August 9, 2006

Free-range eggs and chickens in hot demand in the UK

UK shoppers, concerned about animal welfare in the UK's GBP3 billion-a-year poultry industry, have sent sales of free-range and organic chickens and eggs surging, a report for the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said.

The National Farmers Union revealed Tuesday (Aug 7) that purchases of chickens allowed to roam outdoors are rising at 10 times the rate of chickens mass-produced in large sheds.

Meanwhile, sales of more humane free-range, organic and barn eggs are rising fast, while sales of eggs from battery chickens are falling.

The NFU said production of free-range chickens had risen by 20 percent in the past three years while organic chicken production was up by 50 percent this year alone, compared with a rise for standard broilers of just 4 percent this year.