Egg supplier makes changes after neglect claims

Stuart Bird (left) and Matthew Bird have worked for the family-owned business for more than 30 years

An egg producer said it has made changes and improvements to the way it works following allegations of animal neglect.

Bird Bros Ltd, based in Swineshead, Bedfordshire, was previously accused of having poor welfare standard at its Sunny Farm facility. It has now had its British Lion egg accreditation reinstated.

Commercial director Matthew Bird said the "matter had been dealt with" and the claims were not in line with its values.

He said the company, which packs and supplies four million eggs a week, would move hens from cages to barns by 2028.

Animal Justice Project previously raised concerns about the Sunny Farm facility

The family-owned business, that was started by twin brothers, Carl and Peter Bird in 1969, said it had "made significant investment and wanted to meet tough standards and excel them."

Matthew, who is Peter’s son, said: "When the matter was brought to our attention we dealt with it as a matter of emergency, it was not in line with our company values.

"The wellbeing of the hens is at the heart of what we do."

Stuart, Carl's son, said staff were re-trained, industry consultants and vets were brought in and shared advice.

"We have spent a lot of money on equipment and processes,” he said.

"We're committed to improving things and moving forward and looking forward.”

'We will convert to barn eggs'

Matthew said it was a "challenge in time, but we pulled together and got the job done".

He added: "By 2028 we will not sell caged eggs anymore, we're moving with customer demand, we will convert to barn eggs, it's an exciting prospect for us."

Supermarket Lidl, who ceased selling Bird Bros eggs in August after allegations from the Animal Justice Project came to light, said the company had supplied "a very small quantity of produce".

It carried out its own investigation and said it would "no longer working with Bird Bros".

A Spokesperson for British Lion said: "Sunny Farm has now been reinstated into the Lion scheme."