Hugh F-W declares war on Tesco broilers

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has officially declared war on Tesco's. The casus belli? His old hobbyhorse, factory-farmed poultry. The battlefield? The supermarket chain's AGM in Birmingham on June 27, where he will call for a mass revolt of shareholders to improve the welfare of broiler chickens, which Tesco now sell for just £1.99 a bird.

To achieve this end, Fearnley-Whittingstall has bought a financial stake in Tesco and, as is his right, has tabled a resolution which would force the company either to withdraw its claim that it supports animal welfare or to adopt minimum standards set by the RSPCA.

Assisting him in this endeavour are more than 100 investors holding a combined total of three million shares. F-W, who disclosed the move ahead of his new Channel 4 series based around his Dorset home River Cottage, is now canvassing major City investors and members of the public for support.

Under rules laid down by the Financial Services Authority, he cannot advise supporters to buy Tesco shares and then vote for the resolution. But he will urge them in an email today to contact the Northampton stockbroker Cave & Sons, which has agreed to help the campaign by buying a single share on their behalf for about £30.

Fearnley-Whittingstall's campaign marks an escalation in his drive to improve the welfare of the 800m chickens bred in the UK each year. The chef claims that Tesco breaches at least three of the "five freedoms" set by the government-run Farm Animal Welfare Council. Chickens produced under the RSPCA Freedom Foods scheme have 80 per cent fewer leg burns and 65 per cent lower mortality than those which are reared under the Assured Chicken Production scheme and sold by Tesco. In its defence, Tesco says it checks suppliers regularly and believes that its birds meet the highest welfare standards.