Tesco suppliers must raise standards to avert death of River Wye, say campaigners

High levels of phosphate pollution in rivers cause algal blooms, which reduce oxygen levels. Photograph: Alexander Turner/The Guardian

River campaigners are calling for urgent action from Tesco to immediately raise standards within its poultry and egg suppliers in the Wye valley, as they say the river is at risk of ecological collapse.

The supermarket giant is the largest customer of the main egg and poultry producers based in the area. Campaigners say it holds the key to saving the river from irreparable ecological deterioration caused by high phosphate levels from excrement produced by intensive chicken farming.