Editing Marks & Spencer (section)

==== Animal welfare ====
In July 2022, secret cameras at an intensive dairy farm in North Yorkshire that supplied milk and cheese to M&S, [[Ocado]], [[Asda]] and [[Morrisons]] captured lame animals "unable to get up to reach water" as some workers killed goats "of no value" at the intensive farm. Animals were seen with overgrown hooves and piles of dead goats were observed outside the property. A spokesperson for the [[British Retail Consortium]] said: "Our members take their responsibilities to animal welfare very seriously and will investigate these claims. Swift action will be taken against any breaches to the high animal welfare standards our members uphold."<ref>{{cite news |last=Dalton |first=Jane |date=9 July 2022 |title=Goats 'shoved and neglected' at show farm that supplies milk and cheese to M&S, Ocado, Asda and Morrisons |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/goats-milk-cheese-farm-m-s-ocado-asda-morrisons-b2113892.html |access-date=21 May 2024 |work=The Independent }}</ref> Marks & Spencer is a member of the [[RSPCA Assured]] food labelling scheme that states "any animals involved in a product's production have been reared to the RSPCA's strict farm animal welfare standards".<ref>{{cite web|date=2024|title=RSPCA Assured at Marks & Spencer|url=https://www.rspcaassured.org.uk/retailers/buy-at-marks-spencer|website=RSPCA|archive-date=16 October 2024|archive-url=https://archive.today/20241016161845/https://www.rspcaassured.org.uk/retailers/buy-at-marks-spencer/|url-status=live}}</ref> The scheme has been subject to controversy due to animal abuse being captured by hidden cameras at some farms, with the RSPCA president calling it "utterly indefensible".<ref>{{cite web |last=Gadher |first=Dipesh |date=8 June 2024 |title=Chris Packham: The truth at some RSPCA-assured farms makes me sick |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/society/article/chris-packham-rspca-assured-farms-nlgt0ngl3 |access-date=16 November 2024 |website=[[The Times]]}}</ref>

In April 2024, ''[[The Guardian]]'' obtained footage of pigs from RSPCA Assured farms at a slaughterhouse being hit in the face by workers with a paddle before entering a gas chamber to die. The [[RSPCA]] reviewed the footage and said the hitting of any animals was completely unacceptable and they would launch an immediate investigation.<ref>{{cite news |last=Dalton |first=Jane |date=3 April 2024 |title=Pigs hit in face before 'agonising' CO2 death at supplier for Tesco, Asda, Aldi and M&S |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/pigs-bacon-tesco-asda-aldi-mands-b2520254.html |access-date=21 May 2024 |work=The Independent }}</ref> In May 2024, animal welfare activists released footage that was filmed at several intensive RSPCA Assured farms that supplied meat to Marks & Spencer, [[Tesco]] and [[Asda]]. The footage showed sick, dying and dead hens alongside living ones. M&S suspended one of the farms.<ref>{{cite news |last=Dalton |first=Jane |date=9 May 2024 |title=Free-range hens suffering at egg farms supplying M&S, Tesco and Asda, animal rights activists say |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/free-range-eggs-tesco-mands-rspca-b2538181.html |access-date=21 May 2024 |work=The Independent }}</ref> In September 2024, undercover footage was released from an RSPCA Assured farm which supplied milk to M&S. Workers were observed mistreating cows, striking them with poles and kicking them. In one incident, a worker was seen jabbing a cow with a screwdriver.<ref name="Dalton 2024">{{cite web|last1=Dalton|first1=Jane|last2=Colley|first2=Claire|date=2024|title=Cows on farms supplying M&S and Muller kicked, punched, hit with chains and sworn at in shocking footage|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/cows-abuse-muller-marks-spencers-milk-rspca-b2611198.html|website=The Independent|archive-date=15 September 2024|archive-url=https://archive.today/20240915180542/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/cows-abuse-muller-marks-spencers-milk-rspca-b2611198.html|url-status=live}}</ref> M&S immediately suspended the farm from their supply chain when the footage was released. The RSPCA also suspended the farm. An M&S spokesperson said: "We take animal welfare extremely seriously and set rigorous standards for our suppliers."<ref name="Dalton 2024"/>

Marks & Spencer, along with [[Waitrose]] and other supermarkets, has phased out the practice of shrimps [[eyestalk ablation]] within its supply chain.<ref>{{cite news |last=Ungoed-Thomas |first=Jon |date=15 February 2025 |title=Waitrose to stop selling suffocated farmed prawns, as campaigners say they feel pain |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/15/prawn-farming-cruelty-electrical-stunning-waitrose |access-date=9 May 2025 |work=The Guardian |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>