Animal rights supporters have staged a protest outside a town's Lidl over the alleged abuse of chickens.

Campaign group The Humane League UK stood outside the supermarket chain's branch in Quarry Hill Road, Tonbridge to object to its alleged use of "fast-growing" breeds.

Protesters gathered outside the store from 2.30pm to 4pm today to dish out flyers and urge shoppers to sign a petition.

The group wants the German grocer to stop selling so-called "frankenchickens", which it claims are predisposed to serious health problems, and sign the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC)

KFC, Nando’s, Greggs and Burger King are among more than 240 companies to have signed the welfare policy, as is Lidl France, but so far the rest of the chain has refused, it is claimed.

It comes after a series of European investigations which the charity claims links the store to animal cruelty.

Aldi denies the claims and says the supplier shown in campaign materials which it is alleged to use do not supply any of its UK stores.

It says it takes matters of animal welfare "extremely seriously" and all of its chicken comply with nationally recognised third-party standards.

But Abbie Newing, a supporter at the demonstration, urged customers "not to be fooled".

She said: "Three appalling undercover investigations have been published about Lidl’s European farms, and we know the Frankenchickens Lidl keeps in this country are also suffering from grotesque and painful health problems.

"I believe the British public stands against animal cruelty and I believe they will agree that Lidl should stand up for animal welfare and sign the BCC.”

The charity says that "fast-growing" chickens make up around 90% of the country's 1.1 billion chickens raised for meat each year.

They claim that this process is responsible for much of the suffering uncovered by recent investigations into the store's suppliers in Italy, Spain and Germany.

In 2020, an Open Cages investigation into the farm of an alleged Lidl supplier showed that chickens in Lidl’s UK supply fare no better.

Protesters also recently targeted Lidl’s HQ in Tolworth, Surrey, for an overnight demonstration.

The Humane League UK has been campaigning for the retailer to adopt the BCC as a member of the Open Wing Alliance (OWA) – a coalition of more than 90 animal charities from 67 countries.

KFC, Nando’s, Greggs and Lidl France are among the 330+ companies in the UK and EU to have committed to the BCC, but the charity says the rest of Lidl has so far refused.

The BCC requires the use of slower-growing breeds, more space, natural light and enrichment, less painful slaughter methods and third-party auditing.

"We take the matter of animal welfare extremely seriously and have long been committed to increasing welfare and traceability standards throughout our supply chain."

Fast-growing chickens – who grow from birth to slaughter weight in around 35 days – are alleged to be more vulnerable to congenital "production diseases".

These include heart attacks, lameness, green muscle disease, ascites (water belly) and organ failure.

A Lidl spokeswoman said: "At Lidl GB, we take the matter of animal welfare extremely seriously and have long been committed to increasing welfare and traceability standards throughout our supply chain.

"All of our chicken complies with nationally recognised third-party standards, including Red Tractor Assured, RSPCA certification and Soil Association Organic, whilst our free-range RSPCA Assured chicken meets and exceeds the requirements of the Better Chicken Commitment.

"We work closely with our suppliers and industry partners, including sitting on the poultry board of Red Tractor, to ensure that we are continually improving animal welfare standards, whilst also responding to what our customers want and expect from us."

They added: "In 2019, we were proud to become the first retailer to introduce method of production labelling across our fresh poultry range.

"The transparent label outlines clearly the conditions in which the animal was reared, and we are committed to increasing the number of products from higher welfare production systems over the coming years.

"We remain the only supermarket in the UK to have ‘Welfare Windows’ on pack.

"Last year we extended the scheme across more products and actively market this initiative to customers, supporting more informed purchasing decisions."