Madam, - Contrary to the assertion by Vincent Carton of Manor Farm chickens, (April 27th), modern chickens reared for meat are forced to grow unnaturally fast. How else does he explain the fact that meat chickens today reach slaughter weight in about six weeks - which is half the time the process took 30 years ago? This super-fast growth rate means that for producers and consumers chicken meat is cheap.
But a high price is paid by the unfortunate birds themselves because they are prone to leg and heart problems. Of the 4,000 million chickens reared in the EU each year, millions suffer from painful leg deformities and millions die of heart failure before reaching the six-week slaughter age.
Mr Carton maintains that "chickens live in great airy houses on farms".
However, he fails to add that each shed may hold 10,000 or 20,000 birds or more, with as many as 19 birds living on each square metre of floor space and no access to outdoors at any time.
Free-range chicken is more expensive, but from the birds' point of view, the quality of life more than justifies this extra cost. - Yours, etc,
MARY-ANNE BARTLETT, Director, Compassion in World Farming Togher, Cork.