Dutch supermarkets have increased the number of special offers they run involving cheap meat, according to animal welfare group Wakker Dier.

The number of chicken, beef and pork bargains in supermarket discount leaflets has gone up 28% since 2015, despite pledges to cut back, the organisation said.

Dutch market leader Albert Heijn and number two Jumbo are the worst offenders, Wakker Dier said. In the first nine months of this year, the number of Jumbo bargain meat offers has doubled compared with three years ago. At Albert Heijn, the increase is 73%.

‘It is crucial that we eat less meat,’ said spokesman Anne Hilhorst. ‘So it is scandalous that the market leaders are not acting more responsibly.

Wakker Dier bases its research on advertising leaflets produced by the 12 biggest supermarket groups in the Netherlands.