Tesco chicken supplier should pay to clean up River Wye, says charity

Algal blooms in the River Wye are increasing, partly caused by phosphorus entering the water from excess manure from poultry farms. Photograph: Alexander Turner/The Guardian

Avara Foods, a leading supplier of chicken to Tesco, is being urged by campaigners to pay reparations to help clean up the River Wye.

The Wye, a river running from mid-Wales to the Severn estuary, has been affected by increasing algal blooms. These are partly caused by poultry farms spreading more manure than the land can absorb, say scientists, leading to excess phosphorus leaching into waterways.