A turkey farm which supplies the birds to Harrods has been accused of breaking animal welfare standards after secret footage captured by activists.
Hockenhull Turkeys in Lincolnshire has been suspended from a food standards assurance scheme following the recording.
Staff members were seen throwing the birds and one worker was caught urinating in a pen with the turkeys.
The firm supplies turkeys to high-end stores and butchers to be sold during the Christmas period.
The Spilsby facility rears the birds before moving them on to other farms, including one which supplies Harrods – where they are then sold for up to £170.
The footage, captured by Green Britain Foundation, also found workers not following biosecurity rules such as moving between sheds without changing their boots or using foot dips.
A spokesperson for Hockenhull Turkeys said they were ‘appalled’ at the footage which they said ‘does not represent the standards of animal husbandry and biosecurity’ which the company expects.
They told BBC News: ‘High biosecurity and animal welfare standards are of the utmost importance to us and it is clear here that we have failed to live up to that promise.’
Farm and food assurance scheme Red Tractor has suspended Hockenhull Turkey’s certification while an independent investigation into the firm takes place.
A Red Tractor spokesperson said they take breaches of its standards ‘extremely seriously’.
The site breeds turkeys and rears them from chicks before sending the young birds -known as poults – to other farms which use traditional methods to rear and slaughter the birds.
The traditional methods are said to produce higher quality meat, to meet a ‘farmfresh’ industry standard.
Harrods confirmed that while the luxury department store does not have a direct relationship with Hockenhull Turkeys, its supplier does use their breed of the birds.
A spokesperson said Harrods is now ‘urgently investigating’ whether there was a breach in standards.
They said that the company’s farm supplier adhered to strict standards set by the industry body, the Traditional Farmfresh Turkey Association (TFTA).
The government’s Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), which monitors animal welfare on farms, is also investigating.
Former Just Stop Oil and Labour Party donor Dale Vince is a trustee of the Green Britain Foundation.
Mr Vince, who also owns Forest Green Rovers FC, called for Harrods to suspend supplies from Hockenhull and launch an independent investigation.
He said: ‘Anything less is not really living up to their reputation’.
