Robert

As Chris is so fond of science, here is a response based on it, as I feel such falsehoods should not go unchallenged. Poultry and animal welfare in the United Kingdom have undergone substantial positive change over recent decades. The photo below is what I found in the free-range units I inspected. The public can't visit because of biosecurity and welfare. Of course, egg production has to be done on a mass scale to feed our nation. We can't rely on the snearing and sanctimonious middle-class virtue signallers like Chris. What was once characterised by intensive systems that restricted natural behaviours has given way to a framework of legislation, voluntary assurance schemes, official oversight and commercial standards that together raise the baseline for how birds are kept, monitored and cared for. The most visible historical problem was the conventional battery cage for laying hens. These barren wire enclosures confined individual birds in spaces so small that basic movements such as wing-flapping, perching or nesting were impossible. Scientific and veterinary concern about the resulting frustration, bone weakness and behavioural deprivation eventually led to regulatory action. Conventional battery cages were prohibited across the United Kingdom from 2012, forcing producers to adopt enriched colony systems that provide perches, nest boxes, litter areas and more space per bird. Market pressure and retailer commitments have further accelerated a shift toward barn, free-range and organic systems, so that the majority of UK hens now live outside cages entirely. Parallel improvements have occurred for meat chickens, with lower stocking densities, environmental enrichment and, in some cases, slower-growing breeds becoming more common. These advances rest on a multi-layered system of monitoring that combines statutory regulation with independent and commercial assurance. At the centre stands the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Defra sets the legal framework through the Welfare of Farmed Animals Regulations and issues detailed codes of practice for laying hens, meat chickens and other poultry. These codes translate scientific understanding of behavioural needs, health indicators and environmental requirements into practical guidance that farmers must follow. Non-compliance can be used as evidence in prosecutions for unnecessary suffering. Defra also funds targeted interventions such as veterinary biosecurity reviews and maintains the Animal Welfare Committee, whose evidence-based opinions inform policy. Enforcement on the ground is largely the responsibility of local authorities. Local authority animal health and welfare officers carry out inspections of farms, investigate complaints and ensure that statutory requirements on housing, stocking density, feed, water and handling are met. The farmer keeps records of all of this, which are checked. Although inspection frequencies vary, the legal duty to prevent suffering remains continuous and is backed by powers to serve improvement notices or pursue prosecutions. Independent schemes add a higher tier of scrutiny. The RSPCA Assured programme sets standards that go beyond the legal minimum, covering space allowances, enrichment, lighting, litter quality, health monitoring and slaughter methods. Farms seeking the RSPCA Assured label undergo thorough annual assessments by trained assessors with farming or welfare expertise, together with the possibility of unannounced spot checks. When I visited farms, I could see who visited, and there would be almost a monthly visit by a regulator or assessor. These are the people doing the work to maintain welfare. When was Chris Packham in a poultry unit? Assessors examine birds, housing, records of veterinary visits, staff training and daily welfare observations. Failure to meet the full suite of standards results in loss of certification. For eggs, the British Lion Code of Practice operates a parallel system of rigorous audits across the entire production chain. While its primary focus is food safety—mandatory Salmonella vaccination, extensive testing and full traceability—it also incorporates welfare provisions that exceed legal requirements, including bans on induced moulting and specific protocols for handling end-of-lay birds. More than fifty thousand audits have been conducted under the scheme, creating a continuous verification loop from breeding flocks through to packing centres. Supermarkets reinforce these controls through their own commercial specifications and inspection regimes. Major retailers require suppliers to meet at least Red Tractor assurance as a baseline and frequently demand additional standards such as RSPCA Assured or free-range production. Many have introduced lower stocking densities, environmental enrichment and improved stunning methods for meat chickens. Retailers commission independent audits of farms and processing plants, review veterinary health plans and reserve the right to suspend suppliers who fall short. These commercial pressures create a powerful incentive for continuous improvement because access to major markets depends on demonstrable compliance. Throughout this system, veterinary surgeons play a central role. Farms operating under assurance schemes must maintain written health and welfare plans drawn up or approved in consultation with a named veterinary surgeon. Vets conduct regular visits, assess flock health indicators such as leg strength, footpad condition and mortality, advise on disease prevention and oversee the responsible use of antibiotics. Routine prophylactic antibiotic use is increasingly restricted, and critically important medicines may be used only as a last resort under veterinary direction. In disease-risk periods, government-funded biosecurity reviews further embed veterinary expertise at farm level. Because veterinary advice is grounded in clinical science and observational data, it provides an independent professional check on the practical application of welfare standards. The combined effect of legal bans, official codes, local-authority enforcement, RSPCA and Lion audits, supermarket specifications and continuous veterinary oversight is a progressive tightening of conditions for poultry. Poultry welfare in the UK is no longer left solely to individual farmers who are generally kind, compassionate people who care about their livestock; it is systematically monitored, scientifically informed and commercially reinforced, delivering measurable improvements for the animals concerned. Now, closing down UK farms will shift production to unregulated production and the horrific welfare standards we see abroad, such as in Thailand. Chris Packham is unable to make such nuanced and reasoned judgements. That is why he should not be a presenter on the BBC to spout his nasty revolutionary agenda under a pseudo-scientific pretence