Playing Chicken

A massive 1.1 billion chickens are slaughtered in the UK for meat each year. In 2022, 80 million chickens died before reaching their slaughter weight. This record number was around 7% of these birds (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/11/premature-death-of-80m-chickens-raises-concerns-over-uks-fast-growing-breeds). The record premature mortalities seen in UK chickens in 2022, seems due to a combination of factors. Avian 'flu was certainly an influence and the extreme summer temperatures didn't help. It's suggested, however, that the commercial switch to the use of fast-growing chicken breeds added to the early deaths. These so-called 'Frankenchickens' (a wholly inappropriate name, as Frankenstein in Mary Shelly's book was the Doctor and not the monster), develop speedily, maximising profits. Sometimes, however, their hearts and bones can't deal with the growth spurt. Premature mortalities could obviously be reduced by improving ventilation in intensive chicken farms, vaccinating against avian 'flu and switching to slower growing breeds. Whether this is actually improving 'welfare' is, of course, debatable.