Today,
Walmart—the nation’s largest food retailer—announced
its commitment to improving farmed animal welfare across its entire global
supply chain with one of the most comprehensive animal welfare policies of its
kind. The announcement follows the release of six hidden-camera videos taken
by Mercy For Animals at Walmart pork suppliers across the country exposing extreme
animal abuse.
Citing
the “five freedoms—a set of ethical imperatives for farmed animal welfare—the
mega retailer has announced its commitment to ending many of the cruelest forms
of institutionalized animal abuse in its entire supply chain, including the intensive
confinement of pregnant pigs in gestation crates, baby calves in veal crates, and
egg-laying hens in battery cages. Walmart announced it is also working to end
the needless mutilations of animals without painkillers, such as castration,
tail docking, and dehorning, and is moving towards less cruel slaughter
methods.
The
announcement follows an intense campaign by MFA against the retail giant,
including more than 150 protests
at Walmart stores across the country, full-page newspaper
ads, mobile
billboards circling the Walmart headquarters in Arkansas, 640,000 petition
signatures on Change.org, and A-list
celebrity support from Joaquin Phoenix, Ryan Gosling, Sia, Pamela Anderson,
Emily Deschanel, and more.
This
is a historic and landmark day for the protection of farmed animals in America.
The announcement that Walmart is committed to doing away with many of the
cruelest factory farming practices in its supply chain, including the intensive
confinement of pigs and other animals, signals an important new era and
direction for the company. We are heartened that Walmart not only took notice,
but also took action, after egregious cruelty was exposed in its pork supply
chain.
The
pork industry’s use of gestation crates is one of the worst forms of
institutionalized animal abuse in existence and we praise Walmart for
acknowledging that this cruel system must be phased out. By speaking out
against cruel crates, painful mutilations, and horrific killing methods,
Walmart is taking a positive step forward in improving animal welfare. We hope
Walmart acts quickly and diligently to implement these changes in order to
spare millions of animals needless misery and suffering.
We
urge Walmart to add greater teeth to this announcement by making the new
guidelines a requirement rather than a mere recommendation, and to set
aggressive timelines for its suppliers to meet its expectations. While there is
still work to be done, Walmart’s announcement is one of the most sweeping
animal welfare policies ever adopted by a major food company. We hope that the
rest of the food industry will follow Walmart’s lead in prohibiting the cruel
confinement of animals in cages barely larger than their bodies, mutilations
without painkillers, and other inhumane practices.
With
Walmart’s announcement, it has never been clearer that the days are numbered for
many of the factory farming industry’s cruelest practices.
While
this is important progress for Walmart, remember that the best way you can help pigs
and other farmed animals is simply to stop eating them. Visit ChooseVeg.com for delicious vegan recipes
and helpful tips.