New CEO, new Chair, neither give a flying fuck about the environment. Underfunded organisation that is now chasing figures to satisfy these new appointments, who have been brought in to undermine the organisation from within.
This is probably mismanagement at middle manager level, but the core of the problem is at the top. These were political appointments, made by the Tories that will probably end up with lots of work outsourced to their mates. Let's hope we get the change of govt before this happens.
I've been listening to a really good show on this recently. It's not as clear cut as I once thought. Yes, welfare wise these chickens are worse, but environmentally, they are much better. They eat less, poo less and the poo is contained (living indoors) so it can be burnt to create heat for the sheds in Winter, and then reused as fertiliser. When left to roam free, they poo on the fields, which then runs off and destroys river habitats (see the River Wye).
Worth a listen for those in the UK:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001stxt?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile