Chris Packham is the president of the RSPCA. He has criticised the RSPCA publicly and called on the charity to suspend its “Assured” farms scheme.
This is a scheme which is meant to assure customers that the produce produced by these farms is of high quality with concern for animal welfare.
However, the BBC’s Springwatch presenter, 63, has said that footage obtained secretly at some of these quality assured farms demonstrates animal abuses.
In one segment, there are images of a decomposing pig, chicks dying and salmon with eyes missing.
He found the video disgusting and what had gone on as “utterly indefensible”.
He suggested that the RSPCA is misleading supermarket customers into believing that at the assured farms animal welfare issues are addressed to a high standard when in some instances they are not.
And produce from these farms is often more expensive at the supermarket. For example, Sainsbury’s sells an ordinary British fresh medium whole chicken (1.6 kg) for £4.95 p. The RSPCA Assured equivalent chicken, corn-fed, weighing 1.55 kg costs £8.85 p.
Chris Packham said:
“I found [the video footage] extraordinarily difficult to watch. I felt sick, frankly. Animal suffering is animal suffering no matter where it is, but when it’s happening in your own backyard; when we should be in a position to guard against it, it hurts more.”
The RSPCA is the world’s oldest animal welfare charity. They have their 200th anniversary next Sunday according to The Sunday Times report, the basis of this article.
They launched their ethical labelling scheme 30 years ago. It was initially called Freedom Food. The intention was to give consumers the option to buy produce sourced from farms that meant higher standards of animal welfare.
It was renamed “RSPCA Assured” in 2015. The logo features an intertwined pig, chicken and fish. There are about 4,000 members of the scheme and the logo is used to promote produce and it appears to allow for higher prices.
The RSPCA opposes factory farm methods and in RSPCA Assured branding there are images of animals moving around spacious outdoor enclosures.
The video was captured by Animal Rising. They investigated 45 farms certified by the RSPCA under this scheme to reveal the reality of what is going on.
They say that they encountered disturbing conditions at almost all the farms that they investigated and secretly filmed.
The report alleges that:
“We found pigs lying dead in the middle of pen aisles. Chicks dead from dehydration and starvation. Salmon and trout with eyes and body parts missing. Sheds holding up to 64,000 chickens at a time. Publicly, the RSPCA claims to be against intensive farming. Yet they continue to put their stamp of approval on these farming methods.”
And one farm in Somerset the investigators discovered a dead pig in the aisle between pens and another in Wiltshire, they found “two dying pigs convulsing in a pool of excrement”.
The RSPCA has said that they will investigate what is going on but have refused to suspend or scrap the scheme. They claim that doing so would “risk leaving millions of farm animals with even less protection”. And they said that the vast majority of their certified farms do in fact meet the required standards.
RELATED: Intensive farming harms bird life more than climate change and urbanisation
Comment: I feel a need to comment on this story. It would appear that once again, a scheme which was started with the best of intentions to improve animal welfare has been hijacked by the supermarkets to increase prices. The organic produce scheme has also allegedly been hijacked at least to a certain extent by supermarkets to increase prices. And clearly the farmers have contributed to this. Although it appears to me that it is the supermarkets who put a lot of pressure on farmers in terms of price which can force farmers to sidestep proper animal welfare practices.
Chris Packham
Chris Packham is a British naturalist, nature photographer, television presenter, and author who is well-known for his passion for conservation and the environment. Here’s a summary of his career:
- Wildlife Expert and Presenter: He’s a renowned wildlife expert who has presented many popular nature shows. You might remember him from the children’s show “The Really Wild Show” (1986-1995) or the BBC’s Springwatch, Autumnwatch and Winterwatch series which he’s been a part of since 2009.
- Early Career: Before becoming a presenter, Packham started his career working behind the scenes in wildlife filmmaking. In the 1980s, he worked as a camera assistant and on shows like “The Living Planet” and “The Living Isles”.
- Conservationist: Packham is a strong advocate for conservation and speaks out about environmental issues. His website https://www.chrispackham.co.uk/home describes him as someone who has “dedicated his life’s work to the conservation of the natural world”.
- Other Work: Packham is also a photographer and author. You can find more information about him on his website.
King Charles’s official portrait at a London gallery is vandalised
This story is linked to the above. The RSPCA said that they were shocked after Animal Rising protesters vandalised King Charles’s new portrait which has received a lot of publicity and which is currently hanging at the Philip Mould Gallery in central London.
The protest concerns the RSPCA farms at which animal cruelty occurs. The activists plastered the face of an animated character from Wallace and Gromit on the painting with a speech bubble which reads: “No cheese, Gromit. Look at all this cruelty on RSPCA farms!”
Animal Rising is a non-violent organisation working towards a sustainable future in which humankind shares a positive relationship with animals and nature according to their statements.
Apparently, the King is a fan of Wallace and Gromit which motivated them to deface the portrait. The portrait isn’t damaged because it has a glass front and they simply stuck on paper which can be removed without any damage. It is a safe way to draw attention to the animal cruelty practised at some RSPCA Assured farms.
