RSPCA's chickens advert is banned as 'political'

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Broiler's life is short and nasty, say campaigners

It may be the most pressing animal welfare issue in Britain – but you won't be hearing about it on television just yet. An RSPCA advertisement claiming that millions of British broiler chickens undergo suffering on a massive scale while being bred for their meat has been banned.

The advert, highlighting the pain and discomfort that the RSPCA alleges 820 million broilers suffer in their six-week lives every year, was deemed as unsuitable for showing by the Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre (Bacc), the body that advises the television companies on the acceptability of their advertising.

The advertisement, now to be shown only in cinemas, was set to accompany the launch yesterday of a campaign on broilers by the society. The RSPCA says that despite advances in animal welfare, millions of these chickens still routinely endure a catalogue of illness before they are slaughtered. The illnesses range from sudden heart failure to leg pain, and from ammonia burns to skin infections.

The Bacc found the advertisement, which compared the speeded-up life of a broiler chicken, specially bred to put on weight quickly, with that of a "normal" egg-laying hen, was in breach of rule 10 of the Independent Television Commission's advertising code. This lays down that "no advertisement may be directed towards any political end", and continues: "The term 'political' ... precludes, for example, issue campaigning for the purposes of influencing legislation or executive action by central or local government."

Bacc's controller, Tony Kingsbury, said in a letter to the RSPCA's director of communication, John Rolls: "It is our opinion that the commercial is designed to influence public opinion in an area of controversy – namely the way in which chickens are bred for fast-food outlets."

Mr Rolls condemned the decision as "absolutely ridiculous". He said: "We thought it was quite extraordinary that we could not put this on television. We should be able to raise issues about how animals are kept, otherwise the diet of adverts on TV would only be promoting products. There should be an open debate about animal welfare or any other issue. It is far too narrow at the moment."

Chicken is now by far Britain's most popular meat. As a result, the society says, broiler suffering is one of the most pressing animal welfare issues in the UK. It has listed the miseries that it says the birds undergo, and is urging people to transform the lives of chickens by insisting that supermarkets demand improved welfare standards from their suppliers.

Caroline Le Sueur, the RSPCA's senior scientific officer, said: "Consumers have traditionally been largely unaware of the suffering, but now they have a vital role to play in improving the lives of the birds. Shoppers can influence animal welfare standards by the food they choose and the pressure they put on retailers to demand an end to systematic cruelty."

Yesterday the National Farmers' Union disputed the RSPCA's claims. An NFU spokeswoman said: "UK poultry breeders have worked tirelessly and successfully over the past decade to dramatically reduce the incidence of heart attacks and lameness in broiler chickens, so we are disappointed that the RSPCA has now chosen to write this report based on historical data regarding bird welfare.

"UK poultry farmers operate to some of the highest standards of animal welfare in the world. Most broiler chickens are reared in housing where they are free to feed, drink and wander in a temperature controlled climate.

"These types of houses are electrically lit and floors are usually covered with straw or shavings.

"The European Commission has already expressed an interest in introducing a minimum standard of animal welfare within the broiler sector across Europe, which the NFU would support."