Earlier this week I heard a report on the radio that said that factory farm chickens are raised to gain weight so quickly that their legs cannot support them. The image has haunted me ever since I heard that. Then today, with temperatures around 32°C, the hauntings got worse. How are those poor chickens surviving?

It only took a little internet searching to throw up truly horrific stories about the welfare of factory farm chickens. I added the word ‘hot’ to the search and came across the news that during the heatwave that hit the UK in August 2022, millions of chickens died, many of them crammed into sheds where the temperatures could reach as high as 45°C. The birds were squashed in so close to each other that there was nothing they could do to save themselves.

Today is supposed to be the peak of the current heatwave here. I really hope that our insatiable drive for profit and savings has not resulted in millions more chickens being left to stew.

Surely we can’t carry on eating so much suffering?

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023