An undercover investigator said the chicks were run over, trampled and injured as they were thrown into the crates.
Secret filming at a hatchery that raises birds for the chicken industry also appears to show chicks injured and sometimes bleeding from accidents.
The first investigation of its kind at a broiler hatchery claims to reveal how chicks are treated on the production line.
Chicks allegedly fed to maceration machine alive
(Animal Justice Project)
Chickens deemed unfit for sale to chicken farms were allegedly fed from chutes into macerators and minced alive.
The company, Annyalla, said it produces 3 million day-old chicks per week for the broiler (meat) industry. The eggs are incubated for three weeks before the chicks hatch and are then sold to chicken farmers.
Annyalla said it was also “endorsed” by Tesco and Marks & Spencer, although M&S does not use the separate hatchery.
The hatchery, located in Boston, Lincolnshire, won the Hatchery of the Year award in 2022.
Its website claims it is “fully accredited by the UK’s Safe Chicken Standards Body” – but there is no such body. The company said this meant an old government program called Chicken Production Reassurance. There is no record of the program’s activities.
An investigator from animal rights group Animal Justice Project, working undercover in Aniara, claimed they saw repeated suffering and filmed breaches of animal welfare laws, including:
- Staff quickly tossed the chicks between the crates, with some picking up too many chicks at once and accidentally dropping them
- Chicks often fall out of egg trays and incubators, leaving them injured and without water
- Some were then run over by trolleys or trampled on the ground
- The chicks had to poke their heads through gaps to drink water, but when the carts hit other carts, walls or metal fences, the chicks were injured or killed
- They often get their heads stuck in cracks in crates
- Wings, legs and feet were also caught in the cracks of the crates.In one case, the chicks started eating the bird’s legs from above
- Despite rules that the chicks should be removed immediately, staff who found sick or injured chicks left them alone
- Chicks deprived of water for up to eight hours after cart removed from incubator
One chick was photographed with a head injury and bleeding, and her head hanging.
The Animal Justice Project said staff handling up to 370,000 chicks a day were too rushed to give the chicks “reasonable care” on very busy days.
Any chicks deemed too sick to be sold are sent for maceration – torn up alive – but some crates are delayed for up to four hours before the chicks are put out of their misery.
Investigators say the chicks were thrown not into a crate but into a box
(Animal Justice Project)
By law, sick and injured poultry should be removed quickly.
Male chicks born to egg-laying hens are usually killed by gas, but maceration using a high-speed blade grinder is legal for the millions of substandard broilers born to the meat industry every year.
France has banned the chopping of male chicks.
Campaigners say a veterinarian will visit the site every six weeks to carry out a deep clean and no chicks will be handled.
The filming also revealed that some of the chicks hatched had deformities. “I just saw a three-legged chick for the first time,” the investigator told one worker, who replied: “Yes, we had one not long ago, it had four legs, no beak, just a Eye.”
Some chicks are said to have been deformed, injured or died after hatching
(Animal Justice Project)
Staff say the company plans to more than double chick production to about 2.5 million chicks per week, although the Animal Justice Project claims the numbers are already too high for proper animal care.
In 2019, the hatchery was awarded an RSPCA Certificate of Assurance to provide chicks to farms accredited by the animal welfare charity’s scheme, but the hatchery never went ahead.However, the RSPCA suspended its certificate independent Showed it the video.
It is understood that after Tesco saw the video, it contacted the hatchery and launched an urgent investigation.
The site handles up to 370,000 chicks daily
(Animal Justice Project)
A spokesman for Annyalla said the company was regularly audited to ensure high standards but some footage fell below staff expectations, adding: “Staff receive rigorous training on chick handling and welfare before starting work, and ongoing training. Regular refresher courses so it was disappointing to see a small number of our people perform poorly at this meeting. We have addressed this issue with the relevant staff and have taken further action to ensure this is the case Never happens again.
“Our chicks are our most valuable asset so we prioritize their welfare at every stage. The chicks must be handled appropriately, provided with fresh water and nutrients, and all processes are monitored by senior team members.
“We recognize that people can make the wrong decision, but we are committed to taking the right steps to rectify any issues. Our focus remains on maintaining impeccable bird welfare standards at all times.”
Birds can be seriously injured if their heads stick out or are caught at the wrong moment
(Animal Justice Project)
Marks & Spencer said some suppliers sourced chicks from Annyalla but never from this particular hatchery.
A spokesman for M&S said: “We do not source ingredients from the hatchery and have no connection with the hatchery. We have strict animal welfare requirements for all our suppliers and expect to comply with these at all times.”
An RSPCA Assured spokesman said it was completely unacceptable to treat chicks in this way.
They added: “This site has never hatched chicks for RSPCA Assured farms. Chicks hatched for RSPCA Assured farms can only be of the slower growing variety, not the growth shown in this video Faster variety.
“Animal welfare is our top priority so we have reported the farm to the Animal and Plant Health Service, which is fully capable of conducting an independent investigation into animal welfare matters.”
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