I have recently become aware of the shameful conditions on duck farms supplying major supermarkets.

Animal group, Viva!, has filmed ducks crammed into dirty, stinking sheds in their thousands, dead and dying birds, disabled ducks thrashing around on their backs in distress, unable to right themselves and the most unbelievable of all, no water for these water-loving animals to bathe or clean themselves in.

These conditions are not exceptional -- they are the norm and are a sad result of today's intense farming systems.

I had hoped that supermarkets expected high welfare standards from their meat suppliers.

But most of the the duck meat on sale in UK supermarkets, shops and Chinese restaurants comes from factory farms.

So yet another animal has been added to the list of those abused on an appalling scale.

Twenty million ducks are bred for meat in the UK every year. Anyone who has seen how these animals are mistreated knows how hollow are the supermarket's claims of caring about animal welfare. Full information about this cruelty can be found at www.viva.org.uk

We are the consumers -- we can make a difference by our informed choices about what we eat.

Gilli Hanna, Lower Heyford