Increasing numbers of British shoppers are seeking ethical, higher welfare Christmas turkey, says RSPCA
Last updated 12/19/2011 11:40:05 AM
Increasing numbers of British shoppers are seeking ethical higher welfare Christmas turkey says RSPCA
The RSPCA says the demand for ethical food is increasing with British shoppers more concerned about the higher welfare label of their turkey, than its size and price.
Turkeys from farms inspected to our strict welfare standards – under the RSPCA Freedom Food label - rocketed last Christmas. From just over one million birds in December 2009 to nearly 1.4 million in December 2010.
Freedom Food believes the trend will continue this year. Just 10 per cent of shoppers surveyed said they would buy the cheapest, largest turkey they could find.
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.
"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."
More than one in three adults surveyed said if they were going to buy a turkey this Christmas they would choose one with a higher welfare label.
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.