve chicken welfare, whilst pedalling out feel good marketing campaigns and wearing only the costume of a company that cares about animals.”

What are companies doing to protect animal welfare?

Since January 2018, over 200 leading food companies across the UK and Europe have publicly signed the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC).

These companies include Compass Group, Marks & Spencer, Kraft Heinz, KFC and Accor.

This means that by 2026 they will sell only slower growing chickens reared with far more living space.

The Better Chicken Commitment is a set of science backed improved welfare standards.

All the major food supermarkets in France have signed up to the commitment.

However, most of the major supermarkets in the UK, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda, are yet to sign up to the pledge.

Sainsbury’s has recently pledged to stop sourcing chickens from overcrowded conditions for all own-brand meat by 2023.

What has Morrisons said?

Morrisons has said that procedures are now in place to “significantly reduce” the chances of the problems shown in the undercover filming in the future.

Prior to the protest, the retailer released a statement addressing the demonstration.

A spokesperson 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% of our fresh chicken meets this standard already.”

The spokesperson added: "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."