Today,
Perdue Foods, one of the nation’s largest poultry producers, announced a precedent-setting
commitment to improving animal welfare. The announcement follows extensive
negotiations with Mercy For Animals, Compassion in World Farming, and The
Humane Society of the United States. A disturbing MFA undercover investigation revealing illegal animal abuse at two Perdue
contract farms prompted the talks. Moreover, nearly 182,000 consumers signed our Change.org
petition urging Perdue to adopt more stringent animal
welfare standards.
While there is still work to be
done, Perdue’s commitment is the most comprehensive animal welfare policy ever
adopted by a major chicken producer. Of the more than 8 billion chickens killed
for meat annually in the U.S., Perdue’s policy will reduce the suffering of
nearly 680 million birds on 2,200 farms.
Citing
the “five freedoms, a set of ethical imperatives for farmed animal welfare,
the policy outlines the
company’s efforts to implement on-farm improvements, such as environmental
enrichment and natural light; curb malicious abuse; and eliminate cruel
live-shackle slaughter.
Perdue
also addresses the unnaturally rapid growth rates of chickens, which cause
incredible suffering to birds—crippling them under their own weight, rendering
them immobile, leaving them in constant pain, and causing many to die of organ
failure. Additionally, the policy mandates annual third-party audits and increased video surveillance—including of transport
areas—to deter instances of illegal animal abuse.
Most notable is
the policy’s commitment to replacing live-shackle slaughter methods with less
cruel Controlled Atmosphere Stunning, a
move that will spare millions of birds from the horrific suffering caused by
dumping, shackling, shocking, and slitting the throats of conscious animals.
This change is even more meaningful given that chickens, who comprise 95
percent of land animals raised and killed for food in the U.S., are excluded
from the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act.
With
this announcement, it’s never been clearer that the days are numbered for many
of the poultry industry’s cruelest practices. Perdue’s policy represents
important progress and we look forward to seeing the company establish
deadlines for the implementation of these crucial changes. Perdue’s policy will
also hopefully inspire other companies to adopt similar meaningful animal welfare
requirements.
It’s now time for Tyson, Foster
Farms, and other poultry producers to stop dragging their feet and reduce the
needless pain and suffering animals endure on factory farms and in
slaughterhouses.
- Sign our petition demanding that Tyson stop tormenting chickens.
- Sign our petition calling on Foster Farms to stop abusing birds.
Of
course, we can help chickens the most simply by leaving them off our plates. Try these 10 delicious chicken-free
products that boast
all of the taste but none of the torture.