Can we trust the tractor? What ‘Red Tractor assured’ really means for animal welfare

‘Red Tractor assured’ is widely accepted in the UK as a mark of quality and high welfare, but does it really mean anything? Lex Rigby looks at whether our food assurance systems can be relied on – or, even worse, are they corrupt?

Food assurance schemes aim to convey positive messaging about food safety, animal welfare and environmental protection to reassure consumers that their food has been produced under stringent guidelines.

Mostly, they use bylines such as “farmed with care”, “higher welfare” or “responsibly sourced” to dispel any doubts we may have about how the food we eat is grown or reared.

But can we trust them? When it comes to the animals we farm, the short answer is probably not.

What ‘Red Tractor assured’ really means

In the UK, the largest and most recognisable food assurance scheme is Red Tractor, a not-for-profit company owned and funded by the British farming and food industry.

They assure around 50,000 farmers, giving accreditation to facilities that meet Red Tractor’s own set of standards.

These standards form the basis of buying and sourcing specifications for all major supermarkets, household brands and restaurant chains and therefore control the production of the majority of products lining our kitchen cupboards.

However, since Red Tractor is owned and operated by individuals with a vested interest in promoting their own products, it has been challenged over whether there might be a lack of independent oversight and scrutiny when it comes to upholding the “highest animal welfare standards in the world” we often hear about.

It’s also of note that Red Tractor standards are fairly similar to the minimum guidelines set out by the Government.

Animal welfare standards in the UK

Standards for animal welfare may be higher in the UK, but that doesn’t mean the situation is actually good for the animals involved.

Take the stocking density of chickens in battery farming, for example.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) permits 39 kilograms of chicken per square metre in their poultry welfare code, whereas Red Tractor standards reduce this to 38 kilograms per square metre.

In real terms, i.e. the number of individuals rather than their collective weight, that’s 17 to 19 birds in a space that’s the size of an average car bonnet or one bird with less space than an A4-size sheet of paper to spread their wings and scratch around in.

To add insult to injury, often the bare minimum these highly intelligent and curious animals can expect in terms of environmental enrichment is just one pecking object and two metres of perching area per 1,000 birds.

Such dismal provisions for a species with complex social needs inevitably lead to boredom and frustration.

Selective over-engineering also prevents many birds from even reaching these pecking or perching points due to high levels of lameness.

Undercover investigations in Red Tractor assured farms

Over recent years, Viva!’s Red Tractor investigations have taken direct aim at the industry by exposing numerous Red Tractor assured broiler, dairy, fish, pig and turkey farms – spotlighting to the public what “higher welfare” really means.

One of these pig farms was a large facility, confining up to 8,000 pigs in filthy, dilapidated buildings.

During a four-month investigation, hidden cameras were installed that captured a disturbing catalogue of cruelty in which animals with bleeding hernias, prolapses, deformed trotters, rectal strictures and pot bellies were left to suffer and die from starvation, dehydration, their untreated injuries or illness.

These scenes were some of the most harrowing anyone at Viva! had ever seen – in some cases even worse than Hogwood; that other infamous Red Tractor assured pig farm at the centre of Viva!’s multi-award-winning documentary.

Find out where to watch Hogwood and other inspiring vegan documentaries

In fact, the situation was so bad that, following Viva!’s complaints, Trading Standards launched their own investigation and ended up prosecuting the owners for negligence under the Animal Welfare Act.

Despite extensive video footage of appalling cruelty, including feral cats picking off live piglets to eat, all but one of the 68 charges were dropped. The owners pleaded guilty to one charge and were ordered to pay a token fine.

Exposing the cruelty behind the Red Tractor

The exposure eventually led to the farm’s closure, but that was long after Red Tractor’s CEO Jim Moseley admitted live on BBC Radio 4 that Red Tractor’s reputation had been damaged as a result of Viva!’s exposé.

Red Tractor couldn’t explain how violations of animal welfare standards – some of which were the culmination of decades-old neglect – were missed during its own inspections of the farm and allowed thousands upon thousands of pigs to suffer in abhorrent conditions.

In the animal protection movement, it was a small victory! Prosecutions like this very rarely happen.

Most farms get a slap on the wrist, then, once the media coverage dies down, membership fees are paid, suspensions are lifted, and the wheels keep turning. It’s the same old story.

Without a doubt, it can be incredibly frustrating to go up against such corrupt systems, but if charities like Viva! don’t, who will?

Undercover investigations don’t just take aim at a few bad apples, they represent systemic failures in our food system and lay the foundations for essential campaign work to create positive change.

We must lead by example, speak up for those who are not being heard, question everything and advocate in every way we know how to create a kinder world.

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Featured photo © RGtimeline via Getty Images. Composition and logo by VFL