As one of the UK’s most
popular fast food chains, it sells almost 400 pieces of chicken every minute.
But now
conditions on the farms that supply KFC with 23million chickens a year can be
shown for the first time.
The images show
tens of thousands of chickens kept together in huge sheds, alive for just 35
days before they are gassed.
A documentary
tonight shows the birds living amid their excrement in conditions activists say
are ‘oppressive’ – but the farmer in charge claims it’s ‘a very good life’.
Footage to be
screened this evening on BBC1 focuses on one farm where about 34,000 chickens
are penned into a shed with few windows.
When they are
large enough the chickens are gassed, chopped into nine pieces and sent to
warehouses in large trays where they are then distributed to branches
nationwide.
About 1,000 farms
in the country supply KFC with 23million chickens a year. The programme focuses
on a farmer called Andrew who says the chickens at his farm – left to do
nothing but eat and drink until they reach the required weight – have a good
life, saying he ‘wouldn’t mind being a chicken in here’.
Scenes show the
chickens as they walk around in their own excrement while a layer of sawdust
has turned murky brown from mopping up waste.
Asked if he
thinks this is a problem, Andrew says: ‘No, no, no, that’s not a problem at
all, because you see here, this is all sawdust, so the idea is to keep this as
dry as possible
Millions of these
birds, just like the ones KFC is commissioning to be produced die in sheds
wretchedly and painfully every year.
‘These birds are
deprived of everything that makes life worth living. The next step after this
is to be grabbed by their frail legs, and shoved in crates and taken off to
slaughter. A great number suffer broken bones during this process.’
A BBC spokesman
said the documentary offers ‘an impartial look at KFC, one of the UK’s most
recognisable businesses’.
It is the first
time cameras have been allowed access to KFC.
A KFC spokesman
said: ‘Animal welfare is essential for high quality food and is important to
our customers, and all of KFC’s suppliers meet or exceed UK and EU
welfare requirements. KFC was the first quick-service restaurant to gain Red
Tractor certification and we have in place our own robust standard, which is
independently audited by third parties.’
Episode one of
The Billion Dollar Chicken Shop airs on BBC1 at 9pm
