Tim Hortons, Burger King raise chicken welfare policies

March 22, 2017, Toronto, Ont – Two of Canada’s largest quick-service restaurant chains – Burger King and Tim Hortons – have pledged to improve their poultry welfare standards.

Burger King and Tim Hortons (whose parent company is Restaurant Brands International) collaborated with Mercy For Animals on the new policies.

Burger King and Tim Hortons have all pledged to use only chicken that meets the welfare standards laid out by Global Animal Partnership (GAP), an international farmed animal welfare certification program. These standards will require chicken suppliers to breed only higher-welfare strains of chickens, reduce the stocking density of the birds, improve light levels and litter quality inside barns, and use controlled atmosphere stunning to render the birds unconscious before slaughter, dramatically improving slaughter methods and the birds’ living conditions.

RBI will also transition to cage-free eggs for Burger King and Tim Hortons locations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Latin America by 2025.

“We have been so pleased to work with Burger King and Tim Hortons to develop their progressive broiler welfare policies,” said Krista Hiddema, vice president of Mercy For Animals in Canada. “It is certainly a testament to the times that two of Canada’s largest quick-service brands are committed to meeting GAP standards, and we are confident the rest of the Canadian food industry will soon follow.”