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.
“We meet all BCC requirements, other than slow growing breed,” said a Co-op spokesperson. ”It would increase retail price by a good amount to move to slower growing breed, despite what Humane League say. When M+S did it, prices increased by approx. 30%.
“Even if that weren’t the case, there just aren’t the sheds available on UK to service everyone moving to slow growing breeds.”
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