Tegel unrepentant about chicken campaign

By PHILIPPA STEVENSON

Tegel has no regrets about ruffling the feathers of animal welfare activists with advertisements proclaiming its chickens pure, natural and healthy.

Managing director Peter Lucas said the controversial campaign had provided a good opportunity for the company and industry to promote its case.

"It's not a cowboy industry at all. It's a tightly integrated, highly regulated and very responsible business."

Tegel advertisements stating that chickens are not given hormones or fed genetically engineered crops have run on television and in point-of-sale pamphlets.

The company's claims that its chickens are pure, natural and healthy have drawn criticism from Green MP Sue Kedgley, who has complained to the Advertising Standards Complaints Board and the SPCA.

But Mr Lucas said that despite drawing heavy flak the campaign was working for the company and the industry.

"We are concerned about what consumers think about and we do try and work proactively to address their concerns."

Erroneous perceptions about chicken, including the belief that they were given hormones, tended to persist and needed challenging.

Hormones were banned in poultry by law in New Zealand more than 30 years ago.

"Tegel and the rest of the industry is better off addressing [concerns] more proactively. We haven't got anything to hide. We think the industry has a great story."

Mr Lucas said some people were philosophically opposed to intensive farming and thought the only proper way to grow a chicken was "running around in an idyllic pasture." It was important to present other views.

Chicken consumption has grown about 6 per cent a year for the past decade and at more than 30kg a person a year has now headed off both lamb and beef as New Zealanders' favourite meat.

Tegel, one of three major firms, has about 60 per cent of the $500 million broiler or meat chicken market.

Mr Lucas said the company's main objective was to raise chicken consumption further, to 40 per cent from the present 30 per cent of the total meat market, in the next three to five years.

Demand had been fuelled by a preference for white meat and fostered by the meat's versatility and ease of preparation as well as industry innovation, which had presented a wide variety of new products.