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Poultry welfare is high on the national agenda after celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall broadcast a series of programmes this week.
The trio of documentaries followed his quest to persuade residents of the East Devon town of Axminster to convert to free-range in his Chicken Out! campaign. To achieve his goal, he set up his own chicken shed which he split down the middle, with one half intensively reared while in the other, birds were allowed to roam outside.
Yesterday, Mr Fearnley-Whittingstall said: "Bird flu is a serious matter and I know that everyone who keeps poultry in the area will be very concerned about the risk of finding it in their own flocks.
"It's important, however, that this does not distract us from the issue of poultry welfare. We have had a huge public response to the Chicken Out! campaign this week. People all over the country are clearly concerned that the chickens destined for their dinner tables are treated with more respect."
But the series has divided opinion, with many farmers saying he has done nothing to help animal welfare.
Last night, John Riddell, chairman of the NFU's South West poultry board, said standard chicken production would never die out in the UK.
He said: "I have no question that Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is entirely honest in his motivation, but unfortunately he doesn't understand the market we are in. What he has done is far more damaging than any good it could possibly do."
Far from asking for free-range chickens, many eateries were demanding cheaper poultry in the wake of the programmes because they perceived that the market had been damaged.