Under the European Transport Regulation 1/2005, which still applies in the UK, it is forbidden to lift chickens by their legs on farms during the loading and unloading process.
However, the practice – which is termed by The Animal Law Foundation as “painful and cruel” – is permitted under the Code of Practice for the Welfare of Laying Hens and Pullets (Laying Hen Code) and the Code of Practice for the Welfare of Meat Chickens and Meat Breeding Chickens (Broiler Code).
The government has until recently argued that it was not illegal to handle chickens by the legs, but in correspondence with Animal Law Foundation in October 2024 appeared to concede that it was unlawful and as such would take steps to change the law.
According to the foundation, such a change would represent the first dilution of EU animal welfare protections since Brexit.
As a result, the foundation has submitted an application for permission for a judicial review in the High Court.
It has done so on the grounds that current codes of practice are incompatible with Regulation 1/2005, and that Regulation 1/2005 clearly prohibits the lifting of poultry by the legs.
“It is vital that the government stops its mixed messages, it cannot both claim to care about animal welfare yet ignore and even endorse the unlawful treatment of the most farmed animal in the UK,” said Edie Bowles, solicitor and founder of The Animal Law Foundation.
“It is vital that it not only acts in accordance with the law, but also as a leader and addresses these widespread illegal practices head on.”
According to Bowles, more than 1bn chickens are farmed in the UK every year and many are subject to “some of the worst treatment” she has ever witnessed.
“Some of that treatment is lawful and some my clients would argue is unlawful, for example the selective breeding to grow fast and the handling of chickens by their legs, both of which are common practice and cause immense suffering,” she added.
Meanwhile, chair of the foundation’s board of trustees, Robert Allen, said the actions of the government served as a stark reminder of the “lack of care” for animal welfare.
Allen continued: “It is becoming repetitive to say that the British people want animal welfare standards high and enforced, but it is no less true. Why the government does not understand this and respond accordingly is a mystery. Instead it appears to actively promote the flouting of welfare protections offered to chickens.”
Defra declined to comment on ongoing legal proceedings.
