Celebrity chefs Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall have received awards for their animal welfare work.

The pair were honoured at the RSPCA's annual meeting last weekend for their efforts to improve chicken welfare.

Earlier this year the chefs were involved in TV programmes on Channel 4, Jamie's Fowl Dinners and Hugh's Chicken Run, which highlighted the treatment of intensively farmed chickens in the UK.

Both have since continued to campaign for producers and retailers to adopt higher welfare standards.

Fearnley-Whittingstall last month urged supermarket Tesco to improve its chicken-rearing standards by putting forward a motion at its annual shareholders' meeting pushing for the change.

He raised £86,000 to present the resolution but Tesco’s shareholders voted against it.

RSPCA senior farm animal scientist Dr Marc Cooper said: “We are delighted to present both Hugh and Jamie with these awards in recognition of their valuable ongoing work in this area.”

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By Kerstin Kühn

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