Alive for 40 days in shed with 34,000 others: show reveals conditions faced by KFC chickens

 
Access: for the first time, cameras have been allowed inside the one of the sheds where KFC's chickens are reared (Picture: BBC)
Sebastian Mann18 March 2015

The short lives of KFC chickens, which are gassed and chopped into nine pieces after just 40 days in a factory, are set to be revealed in a shocking BBC documentary.

Producers were granted unprecedented access to one of the UK's largest fast food companies, which serves customers 23 million chickens each year.

The three-part series, titled The Billion Dollar Chicken Shop, includes a visit to one of the rapidly growing enterprise's chicken farms, where 34,000 animals are crammed into a shed.

Andrew, a chicken farmer of 35 years, tells the programme the animals live for between 35 and 42 days, until they reach an optimal weight. Despite the floor being coated with excrement, he insists they are "healthy" and have a "very good life".

"[They've] got beautifully clean feet and that's a good sign that these birds are healthy and that they've been grown on good litter," he says.

'Good life': farmer Andrew tells the show he 'wouldn't mind being a chicken here' (Picture: BBC)

"You can see for yourself they look absolutely fantastic."

He adds: "They probably have a short life but they have a very good life - I wouldn't mind being a chicken in here."

Once they come of age, the birds are caught and put to sleep in a gas chamber before being chopped into nine pieces and delivered to KFC stores around the country within 48 hours.

The BBC said: "With unique top-to-bottom access, this three-part observational documentary series goes inside the fast food giant KFC UK.

"From its boardroom to its kitchens, the series features the people responsible for the daily operations of one of the most globally recognised food brands in the world."

A KFC spokesperson said: “Animal welfare is essential for high quality food so we only use trusted and well-established suppliers which meet or exceed UK and EU welfare requirements. Typically only around 10 per cent of chickens in barns are supplied to KFC with the majority of the remainder going to major UK supermarkets.

"KFC was the first quick service restaurant to gain Red Tractor farm assured certification and we have in place our own robust standard, which is independently audited by third parties.”

The Billion Dollar Chicken Shop will be shown on BBC One at 9pm tonight

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