A turkey farm that breeds premium birds which are then sold at Christmas in high-end stores and butchers has been suspended from a food standards assurance scheme amid allegations of poor biosecurity and animal welfare standards.
Hockenhull Turkeys in Lincolnshire is being investigated by Red Tractor after welfare campaigners secretly filmed workers not following biosecurity measures, throwing birds and, in one case, a staff member urinating in a pen of birds.
The Spilsby facility supplies young birds – known as poults – to farms, including one that supplies Harrods with turkeys selling for up to £170.
Hockenhull Turkeys told the BBC it had suspended workers while an investigation takes place.
The footage, which was captured by environmental campaign group Green Britain Foundation in July and August, shows one worker walking into a pen full of live turkeys before urinating.
Workers are also seen not following basic biosecurity practices, moving between sheds without changing boots or using foot dips, and throwing and mishandling birds.
A spokesman for Hockenhull Turkeys, which is owned by global company Aviagen Turkeys, said they were “appalled and very concerned” to see the secret filming which “does not represent the standards of animal husbandry and biosecurity we expect”.
“High biosecurity and animal welfare standards are of the utmost importance to us and it is clear here that we have failed to live up to that promise,” he said.
He added that the “vast majority” of staff “care deeply” for the animals in their care and that the footage “does not represent a typical day at Hockenhull”.
Red Tractor, a farm and food assurance scheme that ensures its members meet certain standards for food safety, animal welfare and traceability, has suspended Hockenhull Turkey’s certification “pending an independent investigation”.
“We take breaches of these standards extremely seriously and will always act on credible evidence of non-compliance,” a spokesman told the BBC.
It said it had also sent its own assessor to the site to investigate the issues raised by the footage.
Turkeys bred at the site are supplied to farms that use traditional rearing and slaughtering methods to produce higher-quality meat, a standard known as “farmfresh”.
Such Hockenhull turkeys are sold by the luxury department store Harrods.
A Harrods spokeswoman said they did not have a “direct relationship” with Hockenhull Turkeys itself but that a farm supplier that uses their breed of turkey was “now thoroughly and urgently investigating any evidence of a breach in standards from the supplier of Hockenhull poults”.
She added that the farm supplier adhered to strict standards set by the industry body, the Traditional Farmfresh Turkey Association (TFTA).
The BBC has approached the TFTA for comment.
Dale Vince, of the Green Britain Foundation, called for Harrods to suspend supplies from Hockenhull and launch an independent investigation, with the findings made public.
“Anything less is not really living up to their reputation,” he said.
The government’s Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), which monitors animal welfare on farms, is also investigating.
A spokeswoman said: “We take breaches of animal welfare legislation very seriously and will always take action where we find this.”
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