Tesco suppliers must raise standards to avoid River Wye's death, campaigners say

River campaigners are calling for urgent action by Tesco to immediately raise standards within its poultry and egg suppliers in the Wye Valley as they say the river is at risk of ecological collapse.

The supermarket giant is the biggest customer of major egg and poultry producers based in the region. Campaigners say it holds the key to saving the river from irreparable ecological deterioration caused by high levels of phosphate from the excrement produced by intensive chicken farming.

In a letter from its lawyers to Tesco senior executives, campaign group River Action said: 'It is unacceptable for a national retailer like Tesco to support (and indeed demand) intensive chicken production to the detriment and disregard account for the health of local environments, including the rivers on which communities, including their farmers, depend.

Tesco is the biggest customer of Wye Valley egg producer Noble Foods and chicken producer Avara Foods. Environmental campaigners say that since the supermarket giant switched to Avara as its main supplier of poultry in 2019, the food supply company has expanded its poultry plant in Hereford to meet demand. Avara last month applied for permission to expand its hatchery in Shobdon and expects a decision within the next fortnight.