Ricky Gervais and Joanna Lumley join call for 'misleading' animal welfare scheme to be axed as RSPCA launches review

By Henry Moore

Animal welfare inspectors have been sent to investigate more than 200 farms across the UK after it was alleged one of the nation’s largest food certification schemes is failing to enforce its standards.

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RSPCA Assured, which covers almost 4,000 farms and supermarkets, has said it launched a “fine grain and comprehensive review” of its process in the wake of the claims.

The scheme is designed to inform shoppers that the food they are purchasing has been treated to a high standard.

But a group of 60 campaign organisations have called for the scheme to be axed after they reportedly found 40 farms failing to keep up standards.

A number of celebrities have backed these calls, including comedy writer Ricky Gervais, singers Moby and Bryan Adams and actress Joanna Lumley.

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“Your RSPCA Assured scheme is failing to ensure the welfare of farmed animals, it is welfare-washing animal cruelty, and it is misleading the public that animals can be farmed without cruelty,” the letter writers say.

“In the 200 years you’ve been in existence, you’ve failed to protect the largest group of animals who are suffering the most – animals who are farmed. Almost 100 investigations over the past 16 years have shown shocking and heartbreaking levels of suffering in RSPCA Assured farms and slaughterhouses."

This comes after a group of animal welfare activists secretly filmed RSPCA Assured farms allegedly breaching legal standards, the BBC reports.

Allegations include overcrowding, poor hygiene and in some shocking cases, physical abuse of livestock by farm workers.

After these claims were made public, RSPCA chief Chris Packham called for its Assured scheme to be suspended.

An RSPCA spokesperson said: “Improving the lives of farmed animals is central to what we Do.

“We know that improving farmed animal lives is challenging, but we are constantly striving to drive up standards through improved legislation, better enforcement and farming practices.

“Both the RSPCA and RSPCA Assured take any welfare concerns on farms very seriously - this is the sole focus of the scheme and central to the core work of the RSPCA.

“Failure to conform to the scheme standards is unacceptable.

“Once concerns came to light, RSPCA Assured launched an immediate investigation and visited all farms identified as being members.”

The RSPCA statement continued: “But we want to give our supporters, partners and the public confidence that RSPCA Assured is consistently delivering better welfare than standard farming practices.

“So, alongside this investigation, we launched an independent review of RSPCA Assured, which has been carried out over several months, including unannounced visits to more than 200 members of the scheme. This is in addition to the existing checks we have in place as part of the scheme.

“This has been a fine grain and comprehensive review looking at a large number of farms and the analysis is still ongoing. We will assess this and communicate our findings as soon as we are able.”