High demand for ethical turkeys this Christmas

Animal loving Brits could be bitterly disappointed

12.12.11

The increasing demand for ethical food continues this Christmas with British shoppers claiming tucking into a turkey with a higher welfare label, is more important than the size and price.

According to research into higher welfare food - published last week for RSPCA Freedom Food - more than one in three adults said if they were going to buy a turkey this Christmas they would choose one with a higher welfare label. Just 10 per cent said they would buy the cheapest, largest turkey they could find.

 

Freedom Food label rockets

Turkeys from farms inspected to our strict welfare standards – under the Freedom Food label - rocketed last Christmas. From just over one million birds in December 2009 to nearly 1.4 million in December 2010.

And Freedom Food says the trend looks set to continue this year.

But despite this impressive increase, and growing consumer demand, Freedom Food fears animal loving Brits will be left bitterly disappointed as the vast majority of turkeys in our supermarkets still come from farms of which we disapprove.

Still concerned over UK turkeys

The research also revealed:

• Over half of the people surveyed believe that more than 20 per cent of UK turkeys are reared to our higher welfare standards.
   
• And 30 per cent of people believe that the figure is more than 40 per cent.

In fact turkeys from farms inspected to our standards, and sold under the Freedom Food label, only account for about seven per cent of all British farmed turkeys.

 

Majority of UK turkeys kept in unacceptable conditions

This means the majority of the 16 million turkeys reared in the UK each year are kept in unacceptable conditions. RSPCA farm animal scientist, Alice Clark, explains:
 

We are really concerned about the way the majority of turkeys in the UK are looked after. Most of them are kept in a very barren environment where they simply aren’t given enough space to move around and exercise properly.

And according to the higher welfare research, the vast majority of respondents share this concern with a staggering 81 per cent saying they think more turkeys should be farmed to our standards.

Alice added:

The good news is we can all do our bit to help improve their lives by choosing turkeys with higher welfare labels, such as Freedom Food or free-range. But we need supermarkets to help too, by listening to consumer demand and stocking more of them.

A higher welfare Christmas

For the first time ever this Christmas, budget supermarket Lidl is stocking Freedom Food turkey, as well as Sainsbury’s – the largest retailer of Freedom Food products - Asda and Tesco.

Make your Christmas a higher welfare Christmas. Choose to put higher welfare, such as Freedom Food labelled food in your trolley when at the supermarket.

Need inspiration?

Visit our festive seasons page for great Christmas recipes ideas, fantastic gift suggestions and other seasonal promotions.
 

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Freedom Food turkeys

Turkeys on Freedom Food approved farms are given much more space to move around compared to other commercially reared turkeys. They can be kept indoors or free-range as long as our strict welfare standards for turkeys are met.

 

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