Hockerwood Park Farm in Southwell near Newark which supplies Tesco and The Happy Egg Co accused of hen neglect by Animal Justice Project

A free-range egg farm which supplies Tesco is at the centre of a hen 'neglect' probe.

Animal welfare advocates have filmed inside Hockerwood Park Farm in Southwell, which houses 42,000 hens and sells eggs to supermarket giant Tesco through The Happy Egg Co.

According to Animal Justice Project activists, there were cases of severe prolapses, wings that looked broken, and widespread feather loss inside the poultry houses.

Dying and decaying birds were allegedly seen on the shed floors.

Veterinary professor of animal welfare at University of Winchester, Andrew Knight, said: “Numerous hens evidenced serious illness and injuries that appeared untreated.

“These conditions would cause serious suffering and sometimes pain.

“However, no signs of appropriate veterinary care were visible. Instead, numerous hens appeared to have been left to die without intervention.”

Hockerwood Park Farm is a supplier to The Happy Egg Co, a brand synonymous with “ethical” egg production, and is believed to feature on the company’s YouTube channel.

Happy Egg Co said it launched a review as soon as it saw the footage and RSPCA and BEIC had since carried out inspections which found the farm to be fully compliant with industry regulations and best practices.

The Animal Justice Project documented their visits to a number of free-range, RSPCA Assured egg farms supplying major UK supermarkets such as M&S, Tesco and Asda between December 2023 and February 2024.

Three other farms, including one in Grimsthorpe, Lincolnshire, were also included in the video released by activists.

RSPCA Assured, the charity’s farm animal welfare assurance scheme, has launched an investigation.

Assessors have made unannounced inspections of the farms that are members of the scheme and the footage is being analysed to identify any breaches of the RSPCA welfare standards.

A spokesperson for RSPCA Assured said: “We can confirm that we have suspended one of the farms, pending further investigation.

“This means they cannot market or sell any products under the RSPCA Assured label.

“Our investigation into the other two farms is ongoing and we are unable to comment further at this time.”

They added: “Sadly, from time to time things can go wrong on farms, but one case of poor welfare is still one too many, which is why we have taken these allegations very seriously.

“But with nearly 4,000 members on the scheme farming to higher welfare standards, many millions more farm animals are having a better life thanks to our work and dedicated members.

“We ask that anyone with concerns about an animal on an RSPCA Assured certified farm to always report it immediately, so that we can act swiftly.

“Any delay in reporting concerns means there is a significant risk of an animal being left to suffer unnecessarily.”

A spokesperson for The Happy Egg Co said: “At The Happy Egg Co, the care and wellbeing of all our hens is a top priority and our agricultural team runs a robust schedule of regular farm visits, which includes spot checks from third parties to ensure they meet our stringent welfare standards.

“As soon as we were shown this footage featuring one of our farms, we launched an immediate review. Our team assessed the farm, and both the RSPCA and BEIC have since carried out independent and unannounced assessments, where the farm was found to be fully compliant with industry regulations and best practices. The RSPCA had previously visited the farm only two weeks prior and has found no cause for concern at either visit.”

Tesco has also been contacted for a comment.