‘Dying like flies’: A million chickens die on way from farm to abattoir each year

Whistleblower says birds are dying in a pretty rough way' from heat stress and lack of water on journeys in England and Wales

Chickens are dying like flies" in their millions while being transported from farms to abattoirs because of poorly ventilated lorries, a whistleblower has told the Guardian.

Around one million chickens are dead on arrival at slaughterhouses in England and Wales every year, according to data collected by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and analysed by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and the Guardian.

Although the number of deaths in transit is just a fraction of the one billion birds slaughtered every year in the UK, the government said this week that the figures were worrying" and reducing deaths was a driving force behind its new proposals to restrict the transport of live animals. A consultation on the issue closed this week.