UK chicken shortage warning as 41C heatwave sparks food supply chaos
The UK has been warned that a chicken shortage may occur as temperatures are expected to soar to 41C in another heatwave in the coming weeks.
The extreme heat has a major impact on the UK farming industry and food supply, with animals and agriculture coming under strain in the high temperatures.
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From July 8 to July 11 a further spat of intense highs are forecast, with the heat expected to exceed 40C as Britain's hottest day ever looms.
In 2022, when temperatures last reached this height, thousands of chickens died during transportation causing a stock shortage.
Jez Fredenburgh, senior food and climate analyst at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit said: “The UK’s food system, including nature and farmed animals, is increasingly coming under strain from periods of high heat, and we’ve had two record breaking heat waves in both May and June.
"These can have disastrous consequences. For example, during summer 2022, when temperatures reached more than 40C in the UK, around 18,500 chickens died in transport due to heat stress and wildfire incidents increased by more than 300% compared to the year before."
Prolonged high temperatures cause stress on livestock and have a huge impact for farmers.
Chicken supply issues have caused chaos in the UK before. Popular fast food chain KFC ran out of chicken in 2018, causing hundreds of restaurants across the nation to shut temporarily.
At the time of the shortage, the takeaway chain said: “To put it simply,” KFC tweeted at the time, “we’ve got the chicken, we’ve got the restaurants, but we’ve just had issues getting them together.”
Another hot spell could lead to shortages of the protein at several restaurants as the agricultural industry faces increased pressure.
Martin Lines, farmer and CEO of the Nature Friendly Farming Network said: "The current heat across the UK is another reminder that farmers are on the frontline of climate change.
"Prolonged high temperatures place huge stress on livestock, dry out soils and reduce crop resilience, all while putting more pressure on nature."
Last week, the heatwave already saw empty supermarket shelves due to cooling issues, however with the added concern of stock shortages the next spell of extreme heat could leave UK shops looking extremely empty.