The investigation has found that, Merthyr Tydfil Council reported that 99.35% of chicken served in their school came from Thailand and China. Gwynedd Council stated that 87.62% of chicken products for which data was available came from Brazil, Thailand and China.
The Countryside Alliance found Conwy and Caerphilly Councils were also bad, reporting 94% and 87.32% of their school chicken as being sourced from outside both the UK and EU.
Out of 21 councils, just two - Anglesey Council and Bridgend County Borough Council - sourced all chicken meat for schools from the UK. Not one council was able to report the proportion of Welsh chicken they procured for school meals.
Rachel Evans, director of Countryside Alliance Wales, commented: “I’m shocked and disappointed that, when we have such high quality Welsh and British produce, including chickens farmed with some of the best welfare standards in the world, so much of the chicken our children are eating is being shipped in from the other side of the world.
“There’s a real contradiction here. The new Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) launched on January 1st 2026 could lead to a 5% reduction in livestock numbers in the name of climate change and sustainability, yet public bodies are serving imported chicken flown or shipped in from as far away as Thailand, China and Brazil, increasing carbon emissions and lowering food standards, all while undermining local agriculture.
“Sustainability should start at home, by supporting Welsh farmers and producing food responsibly here in Wales. The Welsh Government needs to take urgent action to ensure that public money spent on school meals supports Welsh farming, high food standards and sustainability.”