The initiative by UK authorities to relax agricultural standards has sparked significant discontent among animal rights activists. In particular, the proposal to lift the ban on lifting and moving birds by their legs has been criticized, The Guardian reports.
The Animal Welfare Committee (AWC) in the UK has proposed amendments to the existing Regulation No. 1/2005 of the European Council concerning the protection of animals during their movement and transportation. In particular, this document prohibits lifting chickens by their legs both on farms and during loading and unloading during transportation. AWC proposes to lift this ban for a period of 5 years and allow "legally lifting chickens and turkeys weighing less than 10 kg by both legs."
Animal rights organizations claim that carrying chickens by their legs is widely practiced in the UK despite its illegality. "Instead of encouraging farmers to respect the dignity of birds when they are taken for slaughter, the Animal Welfare Committee is proposing to legalize cruelty and diminish important standards that are already being violated. Frankly, I am baffled. Chickens are sensitive beings that deserve respectful treatment and should not be dragged around like objects," said Cordelia Britton, project leader at the Humane League UK, as quoted by the publication.
Previously, the Dutch company producing carbon-neutral eggs, Kipster, estimated that carrying chickens upside down increases the cost of each egg by approximately €0.0004.
The UK Ministry of Agriculture has promised to carefully consider the AWC proposal.
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