Co-op members and board at odds over AGM vote on chicken welfare

Motion to adopt Better Chicken Commitment carried by 96%, but directors cited need for low prices

Feathers are flying at the Co-operative Group after thousands of its members voted to improve welfare for chickens reared for meat at the annual meeting on Saturday - but were partly overruled by the company's directors, who said they wanted to keep prices down.

A motion led by the Humane League UK campaign group asked the mutual to adopt the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC) - a set of standards adopted by the likes of Waitrose, Marks & Spencer and the Greggs bakery chain - and report on welfare improvements in a year's time. It was supported by 96% of the 32,000 Co-op members who voted at the AGM.