// Animal rights activists shut down central London Co-op in protest over animal welfare
// Open Cages are campaigning for Co-op members to vote for the ‘Better Chicken Commitment’ to stop the sale of “Frankenchickens”
Animal rights activists have shut down Co-op’s London Soho branch in a protest to end the sale of “Frankenchickens”.
Members of Open Cages, donned in chicken masks, have blocked the meat aisle to demonstrate the “silent suffering of the millions of chickens reared on crowded factory farms supplied by Co-op”.
The protestors are urging Co-op members to vote for the ‘Better Chicken Commitment’ on 20 May, which would stop the retailer from sourcing its chicken meat from genetically engineered “Frankenchickens”.
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The birds, which have been bred to grow 400% faster than natural, are said to suffer from severe lameness, deformities and organ failure.
Open Cages co-founder Connor Jackson said: “We feel forced to take drastic measures to warn consumers about what they’re really buying.
“Co-op is deceiving its customers by creating an image of ethical business, while in fact, it is secretly profiting from some of the most cruel practices of intensive chicken farming,” said Jackson.
“By sitting down in the chicken meat aisle, we want to illustrate the silent suffering those birds endure during their short lives on factory farms supplying Co-op.
“They grow so big that their legs and bones fail to support their body weight, which often results in lameness or painful deformities.”
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