Canadian Poultry Magazine

Report ranks fast-food companies according to chicken welfare practices

By Canadian Poultry magazine   

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Canadian fast-food companies failing when it comes to chicken welfare, activist organization claims.

World Animal Protection, a global animal activist organization, recently published a report called “The pecking order 2021” that ranks fast-food restaurants globally based on the chicken welfare practices in their supply chains.

In addition to the global assessment, it also created 14 local rankings. The brands it assessed are Burger King, Domino’s, KFC, McDonald’s, Nando’s, Pizza Hut, Starbucks and Subway. They are ranked in tiers, with tier one being the highest and tier six the lowest.

Key findings from the report for Canada include:

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  • Burger King received the best score of 54 per cent, or Tier 3 (“Making progress”) and McDonald’s received 43 per cent, also a Tier 3.
  • KFC and Pizza Hut scored low with six per cent, or Tier 6 (“Very poor”).
  • Burger King’s scores are largely the result of the company’s signing of the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC) in the U.S. and Canada. The BCC includes adopting slower growing chicken breeds, enrichments such as perches and hay bales to satisfy the animals’ behavioural needs and more space.
  • Three companies received zero points for their Canadian policies, including Starbucks, Subway and Domino’s, although they have signed up to the BCC in other markets.
  • McDonald’s Canada also scored points for adopting controlled-atmosphere stunning, which the organization considers more humane.


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