RSPCA Assured has launched a new campaign to highlight the importance of hen welfare this Pancake Day (February 21) especially during bird flu restrictions.

The ethical food label and farm assurance scheme’s campaign calls on the public to support higher welfare farmers before tucking into their tasty pancakes by purchasing RSPCA Assured eggs.

The campaign is part of a major bid to back RSPCA Assured egg producers during bird flu restrictions and highlight that whether barn or free-range, RSPCA Assured eggs are still higher welfare.

Xenia Kingsley, senior marketing manager at RSPCA Assured, said: “We hope the new TV ad will encourage consumers who choose to mark Pancake Day by whisking up some batter and flipping some tasty pancakes, to make sure they are buying higher welfare eggs.

“We wanted to highlight the importance of hen welfare and invest in our RSPCA Assured egg members by backing them during this difficult time as they face the challenges of one of the worst outbreaks of bird flu the UK has ever seen.”

The advert is part of a larger Pancake Day campaign for the charity including social and press activity aimed at providing the public with information and reassurance about eggs during a time when there is understandably a lot of concern around hen welfare due to bird flu restrictions.

Since the end of last year, all poultry in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have been housed indoors to protect them from the Avian Influenza disease outbreak. Since February 1, British Lion Code eggs can no longer be labelled ‘free-range’ and consumers have instead seen ‘barn’ eggs flooding supermarket shelves.