Battery chickens farmed in the UK (Image: World Animal Protection)
SHROPSHIRE has the third highest number for any county in the UK of animals reared indoors, new figures have revealed.
The county has more than 158 million animals reared indoors on farms, World Animal Protection has said.
It says this means Shropshire has the third highest number of animals reared indoors out of all counties in the country.
This comes as the organisation's nationwide "Confined in Cruelty" research found that the number of "factory farms" in the UK has increased by at least 13 per cent in the last five years, as the number of registered factory farms rose by 209 around the country.
The increase in these farms has been described by critics as "appalling" and "absolutely heart-breaking".
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