Ayesha Sensible, a specialist animal welfare barrister who backs the marketing campaign, mentioned she believed the undercover investigation footage she had seen had discovered authorized breaches on RSPCA Assured farms.
She mentioned that “the scheme can not legitimately say that it ensures the welfare of its farmed animals and is now not match for function”.
Rose Patterson, from the Animal Rising marketing campaign group, mentioned the RSPCA wanted “to be a real chief for all animals and cease welfare-washing animal cruelty”.
The RSPCA Assured scheme – initially referred to as Freedom Meals – was launched 30 years in the past.
Licensed farms need to comply with strict welfare requirements which can be set out by RSPCA welfare scientists and are larger than is legally required within the UK.
Those who meet the requirements can carry the label on their merchandise, stocked in supermarkets together with Aldi, Lidl, Sainsbury’s and Tesco, and eating places together with McDonald’s and the Frankie & Benny’s chain.
The RSPCA added that each it and the RSPCA Assured scheme “take any welfare considerations on farms very severely – that is the only real focus of the scheme and central to the core work of the RSPCA. Failure to evolve to the scheme requirements is unacceptable”.
A spokeswoman added that when the findings of the assessment had been assessed “we are going to take any mandatory sturdy motion”.
