Missing: FOIs reveal 25 million chickens are unaccounted for in England - The Wildlife Trusts

Gap in poultry figures could have huge impacts on river pollution and land use say The Wildlife Trusts

A new report published today (23 April 2026) by The Wildlife Trusts has unearthed significant inaccuracies in poultry data used to inform the Government’s policies on land, manure and pollution management in England.

The report, Counting Chickens - An analysis of UK poultry numbers, sheds new light on the scale of the poultry sector in England, particularly in the chicken farming hotspots of Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Shropshire and Herefordshire. It follows numerous Freedom of Information requests (FOIs) and analysis of other official data sets which reveal major discrepancies in the number of chickens reportedly housed in the areas.

The report shows that a highly significant number of chickens – at least 25 million birds – are currently missing from data used by Government departments in the four counties alone. If the scale of inaccuracy was mirrored at a UK level, it could mean over 67 million birds are currently unaccounted for.

The Wildlife Trusts believe that misleading figures are being used to inform Government policies on land, the environment and river pollution, and may also affect decisions made about permits and planning permissions for additional poultry operations. This could lead to huge impacts on water pollution, nature and land use being ignored.