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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Tom Levitt

‘The birds are all back inside’: could this be the end for free-range eggs in the UK?

Culled chickens being dumped into a skip
Culled chickens being dumped into a skip on an egg farm in Lincolnshire after a bird flu outbreak in December 2021. Photograph: Courtesy of Open Cages

In a matter of weeks – or even days – the UK’s free-range chicken sector is expected to be shut down. Any farms that had been giving their egg-laying hens or chickens access to the outdoors will be forced to keep them locked indoors.

While the headlines are that bird flu is back after a surge of outbreaks over the past three weeks and fears of festive goose shortages, the reality is it never really went away.

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