UK watchdogs raise alarm over ‘free-range’ poultry kept indoors

UK – Consumer advocates and animal welfare groups in the UK have raised the alarm over new government rules that allow poultry raised entirely indoors to be marketed as “free range”, according to an article in The Telegraph. 

The change, introduced quietly by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in September, has ignited concerns over misleading labelling, transparency, and animal welfare in the country’s £1 billion (US$1.28 billion) free-range poultry sector.

Under the updated regulations, birds no longer lose their “free range” status even if they are confined indoors for their entire lives during a government-imposed avian influenza lockdown. Previously, poultry kept inside for more than 12 weeks had to be relabelled as “barn reared”.

The shift follows successive outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza that have forced Defra to impose nationwide housing orders to curb the virus’s spread. 

On November 6, a new lockdown was introduced across England and Wales, meaning most turkeys, geese, ducks, and chickens destined for Christmas will have spent at least half their lives indoors.

Ordinarily, free-range standards require that birds have “continuous daytime access to open-air runs” for at least half their lifetime. 

Now, chickens and turkeys kept at densities of 13 and 10 birds per square metre, respectively, can still carry the premium “free range” label, despite never stepping outside.

Consumer trust and welfare concerns

Critics say the rule change undermines both consumer confidence and animal welfare. “Consumers are being ripped off… It’s misleading,” said Scott Dixon, a consumer rights author and advocate. “I would call it an outrage, because consumers are paying a premium for free range.”

Professor Chris Van Tulleken, a British doctor and author of Ultra Processed People, said clearer labelling was essential. 

“As an infection scientist, these measures are important for controlling pandemic risk, but as a consumer, I would assume that a free-range chicken has had a free-range life with access to the outside and might feel misled,” he told The Telegraph.

He added, “Many people buy meat very carefully and spend a premium because they care about animal welfare. If there is a reduction in welfare, that should be reflected on the label and in the price.”

Industry and government defend policy

Producers argue that the measures protect livelihoods from the devastating impacts of bird flu. 

Toby Kelly of KellyBronze Turkeys, which rears over 155,000 birds annually, said: “You keep all our birds outside and rear them free range, and then you have to bring them in for a housing order. I think it’s absolutely the right thing that you should still be able to call them free range.”

A Defra spokesperson defended the policy, saying housing measures “safeguard the welfare of birds at risk of suffering from this highly contagious and unpleasant disease” and “reduce the likelihood of flocks being infected.”

Still, questions linger about transparency. A consultation held before the law changed received only 14 responses, 13 from industry stakeholders and none from consumer organisations. 

Lord Blencathra, speaking in the House of Lords, warned that consumers were being misled: “If hens are confined inside for six months, nine months or even more, consumers have a right to know that their eggs are not really free-range.”

As the poultry lockdown extends into winter, most birds on British Christmas tables will have lived and died without ever seeing daylight. Critics say that unless Defra revises its labelling rules, “free range” may no longer mean what consumers think it does.

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