Kronfågel: The worst chicken slaughterhouse in Sweden
The brand Kronfågel AB operates the largest slaughterhouse in Sweden. In 2023, they had the highest percentage of animal welfare violations compared to Sweden’s other chicken slaughterhouses. This is revealed in a new overview on animal welfare inspections compiled by Project 1882.
Kronfågel AB, owned by international Scandi Standard, operates the largest chicken slaughterhouse in Sweden. In 2023, the company caused chickens suffering during transport, but also had several violations during the bleeding process after stunning – that may have resulted in chickens being scalded alive.
Out of the 79 inspection reports obtained by Project 1882, a staggering 70, or 89 %, showed animal welfare violations. This means that Kronfågel retains its position as the worst chicken factory farm in 2023, just as in 2022. These issues point to systematic problems that have caused extensive suffering for the chickens.
– Kronfågel is allowed to continue slaughtering hundreds of thousands of chickens each day, despite repeatedly failing on such critical aspects of animal welfare. Now, authorities must take decisive action to end this widespread suffering, which affects millions of animals, says Benny Andersson, CEO of Project 1882.
Approximately 55 million Frankenchickens are transported to and slaughtered at Kronfågel’s chicken slaughterhouse each year. This equates to two chickens per second, making it impossible for authorities to monitor animal welfare for individual chickens.
Animal welfare violations discovered at Kronfågel in 2023
● On 13 occasions, deficiencies regarding slaughter were identified, and in at least five of these cases, issues during the killing process indicated that chickens may have been at risk of being scalded alive.
● On 57 occasions, transport violations were discovered, with chickens found crushed in transport crates or “unusually large numbers” of chickens being found dead or sick in transport vehicles, affecting thousands of individuals.
Politicians and companies must take responsibility
High mortality rates and crushing injuries during transport are problems worsened by the fact that the chickens slaughtered are Frankenchickens, which, due to intensive breeding, are sensitive to stress and have difficulty moving because of their heavy bodies.
– It is truly painful to read about all the chickens that suffer every year in Kronfågel’s facilities. And our review only shows the violations that have been discovered – the high slaughter pace means much goes unnoticed. I can only urge everyone who wants to reject this cruelty to leave chicken off their plate and to support Project 1882’s work to dismantle factory farming, concludes Benny Andersson.
Project 1882 advocates for reduced meat consumption and aims to raise minimum welfare standards through political influence and dialogue with companies regarding European Chicken Commitment (ECC). The ECC outlines criteria for companies to implement in their policies to improve chicken welfare. Among other things, Frankenchickens will no longer be used, and chickens will be given more space, which would reduce the risk of suffering.
Read more about how we work to dismantle factory farms here.
About the overview
By requesting inspection reports from the Swedish Food Agency and county administrative boards, Project 1882 has mapped out the animal welfare violations reported at Sweden’s four largest chicken slaughterhouses in 2023. The slaughterhouses included in the overview are Kronfågel AB, Guldfågeln AB, Torsåsen Fågelprodukter AB (which supplies meat under the Guldfågeln brand), and Atria Sverige AB (which supplies meat under the Lagerbergs and Lönneberga brands).
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