Campaigner and presenter Chris Packham has accused Co-op of ignoring member votes to improve chicken welfare.
Ahead of the supermarket’s Manchester AGM on Saturday, Packham has called on the supermarket to stop sourcing ultra-fast-growing chicken breeds known as ‘Frankenchickens’.
It comes as members of the Co-op organised motions in 2023 and 2025 calling on the supermarket to stop using Frankenchickens, with around 90% of voting members backing change, animal rights group The Humane League said.
The campaign group added that as the supermarket looked to appoint a new CEO, it offered an “opportunity for the retailer to reset its approach to animal welfare”.
“These birds are bred to grow so unnaturally fast they suffer from lame legs, organ failure… even burns from living in their own excrement,” said Packham. “Co-op gave their birds more space, which we applaud. But they kept using Frankenchickens. And judging from a recent update, they plan on keeping it that way.
“That’s not high welfare. That’s not ethical. And it’s not what Co-op members asked for.”
THL has estimated that around 14.5 million chickens in Co-op’s supply chain would benefit from a transition to slower-growing breeds.
Co-op has claimed it is “significantly ahead” of other retailers having given its birds more space and introduced AI welfare monitoring. However, Claire Williams, campaigns manager at THL, said “monitoring suffering more efficiently is not the same as preventing it”.
She added: “As long as they are using overbred Frankenchickens, who have suffering hard-coded into their genes, Co-op’s boasts of being leaders are empty.
“They are not significantly ahead of most retailers, but they are woefully behind on their ethical values.”
While nearly all Co-op egg-laying hens and pigs are covered by higher welfare standards, only around 2% of chickens raised for meat are not Frankenchickens, THL claimed.
“A motion was passed at our 2024 AGM asking the business to consider signing the BCC, and following extensive work, we concluded that whilst we meet all other aspects of the BCC, moving to a slower-growing breed isn’t the right choice for our Co-op at this time,” said a Co-op spokesperson. ”One reason, amongst others, would be the impact to retail prices, and at a time when the cost of living is one of the top concerns of our members, it would not be right to impose significant price increases on people already worried about their weekly budgets, especially as chicken is often the primary protein used in households.
“We continue to focus on our 100% British Chicken commitment across all our products and further invest in welfare standards.”
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