MP Russell backs RSPCA campaign

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 23rd Sep 2008

The call comes just days after the town's MP spoke at an RSPCA fringe meeting at the Liberal Democrat Party Conference which featured the suffering caged hens have in the production of eggs. He said consumers could help end this practice by only buying free range or barn eggs.

Mr Russell's latest call in support of animal welfare comes on the day when the RSPCA publishes a new report which shows how ethical the public is when buying food - and how this can impact on animal welfare in the food chain.

The research found that in spite of the credit crunch, 56% of respondents say that they choose higher welfare eggs, 39% higher welfare labelled chicken and 41% stated they are now more likely to let animal welfare influence their choice of food compared to five years ago.

However, these encouraging trends are tempered by the fact that barriers and temptation can still get in the way of a desire to be more ethical:

o 66% of all respondents admitted that they had bought cheaper standard chicken or salmon when tempted by special offers such as Buy One Get One Free (BOGOFS).

o 63% per cent will buy the standard option if they can't find a higher version of the animal product they are looking for a substantial proportion of all respondents

o 72% do not think to check eggs as ingredients - in spite of a clear trend towards welfare-friendly purchase of whole, boxed eggs

Mr Russell, a long-term supporter, a long time supporter of higher welfare standards for farm animals said: "Just by making changes to our shopping and eating habits we can affect the way farm animals are reared. If more people go out of their way to choose or ask for welfare-friendly food such as

RSPCA Freedom Food labelled products, more of the 1 billion animals reared for food each year in the UK will be raised to higher welfare standards, farmers will be rewarded for their efforts and others will be encouraged to follow suit".

To help raise awareness of the issue during RSPCA Freedom Food Farm Animal Week (22-28 September) shoppers are being given the chance to test their out their own welfare credentials or 'Farm Animal Footprint', by visiting www.animalwelfarefootprint.com and participating in a simple quiz.

The interactive quiz will test out how welfare-friendly visitors are in terms of their shopping and eating habits, and provide some easy ways for them to improve.