RSPCA New South Wales’s vice-president has left the animal welfare group, saying he is “sincerely ashamed” of the standards for RSPCA-certified chicken.
asserted
he → leave → chicken
Mark Steele, a senior counsel who was a volunteer member of the board from 2021 also served as a non-executive director of RSPCA Australia until March, issued a statement on LinkedIn outlining his decision to leave the group’s NSW branch for good at the end of September.
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who → serve → September
“The RSPCA does much fine work,” he wrote.
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he → do → work
“But there is one thing I have long been ashamed to be associated with: the use of the RSPCA’s trusted brand, through the RSPCA Certified scheme, to certify the welfare of 97% of Australia meat chicken.
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I → be → chicken
Chicken accounts for almost half of all meat eaten in Australia.
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Chicken → account → Australia
Consumption has doubled in the past 30 years, and Australians now eat an average of about 55kg of chicken meat per person per year.
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Australians → double → year
Almost all of the 800 million chickens slaughtered for meat in Australia each year are from one of two fast-growing breeds, which reach slaughter weight at between four and six weeks of age.
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which → slaughter → age
Animal welfare experts say this rapid growth can stress the animals’ bodies.
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growth → say → bodies
Most chicken produced in Australia is also RSPCA Certified, a badge which signals to consumers that the product meets higher welfare standards.
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product → produce → standards
“In my view, a shopper who sees that RSPCA logo would naturally assume – and ought to be entitled to assume – that the bird lived a good life and died a humane death,” Steele wrote.
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Steele → see → death
“In my opinion, a life like that cannot fairly be called good; which is why I don’t buy this chicken.”
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I → call → chicken
Jed Goodfellow, the director of policy and government relations at Australian Alliance for Animals, said meat chickens grown that quickly can experience a range of issues, including cardiovascular, skeletal and dermatological problems “as their biology is pushed to the limits”.
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biology → say → limits
“Healthier slower growing breeds are now being used in many parts of the world, particularly Europe …
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breeds → grow → world
It may cost slightly more, but as their experience shows, the increase is not prohibitive, as European consumers increasingly opt for the healthier option,” he said.
uncertain
he → cost → option
Steele’s post comes just weeks after the RSPCA upgraded its animal welfare standards for chicken meat, which must be enacted by 1 January 2031 for producers to maintain their certification.
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producers → come → certification
Those changes include lower stocking densities, variable light intensity in sheds, and the phasing out of a slaughtering method called electrical water bath stunning.
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changes → include → method
But the new standards do not include phasing out fast-growing breeds.
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standards → include → breeds
Instead, the organisation announced a new category of “enhanced” welfare standards which encourage producers to switch to slower-growing chicken breeds.
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which → announce → breeds
The enhanced category does not yet have a label for consumers to identify, and those standards are voluntary.
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standards → have → label
Steele said the new standards were a “small step forward” but criticised both the opt-in encouragement to adopt slower-growing breeds and the lack of an end date to phase out fast-growing breeds.
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standards → say → breeds
He said consumers would not recognise the welfare issue with fast-growing breeds “while the most trusted name in Australian animal welfare sits on the packaging, answering the question before the shopper has even thought to ask it”.
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shopper → say → it
“Until it does, I will remain sincerely ashamed that the name of an organisation I otherwise love and respect appears on this chicken.”
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I → do → chicken
Last month, the RSPCA’s senior scientific officer, Melina Tensen, told Guardian Australia the organisation would ultimately like to see slower-growing breeds replace fast-growing breeds.
“We definitely encourage consumers to be vocal about supporting this transition … because every dollar you spend is a message to the retailer,” she said.
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she → tell → retailer
The Aporia
