animal welfaristas: riddle me this

[rowan1971]

From the packaging on a Waitrose 'Select Farm' whole chicken:

'Chickens raised on Waitrose-approved specialist farms in Northern Ireland, operating to high standards of animal welfare.'

No RSPCA logo or anything (but does have an approving quote from the RSPCA.)

So on a scale of 1-10, where 1 is chickens having their beaks ripped off, and 10 is chickens being woken with the morning papers and fresh orange juice, how humanely was this chicken farmed?

Is it free range?

Doesn't say that it is - so I'm guessing it's not? It does mention 'large windows' in the sheds...

I'd rate it at 2. Because it's not free-range (in the true sense) and it's not organic. It is, however, an improvement on the atrocious conditions that most chickens are kept in.

Here is what Waitrose says, but they don't state the actual number of chickens per square foot.

British Select Farm chicken

'Select Farm' sets the everyday standard for high quality products at Waitrose across all its meat, fish and milk. Waitrose Select Farm Chicken has always provided consumers with high quality, high welfare wholesome chicken, with full traceability for total reassurance. Our farms are carefully chosen and only produce Select Farm chickens for Waitrose, rearing birds in windowed houses giving them natural daylight, straw bales and extended dark periods to enhance their lives.

Dedicated to continuous improvement, Waitrose is making further significant changes to the welfare of its Select Farm chickens. From September, Waitrose Select Farm will have the industry's lowest stocking density (excluding free range and organic) in any major supermarket - this means our flocks have 20% fewer birds than other supermarkets, giving the birds even more room to keep fit and active. These changes to across the Select Farm range meet the RSPCA's stringent recommendations and have the support of other key industry bodies such as Compassion In World Farming (CIWF).

OK, thanks. Will slap DP's wrists.